--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Being a model to the world, eternal…" description: "\"Being a model to the world, eternal virtue will never falter in you, and you return to the boundless.\" — Laozi" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/52a/laozi-147_boundless_being-a-model-to-the-world-eternal-virtu_245049.jpg" --- # Being a model to the world, eternal virtue will never… ![“Being a model to the world, eternal virtue will never falter in you, and you return to the boundless.” quote by Laozi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/52a/laozi-147_boundless_being-a-model-to-the-world-eternal-virtu_245049.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/52a/laozi-147_boundless_being-a-model-to-the-world-eternal-virtu_245049.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/52a/laozi-147_boundless_being-a-model-to-the-world-eternal-virtu_245049.jpg) > “Being a model to the world, eternal virtue will never falter in you, and you return to the boundless.” [Laozi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laozi/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote suggests that embodying virtue makes one a timeless exemplar, and that such virtue is boundless and enduring. **In simple terms:** Virtue makes you an eternal model. Key Takeaway Cultivate lasting virtue. Themes ethics timelessness role model Mood reflective hopeful Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - leadership - teaching - personal development - community service Key Concepts Confucianism spirituality integrity Questions to Reflect On - How does virtue influence your daily actions? - Can virtue be truly boundless? A Different Perspective Virtue alone may not protect against external hardships. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Boundless](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/boundless/) [Character](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/character/) [Eternal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/eternal/) [Eternal Virtue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/eternal-virtue-2422709/) [Models](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/models/) [Return](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/return/) [Return Boundless](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/return-boundless-2448450/) [Taoism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/taoism/) [Virtue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/virtue/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [“He who, being a man, remains a woman, becomes a universal channel. Eternal virtue will flow through him. He will become a child again.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lao-tzu/he-who-being-a-man-remains-a-woman-becomes-a-universal-channel/) [Lao Tzu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lao-tzu/) > [When you accurately perceive the fluidity of things, you can also begin to perceive the constancy behind them: the creative, transformative, boundless, immutable Tao.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laozi/when-you-accurately-perceive-the-fluidity-of-things-you-can-also/) [Laozi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laozi/) > [Knowing the bright, but clinging to the dark, you become a model to the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laozi/knowing-the-bright-but-clinging-to-the-dark-you-become-a-model-to-the/) [Laozi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laozi/) > [In the world there are four greats, and the king is one of them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laozi/in-the-world-there-are-four-greats-and-the-king-is-one-of-them/) [Laozi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laozi/) > [Cultivate virtue in yourself, and it will be true.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laozi/cultivate-virtue-in-yourself-and-it-will-be-true/) [Laozi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laozi/) > [The brittle is easy to shatter.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laozi/the-brittle-is-easy-to-shatter/) [Laozi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laozi/) > [What people loathe the most is to be orphaned, desolate, unworthy. But this is what princes and kings call themselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laozi/what-people-loathe-the-most-is-to-be-orphaned-desolate-unworthy-but/) [Laozi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laozi/) > [People take death lightly. They expect too much of life. That is why people take death lightly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laozi/people-take-death-lightly-they-expect-too-much-of-life-that-is-why/) [Laozi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laozi/) > [He (the sage) is good to those who are good. He is also good to those who are not good. That is the virtue…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laozi/he-the-sage-is-good-to-those-who-are-good-he-is-also-good-to-those/) [Laozi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laozi/) > [What's the difference between beautiful and ugly?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laozi/what-s-the-difference-between-beautiful-and-ugly/) [Laozi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laozi/) > [Can you dissolve your ego? Can you abandon the idea of self and other? Can you relinquish the notions of male and female, short…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laozi/can-you-dissolve-your-ego-can-you-abandon-the-idea-of-self-and-other/) [Laozi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laozi/) > [Without looking through the window, you can see Heaven's Way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laozi/without-looking-through-the-window-you-can-see-heaven-s-way/) [Laozi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laozi/) > [If the sage wants to stand above people, he must speak to them from below. If he wants to lead people, he must follow…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laozi/if-the-sage-wants-to-stand-above-people-he-must-speak-to-them-from/) [Laozi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laozi/) > [In lightness the root is lost. In haste the ruler is lost.