Top 500 Laozi Quotes (2026 Update)
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301. “Mold clay into a bowl. The empty space makes it useful.”

— Laozi

302. “He who prides himself upon wealth and honor hastens his own downfall.”

— Laozi

303. “Act without striving. Work without interfering. Find the flavour in what is flavourless.”

— Laozi

304. “When taxes are too high, people go hungry. When the government is too intrusive, people lose their spirit. Act for the people’s benefit. Trust them; leave them alone.”

— Laozi

305. “We hammer wood for a house, but it is the inner space that makes it liveable.”

— Laozi

306. “Greed for enlightenment and immortality is no different than greed for material wealth. It is self-centered and dualistic, and thus an obstacle to true attainment. Therefore these states are never achieved by those who covet them; rather, they are the reward of the virtuous.”

— Laozi

307. “Be the chief but never the lord.”

— Laozi

308. “When men lack a sense of awe, there will be disaster.”

— Laozi

309. “A foolish man is always doing, Yet much remains to be done.”

— Laozi

310. “The highest virtue does nothing. Yet, nothing needs to be done. The lowest virtue does everything. Yet, much remains to be done.”

— Laozi

311. “When you have accomplished your goal simply walk away. This is the path way to Heaven.”

— Laozi

312. “Knowing that you do not know is the best. Not knowing that you do not know is an illness.”

— Laozi

313. “A good door needs no lock, still it can’t be opened.”

— Laozi

314. “That which is achieved the most, still has the whole of its future yet to be achieved.”

— Laozi

315. “Thirty spokes are joined in the wheel’s hub. The hole in the middle makes it useful.”

— Laozi

316. “Those who know do not speak; Those who speak do not know. Stop up the openings, Close down the doors, Rub off the sharp edges. Unravel all confusion. Harmonize the light, Give up contention: This is called finding the unity of life.”

— Laozi

317. “A journey of 1000 miles begins with a single step – Successful people are always looking for opportunities to help others.”

— Laozi

318. “Knowledge studies others, wisdom is self known.”

— Laozi

319. “Nothing and no one in the world is valuable or worthless.”

— Laozi

320. “There is no greater offence than harbouring desires. There is no greater disaster than discontent. There is no greater misfortune than wanting more.”

— Laozi

321. “If people do not revere the Law of Nature It will adversely affect them. If they accept It with knowledge and reverence, It will accommodate them with balance and harmony.”

— Laozi

322. “The moment truth is asserted, it becomes false.”

— Laozi

323. “The more laws and order are made prominent, the more thieves and robbers there will be.”

— Laozi

324. “Strong winds do not last all morning, hard rains do not last all day.”

— Laozi

325. “The unyielding army will not win.”

— Laozi

326. “A violent wind does not last for a whole morning...”

— Laozi

327. “The truly great ones rely on substance, and not on surface, hold on to the fruit, and not to the flower.”

— Laozi

328. “When you accurately perceive the fluidity of things, you can also begin to perceive the constancy behind them: the creative, transformative, boundless, immutable Tao.”

— Laozi

329. “He who acts, spoils; he who grasps, lets slip.”

— Laozi

330. “The river and the sea can be kings of a hundred valleys, because they lie below them.”

— Laozi

331. “Nature doesn’t make long speeches.”

— Laozi

332. “To joy in conquest is to joy in the loss of human life.”

— Laozi

333. “Stop trying to control. Let go of fixed plans and concepts, and the world will govern itself.”

— Laozi

334. “The Way is hidden and nameless. Still only the Way nourishes and completes.”

— Laozi

335. “All things arise in unison. Thereby we see their return.”

— Laozi

336. “Clay is fashioned into vessels; it is on their empty hollowness that their use depends. Doors and windows are cut out to make a dwelling, and on the empty space within, its use depends. Thus, while the existence of things may be good, it is the non-existence in them that makes them serviceable.”

— Laozi

337. “Profound virtue is indeed deep and wide. It leads all things back to the great order.”

— Laozi

338. “Where there is no conflict, there is no fault.”

— Laozi

339. “Letting the mind control the vital breath is called force.”

— Laozi

340. “The career of a sage is of two kinds: He is either honored by all in the world, Like a flower waving its head, Or else he disappears into the silent forest.”

— Laozi

341. “Follow diligently the Way in your own heart, but make no display of it to the world.”

— Laozi

342. “Going forward seems like retreat...”

— Laozi

343. “As soon as you have made a thought, laugh at it.”

— Laozi

344. “Those who take long steps cannot keep the pace.”

— Laozi

345. “When taxes are too high, people go hungry.”

— Laozi

346. “I do not know its name. I call it the Way. For the lack of better words I call it great.”

— Laozi

347. “By moderation one can be generous.”

— Laozi

348. “The Way of Tao is this: It strives not, but conquers; It speaks not, but all is made clear; It summons not, but its house is crowded; It contrives not, but the design is perfect.”

— Laozi

349. “Quarrel with a friend – and you are both wrong.”

— Laozi

350. “Not knowing of the eternal leads to unfortunate errors.”

— Laozi