Lao Tzu

“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.”

The five colours blind man’s eyes; the five notes deafen his ears.

Colours blind the eye. Sounds deafen the ear. Flavours numb the taste.

In dwelling, live close to the ground. In thinking, keep to the simple.

Do you have the patience to wait until your mud settles and the water is clear?

Muddy water, let stand, becomes clear.

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

Thirty spokes share the hub of a wheel; it is the centre hole that makes it useful.

Give evil nothing to oppose and it will disappear by itself.

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