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laozi/in-lightness-the-root-is-lost-in-haste-the-ruler-is-lost/) [Laozi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laozi/) > [When you have accomplished your goal simply walk away. This is the path way to Heaven.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laozi/when-you-have-accomplished-your-goal-simply-walk-away-this-is-the/) [Laozi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laozi/) ## More by Laozi > [When you have accomplished your goal simply walk away. This is the path way to Heaven.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laozi/when-you-have-accomplished-your-goal-simply-walk-away-this-is-the/) [Laozi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laozi/) > [In lightness the root is lost. In haste the ruler is lost.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laozi/in-lightness-the-root-is-lost-in-haste-the-ruler-is-lost/) [Laozi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laozi/) > [If the sage wants to stand above people, he must speak to them from below. If he wants to lead people, he must follow…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laozi/if-the-sage-wants-to-stand-above-people-he-must-speak-to-them-from/) [Laozi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laozi/) > [Goodie-goodies are the thieves of virtue.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laozi/goodie-goodies-are-the-thieves-of-virtue/) [Laozi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laozi/) > [He that humbles himself shall be preserved entire. He that bends shall be made straight. He that is empty shall be filled. He that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laozi/he-that-humbles-himself-shall-be-preserved-entire-he-that-bends-shall/) [Laozi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laozi/) > [The Way of the Sage is to act but not to compete.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laozi/the-way-of-the-sage-is-to-act-but-not-to-compete/) [Laozi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laozi/) > [Do nondoing, strive for nonstriving, savor the flavorless, regard the small as important, make much of little, repay enmity with virtue; plan for difficulty…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laozi/do-nondoing-strive-for-nonstriving-savor-the-flavorless-regard-the/) [Laozi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laozi/) > [Without looking through the window, you can see Heaven's Way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laozi/without-looking-through-the-window-you-can-see-heaven-s-way/) [Laozi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laozi/) > [Can you dissolve your ego? Can you abandon the idea of self and other? Can you relinquish the notions of male and female, short…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laozi/can-you-dissolve-your-ego-can-you-abandon-the-idea-of-self-and-other/) [Laozi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laozi/) > [The Tao is the center of the universe, the good man's treasure, the bad man's refuge. Honors can be bought with fine words, respect…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laozi/the-tao-is-the-center-of-the-universe-the-good-man-s-treasure-the-bad/) [Laozi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laozi/) > [What's the difference between beautiful and ugly?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laozi/what-s-the-difference-between-beautiful-and-ugly/) [Laozi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laozi/) > [In stillness the muddied water returns to clarity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laozi/in-stillness-the-muddied-water-returns-to-clarity/) [Laozi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laozi/) > [He (the sage) is good to those who are good. He is also good to those who are not good. That is the virtue…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laozi/he-the-sage-is-good-to-those-who-are-good-he-is-also-good-to-those/) [Laozi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laozi/) > [There is a thing inherent and natural which existed before heaven and earth. Motionless and fathomless, It stands alone and never changes; It pervades…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laozi/there-is-a-thing-inherent-and-natural-which-existed-before-heaven-and/) [Laozi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laozi/) > [What is a good man but a bad man's teacher? What is a bad man but a good man's job? If you do not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laozi/what-is-a-good-man-but-a-bad-man-s-teacher-what-is-a-bad-man-but-a/) [Laozi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laozi/) [Explore all 1,140 Laozi quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laozi/) ## More Boundless quotes > [While the world of reality has its limits, the world of your imagination is without boundaries](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-dyer/while-the-world-of-reality-has-its-limits-the-world-of-your/) [Wayne Dyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-dyer/) > [In my forties, my optimism was boundless. I had really good health and tremendous success which allowed me to do anything I wanted.