Why Do Enlightened Ones Often Smile When They Attain Awareness? The Joy of Awakening Through Taoist Wisdom
In many accounts of awakened individuals, there is often a thought-provoking detail: when one finally breaks through the shackles of thought and touches the authentic awareness of life, they often let out a sigh of relief. This is neither the unrestrained ecstasy of delirium nor the mocking sneer of cynicism, but rather a serene smile as gentle as a breeze skimming across a lake. Interpreted through the lens of Chinese Taoist thought, this laughter conceals a profound understanding of life’s truth and an ultimate resonance with the “Dao.”
1. Laughter Shatters “Delusion”: The Release After Awareness Reveals Illusion
Daoism teaches that human suffering stems from clinging to “fame, gain, form, and longevity.” As the Daodejing states, “Five colors blind the eye; five tones deafen the ear; five flavors dull the taste.” External desires and discriminating thoughts weave a web of delusion, trapping us in the cage of “self-attachment.” Before enlightenment, we chase an illusory “self”—fixated on others’ judgments, anxious about future gains and losses, and entangled in past regrets, as if carrying a thousand-pound burden.
When true awareness dawns, like clearing clouds to see blue skies, one suddenly realizes: all past attachments were but “a moon reflected in water, a flower seen in a mirror.” Zhuangzi’s parable “Zhuang Zhou Dreaming of Being a Butterfly” reveals this truth: when we cannot distinguish whether we are the butterfly or the man, we become trapped in dreamlike delusion. Yet in the instant of awakening, realizing that the boundary between ‘I’ and “the world” is but a mental illusion, the troubles that once kept us tossing and turning instantly become laughable “self-inflicted worries.” This laughter is the lightness of letting go, the release of seeing truth clearly—like shedding shackles borne for half a lifetime.
2. Laughter Responds to “Nature”: Resonance Born of Aligning with Heavenly Principles
The core Daoist principle is “The Way follows nature,” advocating that humans should align with the laws of heaven and earth rather than fight against them. Before enlightenment, we strive to “control” life—forcing events to unfold according to our will, resisting the impermanence of fate. Like the foolish mantis in Zhuangzi’s “Human World” who tries to stop a chariot with its arms, we exhaust ourselves battling natural laws.
When awareness awakens, one suddenly comprehends that “Heaven and Earth coexist with me, and all things are one with me” (Zhuangzi: On the Equality of All Things). We realize we were never separate from the flow of the Dao. So-called ‘hardships’ are merely the natural rhythms of cosmic cycles, and so-called “losses” are simply the organic transformation of energy. Just as spring flowers bloom and autumn leaves fall, all finds its rightful place guided by the Dao. The laughter here resonates with the joy of aligning with Heaven’s Way—a serenity born of embracing impermanence, like a stream finally merging with the sea, no longer resisting the twists and turns along the way.
3. Laughter Transcends Duality: The Unity of Awareness Dissolving Opposition
Daoist perception of the world never fixates on the dualistic oppositions of “good and bad” or “right and wrong.” Instead, it holds that “misfortune is the foundation of fortune, and fortune is the foundation of misfortune” (Tao Te Ching), recognizing all oppositions as relative and fluid. Before enlightenment, we constantly “judge” the world—praising what aligns with our expectations, criticizing what contradicts our perceptions. This black-and-white mindset breeds conflict and tension, like standing on one side of a scale, perpetually fearing imbalance.
When awareness dawns, the barriers of duality dissolve instantly. One discovers that so-called “good” and “evil” are merely different perspectives, and ‘success’ and “failure” are simply two forms of life experience. Like the “usefulness of the useless” in Zhuangzi’s writings, trees that seem useless live long precisely because they are not cut down; experiences that appear arduous become opportunities for awakening precisely because they temper the spirit. The laughter here is the harmony beyond discrimination, the compassion born from understanding the oneness of all things—like sunlight bathing the earth, illuminating both flowers and thorns.
4. Laughter as Authenticity: Freedom Awakened by Self-Awareness
Daoism pursues “returning to simplicity and authenticity,” viewing human nature as unpolished jade—pure and complete—yet obscured by acquired desires and habits. The state described in the Dao De Jing as “returning to the state of an infant” embodies this yearning for primordial authenticity—an infant possesses no ulterior motives or discriminating mind, crying when hungry and laughing when full, living wholly in the present moment.
