There is a thing inherent and natural which existed before heaven and earth. Motionless and fathomless, It stands alone and never changes; It pervades everywhere and never becomes exhausted. It may be regarded as the Mother of the Universe. I do not know its name. If I am forced to give It a name, I call it Tao, and I name it as supreme.

He who talks more is sooner exhausted.

The more weapons of violence, the more misery to mankind. The triumph of violence ends in a festival of mourning.

Let people return to making knots on ropes, instead of writing.

Nothing is softer or more flexible than water, yet nothing can resist it.

People who have to fight for their living and are not afraid to die for it are higher persons than those who, stationed high, are too fat to dare to die.

The purest white seems stained.