Inspirational Quotes by Zhiming Yuan

“Those who dare risk death have courage; but those who death cannot destroy are immortal.”

“True mastery can be gained by letting things go their own way. It cannot be gained by interfering”

“Touch ultimate emptiness, Hold steady and still. All things work together: I have watched them reverting, And have seen how they flourish And return again, each to his roots. This, I say, is the stillness: A retreat to one's roots; Or better yet, return To the will of God, Which is, I say, to constancy. The knowledge of constancy I call enlightenment and say That not to know it Is blindness that works evil. But when you know What eternally is so, You have stature And stature means righteousness And righteousness is kingly And kingliness divine And divinity is the Way Which is final. Then, though you die, You shall not perish.”

“The wise do not appear great among others; and so they reveal their true greatness.”

“Knowing others is intelligent. Knowing yourself is enlightened.”

“The most yielding thing in the world will overcome the most rigid The most empty thing in the world will overcome the most full From this comes a lesson— Stillness benefits more than action Silence benefits more than words Rare indeed are those who are still Rare indeed are those who are silent And so I say, Rare indeed are those who obtain the bounty of this world”

“    The river and sea can be kings of                          the hundred valley streams                because they are good at lying below them. For this reason,     They can be kings of the hundred valley streams. For this reason, too,     If the sage wants to be above the people,                in his words, he must put himself below them;     If he wishes to be before the people,                in his person, he must stand behind them. Therefore,     He is situated in front of the people,                but they are not offended;     He is situated above the people,                but they do not consider him a burden.     All under heaven happily push him forward without                          wearying.     Is this not because he is without contention? Therefore,     No one under heaven can contend with him.”

“The way of the Tao is simple— stop striving, defeat desire. In the absence of striving, there is peace; in the absence of desire, there is satisfaction.”

“Some say that my teaching is nonsense.”

“Everything that lives has a physical body, but the value of a life is measured by the soul.”

“Quien conoce a su pueblo es aplicado. Quien se conoce a sí mismo es sabio. Quien domina al otro es fuerte. Quien se domina a sí mismo es poderoso.”

“The man who is content with what he has is not in danger of loss. The man who knows when to stop is free to go on.”

“Quien valora lo que tiene y se conforma, es un hombre rico.”

“Beauty and ugliness have one origin. Name beauty, and ugliness is. Recognizing virtue recognizes evil. Is and is not produce one another. The difficult is born in the easy, long is defined by short, the high by the low.”

“There is no greater illusion than fear, no greater wrong than preparing to defend yourself, no greater misfortune than having an enemy. Whoever can see through all fear will always be safe. --loc 710 Tao Te Ching: A New English Version Paperback – Sep 5 2006 | Unabridged by Lao Tzu and Stephen Mitchell ISBN-10: 0061142662”

“Don’t glorify heroes, And people will not contend. Don’t treasure rare objects, And no one will steal. Don’t display what people desire, And their hearts will not be disturbed.”

“Anyone who doesn’t respect a teacher or cherish a student may be clever, but has gone astray.”

“It's best to be like water, nurturing the ten thousand things without competing, flowing into places people scorn, very like the Tao. Make the earth a dwelling place. Cultivate the heart and mind. Practice benevolence. Stand by your word. Govern with equity. Serve skillfully. Act in a timely way, without contentiousness, free of blame.”

“The wise ruler treats the good with goodness; and treats the not-so-good with goodness, too— for goodness is its own reward.”

“Know others by knowing yourself. Overcome others by overcoming yourself. Understanding what is enough is enough. Presence is perseverance. Coming to stillness is forging ahead. Find life by accepting death.”