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Praise and disgrace cause fear.

Laozi

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Laozi
Archivist
Philosopher
Writer
Lao-tze
Lao Tzu
Lao-tzu
Lao-tsu
Li Er
Laotze
Taoism
Praise
Cause
Causes
Fear
Disgrace

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Do nothing, and leave nothing undone. [Doing nothing is what happens when the doer disappears, it isn't something that one does or chooses not to do.]
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The best leaders are those their people hardly know exist. The next best is a leader who is loved and praised. Next comes the one who is feared. The worst one is the leader that is despised ... The best leaders value their words, and use them sparingly. When they have accomplished their task, the people say, Amazing! We did it, all by ourselves!
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What has no substance can penetrate what has no opening.
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Few things under heaven bring more benefit than the lessons learned from silence and the actions taken without striving.
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They can see their neighbors. Roosters and dogs can be heard from there. Still, they will age and die without visiting one another.
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The whole world says that my Way is great like nothing else. It is great because it is like nothing else. If it were like everything else, it would long ago have become insignificant.
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Heaven's net is very vast. It is sparsely meshed, yet nothing slips through.
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Kindness in thought leads to wisdom. Kindness in speech leads to eloquence. Kindness in action leads to love.
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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.
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Man, when living, is soft and tender when dead, he is hard and tough. All animals and plants when living are tender and delicate when dead they become withered and dry. Therefore it is said: the hard and tough are parts of death the soft and tender are parts of life.
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Understand this if nothing else: spiritual freedom and oneness with the Tao are not randomly bestowed gifts, but the rewards of conscious self-transformation and self-evolution.
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When nothing is done, nothing is left undone.
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Nothing in the world is more flexible and yielding than water. Yet when it attacks the firm and the strong, none can withstand it, because they have no way to change it. So the flexible overcome the adamant, the yielding overcome the forceful. Everyone knows this, but no one can do it.
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Love is of all passions the strongest, for it attacks simultaneously the head, the heart and the senses.
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So sometimes things are ahead and sometimes they are behind Sometimes breathing is hard, sometimes it comes easily Sometimes there is strength and sometimes weakness Sometimes one is up and sometimes down. Therefore the sage avoids extremes, excesses, and complacency.
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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.
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In ancient times, people said that imperfect moves to becoming perfect. Are these words vain? No! Truly, by gaining Unity you come to Perfection!
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The key to growth is the introduction of higher dimensions of consciousness into our awareness.
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Displaying riches and titles with pride brings about one's downfall.
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The reality of the building does not consist in the roof and walls, but in the space within to be lived in.
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