If you try to change it, you will ruin it. Try to hold it, and you will lose it.

不可为也，不可执也。 为 者败之

Lao Tzu

Tao Te Ching

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More information about this quote

Topic

Letting go Grasping Attachment

Author

Lao Tzu

Source

Tao Te Ching

Genre

Philosophical literature Religious literature

Statement Type

Paradox Zen koan

Language

Chinese

Time

400 BC 400s BC 5th century BC

Occupation

Philosopher Writer

From

China Asia

Authentication Score 0

Original Citation

Laozi [Lao Tzu]. 道德經 [Tao Te Ching]. c. 400 BC, ch. 29.

Current Citation

Laozi [Lao Tzu]. "The Natural Way of Lao Tzu." A Source Book in Chinese Philosophy, translated by Wing-Tsit Chan. Princeton University Press, 1969, ch. 29.

Illustrated Quote

A quote by Lao Tzu about letting go: “If you try to change it, you will ruin it. Try to hold it, and you will lose it.”
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A quote by Lao Tzu about letting go: “If you try to change it, you will ruin it. Try to hold it, and you will lose it.”
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A quote by Lao Tzu about letting go: “If you try to change it, you will ruin it. Try to hold it, and you will lose it.”
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Related Quotes

Below are one or more quotes that share at least one tag with the quote at the top of the page

Another quote by Lao Tzu

A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.

Lao Tzu

Tao Te Ching

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More information about this quote
Topic
Patience Persistence One step at a time

Author

Lao Tzu
Source
Tao Te Ching
Genre
Philosophical literature Religious literature
Statement Type
Metaphor, analogy and simile
Language
Chinese
Time
400 BC 400s BC 5th century BC
Authentication Score 0
Original Citation

Laozi [Lao Tzu]. 道德經 [Tao Te Ching]. c. 400 BC, ch. 64.

Current Citation

Laozi [Lao Tzu]. "The Natural Way of Lao Tzu." A Source Book in Chinese Philosophy, translated by Wing-Tsit Chan. Princeton University Press, 1969, ch. 64.

Another quote from the 5th century BC

Be still, and know that I am God.

Psalm 46:10

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More information about this quote
Topic
Stillness Meditation God
Source
Psalms The Bible
Medium
Scripture
Genre
Religious literature
Statement Type
Orders and commands
Language
Hebrew
Time
450 BC 450s BC 5th century BC
Era
Classical antiquity
Authentication Score 3
Citation

The Holy Bible: The King James Version. 1611. (Psalm 46:10).

Another quote originally in Chinese

Know the enemy and know yourself; in a hundred battles you will never be defeated.

Sun Tzu

The Art of War

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More information about this quote
Topic
Self-knowledge Enemies

Author

Sun Tzu
Source
The Art of War
Medium
Treatise
Genre
Military treatise
Statement Type
Advice
Language
Chinese
Time
475 BC 470s BC 5th century BC
Authentication Score 0
Original Citation

Sun Tzu. 孫子兵法 [The Art of War]. c. 475 BC, ch. 3.

Current Citation

Sun Tzu. The Art of War: The Essential Translation of the Classic Book of Life, translated by John Minford. Penguin Classics, 2009, ch. 3.

Another quote of the following type Paradox

We are healed of a suffering only by experiencing it to the full.

Marcel Proust

In Search of Lost Time

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More information about this quote
Topic
Healing Suffering

Author

Marcel Proust
Source
The Fugitive In Search of Lost Time
Medium
Novel
Genre
Modernist literature
Statement Type
Paradox
Language
French
Time
1922 1920s 20th century
Authentication Score 2
Original Citation

Proust, Marcel. Albertine disparue [Albertine Gone]. Paris: Gallimard, 1927.

Current Citation

Proust, Marcel. The Fugitive, edited and translated by Peter Collier. Penguin Classics, 2021.