Fake Lao Tzu Quote

"One cannot reflect..."

This is NOT a quote from Tao Te Ching:

"One cannot reflect in streaming water. Only those who know internal peace can give it to others."

The Book Tao Te Ching The Taoism of Lao Tzu Explained. The great Taoist philosophy classic by Lao Tzu translated, and each of the 81 chapters extensively commented. Click the image to see the book at Amazon (paid link).        More about the book here.

The idea of only a peaceful person being able to make others peaceful fits well with Lao Tzu's thoughts. He didn't express it exactly like the quote above, but close enough — for example, in chapter 57 of Tao Te Ching (my version):

I am at peace,
And people become fair by themselves.

Now it's a book, too! 90 of the most spread false Lao Tzu quotes, why they are false and where they are really from. Book by Stefan Stenudd. Click the image to see the book at Amazon (paid link).        More about the book here.

       And in chapter 35 the path to peace is described:

Hold on to the great image,
And the whole world follows,
Follows unharmed,
Content and completely at peace.

       The great image is Tao, the Way. The one who stays with its principle makes others follow and become peaceful. It is possible that this image has been interpreted as a reflection, a mirror, which is indeed an image of sorts. Then the quote discussed here might be described as a free interpretation of the lines from chapter 35.

       The earliest example of this exact quote I have found is in the book One Home, One Family, One Future from 2009, by B. A. Zikria (page 73). He listed a number of Lao Tzu quotes and stated as his source the website Quotationspage. I have not found that quote there, though, nor some others in Zikria's list. But that is no mystery — web pages change constantly, and this reference is more than a decade old.

       So, I used Internet Archive to check versions of that web page from before Zikria's book was published, but with no luck. The content seems to have been the same all through the years. The source to just about all the quotes is Wing-tsit Chan's version of Tao Te Ching from 1963, but his book does not contain the quote examined here.

       The oldest example of the quote I found on Facebook is a meme posted January 14, 2011, where the quote is accredited to Confucius, not Lao Tzu. That did not stop later posts on Facebook from accrediting it to Lao Tzu.

       To be sure, I made a search through James Legge's translations of Confucian texts, without finding the quote. But in Chuang Tsu: Inner Chapters from 1974, by Gia-fu Feng and Jane English, Confucius says (page 95):

Men cannot see their reflection in running water but only in still water. Only that which is still in itself can still the seekers of stillness.

       It is in Book 5 of Chuang Tzu, "Signs of full virtue," where Confucius discussed a crippled man who attracted many followers although he was still, saying nothing. Legge's wording of this section from Chuang Tzu is different, but the meaning is the same (The Texts of Taoism, volume 1, page 225).

       Feng and English also wrote a popular version of Tao Te Ching, so it is quite plausible that this quote from Chuang Tzu has been spread and paraphrased into the quote examined here, along the way mistakenly accredited to Lao Tzu.

More Fake Lao Tzu Quotes

There are many more fake Lao Tzu quotes examined on this website. Click the header to see a list of them.

Fake interview with the author

Click the header to read a "fake" interview with Stefan Stenudd, the author of Fake Lao Tzu Quotes.

My Taoism Books Click the image to see the book at Amazon (paid link). Tao Te Ching The Taoism of Lao Tzu Explained. The great Taoist philosophy classic by Lao Tzu translated, and each of the 81 chapters extensively commented.        More about the book here. Tao Quotes The Ancient Wisdom of the Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu. 389 quotes from the foremost Taoist classic, divided into 51 prominent topics. Click the image to see the book at Amazon (paid link).        More about the book here. Fake Lao Tzu Quotes Erroneous Tao Te Ching Citations Examined. 90 of the most spread false Lao Tzu quotes, why they are false and where they are really from. Click the image to see the book at Amazon (paid link).        More about the book here.

---

About Cookies

---

My Other Websites:

I Ching Online

The 64 hexagrams of the Chinese classic I Ching and what they mean in divination. Try it online for free.

---

Qi Energy Exercises

The ancient Chinese life energy qi (chi) explained, with simple instructions on how to exercise it.

---

Life Energy

The many ancient and modern life force beliefs all over the world explained and compared.

---

Taoismen på svenska

---

Other Books by Stefan Stenudd

Click the image to see the book at Amazon (paid link).

Cosmos of the Ancients

The Greek philosophers and what they thought about cosmology, myth, and the gods.

---

Qi — Increase Your Life Energy

The life energy qi (also chi or ki) explained, with exercises on how to awaken, increase and use it.

---

Aikido Principles

Basic concepts of the peaceful martial art. Aikido principles, philosophy, and fundamental ideas.

---

Life Energy Encyclopedia

Qi, prana, spirit, ruach, pneuma, and many other life forces around the world explained and compared.

---

Archetypes of Mythology

Jungian theories on myth and religion examined, from Carl G. Jung to Jordan B. Peterson.

---

Stefan Stenudd

About me

I'm a Swedish author and aikido instructor. In addition to fiction, I've written books about Taoism and other East Asian traditions. I'm also an historian of ideas, researching ancient thought and mythology. Click the image to get to my personal website.

Contact