“How could a decent person ever rejoice in victory and delight in the slaughter of men”

“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.”

“An ocean of ink in a single drop,Trembling at the tip of my brush.Poised above stark white paper,A universe waits for existence.”

“Perfection is the willingness to be imperfect.”

“He who knows the masculine but keeps to the feminine,Becomes the ravine of the world.Being the ravine of the world,He dwells in constant virtue,He returns to the state of the babe.He who knows the white but keeps to the black,Becomes the model of the world.Being the model of the world,He rests in constant virtue,He returns to the infinite.He who knows glory but keeps to disgrace,Becomes the valley of the world.Being the valley of the world,He finds contentment in constant virtue,He returns to the Uncarved Block.”

“Shape clay into a vessel;
It is the space within that makes it useful.
Cut doors and windows for a room;
It is the holes which make it useful.
Therefore benefit comes from what is there;
Usefulness from what is not there.”

“Our enemies are not demons, but human beings like ourselves”