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  1. Did he pro-claim this quote? I know Modern English didn't exist in his time, thus this is a translation. “Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished” – Lao Tzu : quotes

I disagree. The quote is hyperbolic nonsense. It doesn't even appear in the Tao Te Ching, which leads me to believe that the quote is mis-attributed.

The closest approximation I can find comes from chapter 73: "The way of Heaven (aka Nature) excels in laying plans though it appears to slack."1

  1. What did he mean by "everything is accomplished"? What's "everything"?

I read Quora, I think Lao was wrong, because cancer, colds, and flus still can't be cured. In other words, cures haven't been accomplished. Thus everything is NOT accomplished.

  • seems pretty straightforward to me, the "everything" is, uh, everything that nature set out do. – 小奥利奥 Jan 01 '21 at 06:37
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    Agree, Nature did not hurry to create life, yet life is here on Earth. Nature does not hurry to end mankind, yet the end of mankind is inevitable – Tang Ho Jan 01 '21 at 07:51
  • Quote:- "...cancer, colds, and flus still can't be cured", -- Erhh.....how do we know? living a humanly life span of 70 years on average as compared to the aeons of Nature's life-span, know what could be accomplished in the distant future? In the year 1900 Lord Kelvin, a leading physicist of his day, said, "There is nothing new to be discovered in physics now" And just a few years later along came Albert Einstein. So, as someone once said, "It is very difficult to make predictions, especially about the future" Therefore to say that, now, "Thus everything is NOT accomplished", is premature. – Wayne Cheah Jan 01 '21 at 11:24
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    BTW, colds and flus are "cured" by the body's own immune system. In other words, Nature cured itself, in its own time, unhurriedly. – Wayne Cheah Jan 01 '21 at 11:32

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Maybe the original quote is this one:

道常無為而無不為。

——老子 《道德經》

道 (The way/ nature) 常無為 (doesn't do anything) 而(but) 無不為 (everything is done )

Tang Ho
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  • "Je ( nicht-handelnd / untätig / ohne Tätigkeit ) lässt das Dao nichts ungetan."—I agree with the above commenter that 无不为 does not refer to actions of Man, but Nature / Dao. – John Frazer Jan 04 '21 at 06:25
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This quote might be one of the many translations from the Tao Te ching, as stated in chapter 37:

"The everlasting TAO acts according to the natural WAY. Therefore, there is nothing that IT will not accomplish."

"Nature" in the above mentioned quote can refer to our own true nature. Do not get confused with "human nature", also called "Ego". Our "true nature" is alligned with TAO. it can accomplish everything. "Natural WAY" is what Lao Tzu calls "Wu Wei", often translated as "Non Doing". To "hurry" something or to "try" means desire, and this goes against our true nature. In simple words, all this means to do wthiout intention, do without condition, do without attachment. Selfless action (non doing) can bring people to their natural core, which is the TAO. A selfless nature can bring balance and harmony by alligning everything into this great principle of the TAO (Accomplish everything).

These are very wise words that were passed down to future generation to reveal the great mystery of life.

Study them and practice them.

John
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