Tao Wisdom Can Make You Better and Happier

A Better and Happier You 

There is an old Latin axiom: “nemo dat quod non habet” — meaning, one cannot give what one does not have.

If you don’t have the wisdom to know your real self, you won’t have the wisdom to understand others, especially who they are and what they need. In order to understand others to have better human relationships, you must first and foremost have the wisdom attained through asking self-intuitive questions throughout your life.

Then, with mindfulness, you observe with a nonjudgmental mind what is happening to you, as well as around you. Gradually, you will be able to see things as what they really are, and not as what they may seem to you: anything and everything in life follows its own natural cycle, just as the day becomes night, and the night transformed into dawn. With that wisdom, you may become enlightened, which means you begin to know your true self—what you have and what you don’t have, and you were created to be who you are, and not what you wish you were or want to become. Knowing what you have, you can then give it to others. It is the giving, rather than the receiving, that will make you become a better and happier you.

Yes, TAO wisdom can make you become a better and happier individual.

Stephen Lau

Copyright© by Stephen Lau

Why Biblical Wisdom and Tao Wisdom?

Why Biblical Wisdom?

Biblical wisdom is not just for the Israelites; it is for all believers and non-believers alike because it is the only way to human salvation, which is the ultimate conquest of human mortality.

Human existence is all about life and death. Living for life is making the most out of life and avoiding any disorder in life that may bring about premature death. To meet this tall order, human wisdom is inadequate. Biblical wisdom shows humans how to live life to the best and the fullest, as well as how to conquer death, which comes as the end.

Why Tao Wisdom?

If the Bible is about God’s wisdom, then why should we read Tao Te Ching, which is, at best, only about human wisdom? Why don’t we just read the Bible instead, and forget about Tao Te Ching? Why should we settle more for less?

Why Less for More?

According to Lao Tzu, less is more.

“To guide a great country, we need a great ruler.

To wage a successful war, we need good strategies.

To live a life of harmony, we need letting life live by itself.

That essentially means:

the more efforts we exert, the more failures we experience;

the more weapons we make, the more dangers we encounter;

the more laws we enact, the more law-breakers we produce.”

(Chapter 57, Tao Te Ching)

“Living our lives is like frying a small fish;

we neither over-season nor over-cook it.”

(Chapter 60, Tao Te Ching)

Understanding human wisdom is the first step in the journey of a thousand miles towards understanding God’s wisdom. Without human wisdom, God’s wisdom is even more unfathomable and forever unintelligible to many.

Many of us often overwhelm ourselves in our pursuit of God’s wisdom in the Bible with its many books such that after a while we may end up giving up reading it—and that is the result of more for less.

Lao Tzu, on the other hand, shows us the importance of taking the first step, a small step, and one step at a time, along the Way, and human wisdom will slowly and subtly unfold itself to each and every one of us. So, beginning with less, we may get more in the long run.

“Accordingly, we do not rush into things.

We neither strain nor stress.

We let go of success and failure.

We patiently take the next necessary step,

a small step and one step at a time.”

(Chapter 64, Tao Te Ching)

Stephen Lau

Copyright by Stephen Lau

Tao Wisdom Is Inside You

Don't look elsewhere! Tao wisdom is internal wisdom; it is inside you!

Tao wisdom is the profound wisdom of Lao Tzu, the ancient Chinese sage who was the author of the immortal classic Tao Te Ching, which is one of the most widely translated works in world literature, perhaps only second to the Bible.

So, what is Tao wisdom? Tao is also known as the Way—the way or direction to understanding true wisdom, whether it is human or spiritual wisdom.

Look no further! Tao wisdom is inside you. You need not look any further because it is right inside you! Ironically enough, it is not easy to find the Way: we tend to look to others or outside of ourselves in quest of that far-fetched and forever elusive wisdom.

There was the story of a beggar who asked a stranger for money. The stranger said he had no money to give him, and asked the beggar if he would look elsewhere for money, including the box he was sitting on. The beggar said he had been sitting on that box for years but he had never looked inside it. The stranger urged him to look inside the box. Reluctantly, he did. To his amazement, he found the box was filled with gold coins.

Yes, Tao wisdom is inside each and every one of us! But you have to look, just like the beggar did in the story!

First and foremost, what exactly is Tao wisdom?

