Lao Tzu Quotes
Philosopher
Lao Tzu was philosopher from China
“A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.”— Lao Tzu
This is the most famous line from Chapter 64 of the Tao Te Ching. In context, the chapter is about how large problems are easier to solve when they are small, and how the sage completes great tasks by never attempting great tasks. Lao Tzu was not offering motivational advice. He was making a point about patience and proportion. The thousand-mile journey is not about ambition. It is about the willingness to begin without knowing where you will end.
The Story of Lao
The Western Gate
The most famous story about Lao Tzu is his departure. Disgusted with the decline of the Zhou dynasty, he climbed onto an ox and rode west toward the frontier. At the western gate, a border guard named Yin Xi recognized him and asked him to write down his teachings before leaving civilization. Lao Tzu sat down and wrote the Tao Te Ching. Then he rode through the gate and was never seen again. The story is almost certainly a myth. But it is the right myth for a man who taught that the highest form of action is disappearance, and that the greatest leaders are the ones nobody remembers leading.
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