Great Throughts Treasury

"A strong man masters others. A truly wise man masters himself."

"A leader is best when people barely know he exists, when his work is done, his aim fulfilled, they will say: we did it ourselves."

"An ant on the move does more than a dozing ox."

"A scholar who cherishes the love of comfort is not fit to be deemed a scholar."

"Anticipate the difficult by managing the easy."

"All difficult things have their origin in that which is easy, and great things in that which is small."

"Be a spot on the ground where nothing is growing, where something might be planted, a seed, from the Absolute."

"Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength, while loving someone deeply gives you courage."

"Be Content with what you have; rejoice in the way things are. When you realize there is nothing lacking, the whole world belongs to you."

"At the center of your being you have the answer; you know who you are and you know what you want."

"Do the difficult things while they are easy and do the great things while they are small. A journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step."

"Fill your bowl to the brim and it will spill. Keep sharpening your knife and it will blunt."

"Fill your house with gold and jade, and it can no longer be guarded."

"He who controls others may be powerful, but he who has mastered himself is mightier still."

"Govern a great nation as you would cook a small fish. Do not overdo it."

"Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach him how to fish and you feed him for a lifetime."

"He who knows, does not speak. He who speaks, does not know."

"He who does not trust enough, Will not be trusted."

"He who knows others is wise. He who knows himself is enlightened."

"He who is contented is rich."

"Health is the greatest possession. Contentment is the greatest treasure. Confidence is the greatest friend. Non-being is the greatest joy."

"He who obtains has little. He who scatters has much."

"I have just three things to teach: simplicity, patience, compassion. These three are your greatest treasures."

"If you do not change direction, you may end up where you are heading."

"If you realize that all things change, there is nothing you will try to hold on to. If you are not afraid of dying, there is nothing you cannot achieve."

"If you realize that you have enough, you are truly rich."

"In dwelling, live close to the ground. In thinking, keep to the simple. In conflict, be fair and generous. In governing, don’t try to control. In work, do what you enjoy. In family life, be completely present."

"It is not enough to be compassionate. You must act also."

"Just remember, when you should grab something, grab it; when you should let go, let go."

"In the world, there is nothing more submissive and weak than water. Yet for attacking that which is hard and strong, nothing can surpass it."

"If you would take, you must first give, this is the beginning of intelligence."

"In motion be like water... at rest, like a mirror. Resound like the echo; be subtle, as though nonexistent."

"One cannot reflect in streaming water. Only those who know internal peace can give it to others."

"No one can see their reflection in running water. It is only in still water that we can see."

"Love is of all passions the strongest, for it attacks simultaneously the head, the heart and the senses."

"Kindness in words creates confidence. Kindness in thinking creates profoundness. Kindness in giving creates love."

"One who is too insistent on his own views, finds few to agree with him."

"People in their handlings of affairs often fail when they are about to succeed. If one remains as careful at the end as he was at the beginning, there will be no failure."

"Supreme sincerity evokes resonance."

"The higher the sun ariseth, the less shadow doth he cast; even so the greater is the goodness, the less doth it covet praise; yet cannot avoid its rewards in honors."

"The journey is the reward."

"The wise man does not lay up his own treasures. The more he gives to others, the more he has for his own."

"The way you can go isn't the real way. The name you can say isn't the real name, so the unwanting soul sees what is hidden, and the ever wanting soul sees only what it wants."

"To see things in the seed, that is genius."

"To know yet to think that one does not know is best; Not to know yet to think that one knows will lead to difficulty."

"To act sincerely with the insincere is dangerous."

"Treat those who are good with goodness, and also treat those who are not good with goodness. Thus goodness is attained. Be honest to those who are honest, and be also honest to those who are not honest. Thus honesty is attained."

"We make a vessel from a lump of clay; It is the space inside the vessel that makes it useful. ... Thus, while the tangible has advantages, It is the intangible that makes it useful."

"We cannot see our reflection in running water. It is only in still water that we can see."

"We shape clay into a pot, but it is the emptiness inside that holds whatever we want."