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-cornwell/in-my-forties-my-optimism-was-boundless-i-had-really-good-health-and/) [Patricia Cornwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-cornwell/) > [The insolence of base minds in success is boundless; and would scarce admit of a comparison, did not they themselves furnish us with one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurence-sterne/the-insolence-of-base-minds-in-success-is-boundless-and-would-scarce/) [Laurence Sterne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurence-sterne/) > [The heart that breaks open can contain the whole universe... All is registered in the 'boundless heart' of the bodhisattva. Through our deepest and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanna-macy/the-heart-that-breaks-open-can-contain-the-whole-universe-all-is/) [Joanna Macy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanna-macy/) > [Every time someone tried to explain to me there are limits to what one man can do, I pointed to the boundless sky and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jaiprakash-gaur/every-time-someone-tried-to-explain-to-me-there-are-limits-to-what/) [Jaiprakash Gaur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jaiprakash-gaur/) > [I was much more into romance as a teenager and it's been a kind of new discovery for me to learn about sci-fi adventure.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/olivia-wilde/i-was-much-more-into-romance-as-a-teenager-and-it-s-been-a-kind-of/) [Olivia Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/olivia-wilde/) > [In the early days the Cubism' method of grasping an object was to go round and round it. The Futurists declared that one had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gino-severini/in-the-early-days-the-cubism-method-of-grasping-an-object-was-to-go/) [Gino Severini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gino-severini/) > [Keep your rivers flowing as they will, and you will continue to know the most important of all freedoms-the boundless scope of the human…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-r-brower/keep-your-rivers-flowing-as-they-will-and-you-will-continue-to-know/) [David R. Brower](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-r-brower/) > [He was sailing over a boundless expanse of sea, with a blood-red sky above, and the angry waters, lashed into fury beneath, boiling and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/he-was-sailing-over-a-boundless-expanse-of-sea-with-a-blood-red-sky/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [In political activity, then, men sail a boundless and bottomless sea; there is neither harbour for shelter nor floor for anchorage, neither starting-place nor…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-joseph-oakeshott/in-political-activity-then-men-sail-a-boundless-and-bottomless-sea/) [Michael Joseph Oakeshott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-joseph-oakeshott/) > [To take a single step beyond the boundaries specially drawn around the powers of Congress is to take possession of a boundless field of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/to-take-a-single-step-beyond-the-boundaries-specially-drawn-around/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [Vain are the thousand creeds That move men's hearts, unutterably vain; Worthless as withered weeds, Or idlest froth amid the boundless main.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-bronte/vain-are-the-thousand-creeds-that-move-men-s-hearts-unutterably-vain/) [Emily Bronte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-bronte/) > [“The field of boundless emptiness is what exists from the very beginning. You must purify, cure, grind down, or brush away all the tendencies…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yi-wu-taigen-leighton/the-field-of-boundless-emptiness-is-what-exists-from-the-very/) [Yi Wu Taigen Leighton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yi-wu-taigen-leighton/) > [Free will appears unfettered, deliberate; it is boundlessly free, wandering, the spirit. But fate is a necessity; unless we believe that world history is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/free-will-appears-unfettered-deliberate-it-is-boundlessly-free/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [Not everyone possesses boundless energy or a conspicuous talent. We are not equally blessed with great intellect or physical beauty or emotional strength. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gigi-graham/not-everyone-possesses-boundless-energy-or-a-conspicuous-talent-we/) [Gigi Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gigi-graham/) [Browse all 327 Boundless quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/boundless/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Being a model to the world, eternal virtue will never falter in you, and you return to the boundless.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Laozi" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laozi/being-a-model-to-the-world-eternal-virtue-will-never-falter-in-you/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Boundless" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laozi/being-a-model-to-the-world-eternal-virtue-will-never-falter-in-you/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/52a/laozi-147_boundless_being-a-model-to-the-world-eternal-virtu_245049.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/52a/laozi-147_boundless_being-a-model-to-the-world-eternal-virtu_245049.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/52a/laozi-147_boundless_being-a-model-to-the-world-eternal-virtu_245049.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Being a model to the world, eternal virtue will never falter in you, and you return to the boundless.” — Laozi", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Laozi", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laozi/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Being a model to the world,...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laozi/being-a-model-to-the-world-eternal-virtue-will-never-falter-in-you/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laozi/being-a-model-to-the-world-eternal-virtue-will-never-falter-in-you/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```