Top 500 Laozi Quotes (2026 Update)
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201. “Do your work, then step back. The only path to serenity.”

— Laozi

202. “Who can rest until the moment of action?”

— Laozi

203. “Dualistic thinking is a sickness.”

— Laozi

204. “First and last follow each other.”

— Laozi

205. “There is no greater sin than desire, No greater curse than discontent, No greater misfortune than wanting something for oneself. Therefore he who knows that enough is enough will always have enough.”

— Laozi

206. “Sometimes gain comes from losing, and sometimes loss comes from gaining.”

— Laozi

207. “If you really want everything, then give up everything.”

— Laozi

208. “There is no calamity greater than lavish desires. There is no greater guilt than discontent. And there is no greater disaster than greed.”

— Laozi

209. “The wicked leader is he who the people despise. The good leader is he who the people revere. The great leader is he who the people say, ‘We did it ourselves.’”

— Laozi

210. “The value of teaching without words and accomplishing without action is understood by few in the world.”

— Laozi

211. “Misfortune is the root of good fortune; good fortune gives birth to misfortune.”

— Laozi

212. “Those who do not trust enough should not be trusted.”

— Laozi

213. “Life is going forth; death is returning home.”

— Laozi

214. “When the effective leader is finished with his work, the people say it happened naturally.”

— Laozi

215. “Goodness in words creates trust, goodness in thinking creates depth, goodness in giving creates love.”

— Laozi

216. “Giving to others selflesly and anonymously, radiating light throughout the world and illuminating your own darkness, your virtue becomes a sanctuary for yourself and all beings.”

— Laozi

217. “The snow goose need not bathe to make itself white. Neither need you do anything but be yourself.”

— Laozi

218. “The difficult problems in life always start off being simple. Great affairs always start off being small.”

— Laozi

219. “Realize thy Simple Self, Embrace thy Original Nature.”

— Laozi

220. “Use the light that is in you to recover your natural clearness of sight.”

— Laozi

221. “A good speaker does not stutter.”

— Laozi

222. “The feminine values are the fountain of bliss. Know the masculine, Keep to the feminine.”

— Laozi

223. “Lay plans for the accomplishment of the difficult before it becomes difficult; make something big by starting with it when small.”

— Laozi

224. “When goodness is lost, it is replaced by morality.”

— Laozi

225. “I observe myself and I come to know others.”

— Laozi

226. “Violence, even well intentioned, always rebounds upon oneself.”

— Laozi

227. “To lead, one must follow.”

— Laozi

228. “Returning to the source is serenity.”

— Laozi

229. “The virtuous carry out the settlement, but those without virtue pursue their claims.”

— Laozi

Featured in: Virtue Quotes

230. “The wise man, after learning something new, is afraid to learn anything more until he has put his first lesson into practice.”

— Laozi

231. “Kindness in words creates confidence.”

— Laozi

232. “Can you love or guide someone without any kind of expectation?”

— Laozi

233. “To retreat after a work well done is Heaven’s Way.”

— Laozi

234. “Pain and happiness are simply conditions of the ego. Forget the ego.”

— Laozi

235. “Those who praise themselves do not prevail.”

— Laozi

236. “The subtlest of subtleties, this is the gateway to all mysteries.”

— Laozi

237. “No weapon is sharper than will.”

— Laozi

238. “The way to use life is to do nothing through acting, The way to use life is to do everything through being.”

— Laozi

239. “Quiet your mind and stop judging and resisting and manipulating the natural way.”

— Laozi

240. “Gently eliminating all obstacles to his own understanding, he constantly maintains his unconditional sincerity. His humility, perseverance, and adaptability evoke the response of the universe and fill him with divine light.”

— Laozi

241. “Take care of what is difficult while it is still easy, and deal with what will become big while it is yet small.”

— Laozi

242. “The truest sayings are paradoxical.”

— Laozi

243. “To see things in the seed, that is genius.”

— Laozi

244. “If you would take, you must first give.”

— Laozi

245. “Goodie-goodies are the thieves of virtue.”

— Laozi

246. “Kind words elicit trust. Kind thoughts create depth. Kind deeds bring love.”

— Laozi

247. “In the Way of Heaven, there is no partiality of love; it is always on the side of the good man.”

— Laozi

248. “When you are sick of your sickness you will cease to be sick.”

— Laozi

249. “See simplicity in the complicated. Achieve greatness in little things.”

— Laozi

250. “Meandering leads to perfection.”

— Laozi