Tao wisdom is the eternal wisdom from ancient China contained in the ancient classic Tao Te Ching. Literally, "Tao" means "the Way"; "Te" means "virtuosity"; and "Ching" means "classic." The book was written approximately in 6th century B.C. by Lao Tzu (which literally means "old master"). According to the legend, the ancient sage was forced to put down his profound wisdom into words before he was permitted to leave China for Tibet. Reluctantly, he expressed his wisdom in 81 short chapters with only 5,000 words, because he believed that true wisdom could not be expressed in words. The language he used was extremely simple and concise, but intriguing and paradoxical. That was one of the many reasons why the book has fascinated millions of readers worldwide.

Why must you look for Tao wisdom inside you, and where do you look?

Unlike conventional wisdom, which is external, focusing on the acquisition of knowledge, Tao wisdom, on the other hand is internal. According to conventional wisdom, knowledge is empowering; the more knowledgeable you are, the wiser you become. The ancient wisdom of Tao is quite the opposite: the more you know, paradoxically, the less wisdom you may have. As a matter of fact, there was the story of a professor seeking the wisdom of Zen (originated from Tao) from a Zen master who kept on pouring tea into the already filled-to-the-brim teacup of the professor. Later on, the Zen master told the professor that in order to fully understand the wisdom of Zen or the Way, he must, first of all, empty all his preconceived ideas of Zen, that is, he must have an empty mind to be receptive of the wisdom. Hence, to fully understand Tao, one must preempt one's mind of any knowledge. 

Accordingly, following the teachings of others, looking for role models to imitate, and making extra efforts—all recommended by conventional wisdom—they will not work for the ancient wisdom of Lao Tzu. In Tao wisdom, you just look inside yourself because the internal wisdom is based on intuition of, insight into, and internalizing of your own experiences in life. It is "your" life and "your" own experiences that are uniquely yours. Looking for external sources does not help, and nobody can tell you how you should live your life. Only you have access to your life's blueprint, which is the essence of Tao wisdom in living.

The Book of Life and Living is an explanation of ancient wisdom, contemporary wisdom, and spiritual wisdom illustrated with concrete everyday examples. Create your own recipe for wisdom in living. 

Your Golden Years and Santa Claus explains the wisdom of living in the present, the wisdom of letting go, and the wisdom of not picking and choosing -- they are the essentials for happy and successful aging in the golden years. Learn how to think and act like Santa Claus in your golden years.

Stephen Lau

Copyright ©2018 Stephen Lau

Why Pride Is the Primary Cause of Human Miseries

Why Pride Is the Primary Cause of Human Miseries

Humans often set life goals, which generate expectations that necessitate judging, picking and choosing. Disappointments and frustrations are their byproducts. In Lao Tzu’s mind, everything in life is to be welcomed and embraced, not avoided.

“Everything that happens to us is beneficial.

Everything that we experience is instructional.

Everyone that we meet, good or bad, becomes our teacher or student.

We learn from both the good and the bad.

So, stop picking and choosing.

Everything is a manifestation of the mysteries of creation.”

(Chapter 27, Tao Te Ching)

According to Tao wisdom (the wisdom of Lao  Tzu, the author of Tao Te Ching, the  ancient classic on human wisdom), the root cause of all human miseries is pride, which is to satisfy the ego-self delusively created in the flawed human mind.

“The Creator is above,

and we are below

The Creator is in front,

and we are behind.

Because this is the nature of things,

humility is only natural to us.

Yet many are desirous of the top

fearful of lagging behind.

Humility is the Way.”

(Chapter 66, Tao Te Ching)

Humility makes us want to become “dull like stones” instead of “shiny like jade.” But with humility, we also become dependent on the Creator, instead of on ourselves—this is the foundation on which the healthy relationship is built.

“Dependent on the Creator,

our horizons broaden and expand,

our souls inspire and nourish,

our relationships grow and flourish.

Everything around us becomes oneness with the Creator.

Dependent on ourselves,

our horizons contract and shrink,

our souls wither and die,

our relationships break and crumble.

Everything around us becomes depleted and damaged.”

(Chapter 39, Tao Te Ching”

Humility initiates the process of letting go of everything that distracts us from our pursuit of wisdom of the Creator.

“Possessing little, we become content.

Having too much, we lose the Creator.

Having no ego, we become humbled, and our actions are enlightened.

Having no desire for perfection, our actions are welcome by all.

Having no expectation of result, our actions are selfless and non-judgmental.

Having no goal, our actions are under-doing and never over-doing.

Accepting what is, and finding it to be perfect is not easy.

But that is the only Way to the Creator.”

(Chapter 22, Tao Te Ching)

Indeed, distractions in modern life come in many different forms that ultimately distance us from the Creator.

Stephen Lau

Copyright© 2018 by Stephen Lau