Lao Tzu Quotes on Time
The Daodejing — traditionally attributed to Lao Tzu but more probably the work of multiple early Chinese authors compiled in the Warring States period — develops a distinctive treatment of time and change through the doctrine of the Way (dao) that underlies and orders the apparent transformations of the ten thousand things. The cyclical alternation of yin and yang, the constant return of all things to their root, and the wisdom of timely action through wu wei (non-coerced action) frame an account of temporal flourishing that contrasts sharply with the more linear, goal-directed conceptions familiar to the Western tradition. Transmitted alongside the Zhuangzi as the philosophical foundation of Daoism, the framework shaped two and a half millennia of Chinese reflection on the rhythms of nature, history, and the well-lived life.
Quotes
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“The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.”
Tao Te Ching, Chapter 64 -
Attributed to Lao Tzu:
“Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished.”
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“Those about whom you inquire have moulded with their bones into dust. Nothing but their words remain. When the hour of the great man has struck he rises to leadership; but before his time has come he is hampered in all that he attempts. I have heard that the successful merchant carefully conceals his wealth, and acts as though he had nothing—that the great man, though abounding in achievements, is simple in his manners and appearance. Get rid of your pride and your many ambitions, your affectation and your extravagant aims. Your character gains nothing for all these. This is my advice to you.”
Attributed to Laozi. Laozi speaking to Confucius. Quoted in James Legge, Texts of Taoism, 34; Quoted from Will Durant , Our Oriental Heritage . -
“The Tao that can be told is not the eternal Tao; The name that can be named is not the eternal name. The nameless is the beginning of heaven and earth. The named is the mother of ten thousand things. Ever desireless, one can see the mystery. Ever desiring, one can see the manifestations. These two spring from the same source but differ in name; this appears as darkness. Darkness within darkness. The gate to all mystery .”
Gia-Fu Feng & Jane English (1972) -
“The tao that can be told is not the eternal Tao The name that can be named is not the eternal Name. The unnameable is the eternally real. Naming is the origin of all particular things. Free from desire, you realize the mystery. Caught in desire, you see only the manifestations. Yet mystery and manifestations arise from the same source. This source is called darkness. Darkness within darkness. The gateway to all understanding .”
interpreted by Stephen Mitchell (1992) -
“The tao that can be described is not the eternal Tao. The name that can be spoken is not the eternal Name. The nameless is the boundary of Heaven and Earth. The named is the mother of creation. Freed from desire, you can see the hidden mystery. By having desire, you can only see what is visibly real. Yet mystery and reality emerge from the same source. This source is called darkness. Darkness born from darkness. The beginning of all understanding.”
translated by J.H.McDonald (1996) -
“Since before time and space were, the Tao is. It is beyond is and is not . How do I know this is true? I look inside myself and see.”
Chapter 21 | interpreted by Stephen Mitchell (1992) -
“The Tao is like a well: used but never used up. It is like the eternal void: filled with infinite possibilities. It is hidden but always present. I don't know who gave birth to it. It is older than God .”
Chapter 4 | interpreted by Stephen Mitchell (1992)