Civilization is a limitless multiplication of unnecessary necessaries.

Come you masters of war
You that build the big guns
You that build the death planes
You that build all the bombs…
But there's one thing I know
Though I'm younger than you
That even Jesus would never
Forgive what you do.

Commenting on the Taoteching is also like cooking a small fish. Better to have left it in the sea.

Common sense is not so common.

Compassion is the basis of morality.

Concerning the gods, I have no means of knowing whether they exist or not, nor of what sort they may be, because of the obscurity of the subject, and the brevity of human life.

Confucius may have had access to the manifest aspects of the Tao ‘that can be named,’ but the basis of all Chuang Tzu’s critique of Ju philosophy is that it never comes near to the Tao ‘that can not be named,’ and indeed takes no account of it.

Consistency is contrary to nature, contrary to life. The only completely consistent people are the dead.

Contentment is natural wealth, luxury is artificial poverty.

Courage is what it takes to stand up and speak; courage is also what it takes to sit down and listen.

Cultivation of mind should be the ultimate aim of human existence.

Dare to think for yourself.

Dark Virtue are so deep they can’t be fathomed, so distant they can’t be reached, and always do the opposite of others. They give to others, while others think only of themselves.

day in working for food and clothes
year out worrying about rent and taxes
thousands fight for a coin
the crowd yells ‘run for your life’

Death is not extinguishing the light; it is only putting out the lamp because the dawn has come.

Death is only the beginning...

Defend and one has a surplus. Attack and one is insufficient…Taking whole is victory over aggression… It preserves the possibilities. Victory is ongoing, a way of being rather than a final goal.

Delusion and enlightenment produce one another… You get rid of this, then grab hold of that. Don’t you see how stupid it is!

Desire killed that man, as desire has killed many before and after him If this earth should ever be destroyed, it will be by desire, by the lust of pleasure and self-gratification, by greed.

Dig within. Within is the wellspring of Good; and it is always ready to bubble up, if you just dig.