The Tao that can be spoken is not the eternal Tao. The name that can be named is not the eternal name.
道可道、非常道。名可名、非常名。
Philosophers
Laozi
Semi-legendary Chinese philosopher of the 6th century BC who taught wu wei -- effortless action aligned with nature. His Tao Te Ching founded Taoism and shaped twenty-five centuries of East Asian thought.
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Laozi's Other Quotes
The highest goodness is like water. Water benefits all things and does not compete; it dwells in places others disdain, and so is close to the Tao.
Nothing in the world is softer than water, yet nothing surpasses it in overcoming the hard and strong.
In the pursuit of learning, one gains daily. In the pursuit of the Tao, one loses daily -- losing and losing until one arrives at wu wei. Through non-action, nothing is left undone.
A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.
Knowing others is intelligence; knowing yourself is true wisdom. Mastering others is strength; mastering yourself is true power.
Related Quotes
You must learn all things: both the steadfast heart of well-rounded Truth and the opinions of mortals, in which there is no true trust.
-- Parmenides
For thinking and Being are the same.
-- Parmenides
Those who understand that things arise dependently know them to be empty.
-- Nagarjuna
Knowing is the beginning of action; action is the completion of knowing.
-- Wang Yangming
The world is my representation.
-- Arthur Schopenhauer
Knowledge is the conformity of the object and the intellect.
-- Averroes