Gimme Lao Quotes

There were three things Gimme Lao did not know about himself. ~ Sebastian Sim

The master dwells in the substantial and not in the superficial. Rests in the fruit and not in the flower. ~ Lao-Tzu

Figure out the rhythm of life and live in harmony with it. ~ Lao Tzu

Wild winds never last all morning
and fierce rains never last all day. ~ Lao-Tzu

Too much thinking causes confusion and anxiety
better to stick with the simplicity of Tao ~ Lao-Tzu

Trying to control the future is like trying to take the master carpenter's place. When you handle the master carpenter's tools, chances are that you'll cut your hand. ~ Lao-Tzu

Heaven which by it is bright and pure; ~ Lao-Tzu

Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished. ~ Lao-Tzu

The Tao is (like) the emptiness of a vessel; and in our employment of it we must be on our guard against all fulness. ~ Lao-Tzu

With those who are kind
the sage is kind
With those who are not kind
the sage is also kind
because the way of Tao is kindness ~ Lao-Tzu

Too many words cause exhaustion
[In the mind or from the mouth]
Better to abide in stillness ~ Lao-Tzu

Not asserted, therefore known, Not boasted of, therefore of worth, Not contentious, so enduring. It's because the wise do not contend, That no one can contend with them. ~ Lao-Tzu

Doing nothing is better than being busy doing nothing. ~ Lao-Tzu

You want it your own way. You'd just like to have a little peace; you'd like to have a little happiness, you know, just "gimme a break!" But the more you think that way, the more you try to get life to come out so that it will always suit you, the more your fear of other people and what's outside your room grows. ~ Pema Chodron

He who would so win it destroys it; he who would hold it in his grasp loses it. ~ Lao-Tzu

Nothingness and Beingness are merely conceptions ... ~ Lao-Tzu

Highly evolved people have their own conscience as pure law. ~ Lao-Tzu

Stand before it and there is no beginning. Follow it and there is no end. Stay with the ancient Tao, Move with the present. ~ Lao-Tzu

The Last Words of My English Grandmother

There were some dirty plates
and a glass of milk
beside her on a small table
near the rank, disheveled bed--

Wrinkled and nearly blind
she lay and snored
rousing with anger in her tones
to cry for food,

Gimme something to eat--
They're starving me--
I'm all right--I won't go
to the hospital. No, no, no

Give me something to eat!
Let me take you
to the hospital, I said
and after you are well

you can do as you please.
She smiled, Yes
you do what you please first
then I can do what I please--

Oh, oh, oh! she cried
as the ambulance men lifted
her to the stretcher--
Is this what you call

making me comfortable?
By now her mind was clear--
Oh you think you're smart
you young people,

she said, but I'll tell you
you don't know anything.
Then we started.
On the way

we passed a long row
of elms. She looked at them
awhile out of
the ambulance window and said,

What are all those
fuzzy looking things out there?
Trees? Well, I'm tired
of them and rolled her head away. ~ William Carlos Williams

When people devote themselves to something
they always ruin it on the verge of success.
Finish with the same care you took in beginning
and you'll avoid ruining things. ~ Lao-Tzu

When the Great Tao (Way or Method) ceased to be observed, benevolence and righteousness came into vogue. ~ Lao-Tzu

The way that is bright seems dull. The way forward seems to lead back. The smooth way seems rough. The highest virtue seems a valley. The purest whiteness seems stained. Excessive virtue seems defective. Solid virtue seems inactive. ~ Lao-Tzu

He who vaunts himself does not find his merit acknowledged; ~ Lao-Tzu

Just as God is hidden, so are the inner secrets of Her divine message. We read about them, hear them uttered, but we cannot possibly comprehend their meaning unless we have a direct experience of their truth. That is why to be able to talk to our souls we use meditation, we use rituals, symbols and signs, we use dreams and careful observation of souls' subconscious messages. The mystics of our past help us in this quest. From Zarathustra who comes from the ancient Persian spiritual culture, to Pythagoras who comes from the Greco-Latin cultural epoch, to Lao Tzu, Buddha and Christ, they all carry the keys to the secrets of the most varied mysteries. ~ Nataša Pantović

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. ~ Lao-Tzu

If you don't stand sincere by your words
how sincere can the people be?
Take great care over words, treasure them. ~ Lao-Tzu

The people starve because those in authority over them devour too many taxes; that is why they starve. ~ Lao-Tzu

If you give evil nothing to oppose, then virtue will return by itself. ~ Lao-Tzu

Be careful what you water your dreams with. Water them with worry and fear and you will produce weeds that choke the life from your dream. Water them with optimism and solutions and you will cultivate success. Always be on the lookout for ways to turn a problem into an opportunity for success. Always be on the lookout for ways to nurture your dream. ~ Lao-Tzu

That difficulty and ease produce the one (the idea of) the other; ~ Lao-Tzu

Calm and repose are what he prizes; victory (by force of arms) is to him undesirable. ~ Lao-Tzu