This article is about the Taoist tenet. For the city, see
Wuwei. For the
20th century Taoist philosopher, see
Wei Wu Wei.
Wu wei (Traditional Chinese characters: 無為 Simplified Chinese characters: 无为) is an important tenet of Taoism that involves knowing when to act and when not to act. Wu may be translated as not have;
Wei may be translated as do, act, serve as, govern. The literal meaning of Wu Wei is "without action" and is often
included in the paradox wei wu wei : "action without action" or "effortless doing". The practice of wu wei and
the efficacy of wei wu wei are fundamental tenets in Chinese thought and have
been mostly emphasized by the Taoist school. The aim of wu wei is to achieve a state of
perfect equilibrium, or alignment with the Tao, and, as a result, obtain an irresistible form of
"soft and invisible" power. In Zen Calligraphy, Wu Wei has been
represented as a circle.
Origins
In the traditional (partly Confucian) Chinese understanding of governance, a prince has only to sit at the right place, facing
south, with a prince's traditional attributes, and his country will be well governed. In Lun Yu
II.1., Confucius compares a virtuous prince to the North Pole: he does not move and everything
turns around him. There are magical justifications behind this idea of a power obtained by "inaction." It is the Chinese
"correspondence", or "synchronicity" theory, where the macrocosm is reflected (or even duplicated) in microcosms. According to
the theory, ordering the Emperor's palace is governing the country well: the palace is an homothetic reproduction of the country. Chinese history is full of examples of natural
disasters cured by means such as the opening of a new door in the walls of the Imperial palace.
Some philosophers, for example Wang Chong, have questioned this theory. A more pragmatic
view may interpret this as a means to restrain the prince from abuse of power, enjoining him to 'do' as little as possible.
In the original Taoist texts, wu wei is often associated with water and its yielding nature. Although water is soft and
weak, it has the capacity to erode even solid stone (see Grand Canyon) and move mountains (see landslides). Water is without will
(i.e., the will for a shape), though it can be understood to be opposing wood, stone, or any solid material that can be broken
into pieces. It can fill any container, take any shape, go anywhere, even into the smallest holes. When falling as rain in
thousands of small drops, water still has the capacity to reunite as it eventually joins the endless seas. Furthermore, while
always going downward, water rests in the 'dark valley'—where biological life is regenerated—an analogy to the reproductive
organ.
Philosophy
Several chapters of the most important Taoist scripture, the Tao Te Ching, attributed to
Laozi, allude to "diminishing doing" or "diminishing will" as the key aspect of the sage's
success. Taoist philosophy recognizes that the universe already works harmoniously according to
its own ways; as man exerts his will against the world he disrupts the harmony that already exists. This is not to say that man
should not exert will. Rather, it is how he acts in relation to the natural processes already extant that is critical.
Related translation from the Tao Te Ching by Priya Hemenway:
- 3
- WU WEI
- The Sage is occupied with the unspoken
- and acts without effort.
- Teaching without verbosity,
- producing without possessing,
- creating without regard to result,
- claiming nothing,
- the Sage has nothing to lose.
Wu Wei has also been translated as "creative quietude," or the art of letting-be. This does not mean a dulling of the mind;
rather, it is an activity undertaken to perceive the Tao within all things and to conform oneself to its "way."
One way of thinking of wu wei is through Zhuangzi's writing about how a prince should govern his kingdom. The advice that was
given is that it is similar to frying a small fish (too much poking and the meal is ruined). In other words, create general
policies and direction, but do not micromanage. To do this well, you must understand the ways of your people and not go against
the grain.
Practice
As one diminishes doing—here 'doing' means those intentional actions taken to benefit us or actions taken to change the world
from its natural state and evolution—one diminishes all those actions committed against the Tao, the already present natural
harmony. As such one begins to cultivate Tao, becomes more in harmony with Tao, and, according to another great ancient Taoist
philosopher Zhuangzi, attains a state of Ming, or 'clear seeing'. This is very similar
to more contemporary ideas about "choiceless awareness" and the clarity it brings by the philosopher Jiddu Krishnamurti. It is in the state of Ming that the Taoist is in full harmony with Tao,
and 'having arrived at this point of non-action, there is nothing that he does not do.' It is upon achievement of this Chinese
equivalent to 'enlightenment' that a sage begins to perform wei wu wei, or 'action without action.' Thus the sage will be
able to work in harmony with Tao to accomplish what is needed, and, working in perfect harmony with the Tao, leave no trace of
having done it. An example of action using wu wei, would to teach in such a way that no course of action is told to the student
(they are just told raw facts for use, and left to their creative devices), so that until much later they assume they have been
taught nothing. As is said in the comicbook summarization Zen Speaks, "A good teacher teaches the student that they already know
the answer."
The ultimate: harmony with the Tao
Taoists have long sought immortality, and they saw working in perfect harmony with Tao as the way to achieve this. When one
works in perfect harmony with Tao, one is not using more energy than needed, nor is one doing things that cause the body or
spirit to break down. Some Taoists believe they can, in theory, live forever, while others merely point out that meddling and
selfish cleverness are the principal causes of a premature death. Zhuang Zi proposed an
illustration of this idea: A tree with a twisted trunk will not be cut by any lumberjack and will live its whole life in peace,
thanks to its uselessness. A dramatic description of the ultimate person is found in chapter 2 of Zhuang Zi:
A fully achieved person is like a spirit! The great marshes could be set on fire, but she wouldn't feel hot. The rivers in
China could all freeze over, but she wouldn't feel cold. Thunder could suddenly echo through the mountains, wind could cause a
tsunami in the ocean, but she wouldn't be startled. A person like that could ride through the sky on the floating clouds,
straddle the sun and moon, and travel beyond the four seas. Neither death nor life can cause changes within her, and there's
little reason for her to even consider benefit or harm.[1]
In the West
Benjamin Hoff in The Tao of Pooh suggests that
"Wei" means monkey/claw, and translates "Wu Wei" as "No Monkeying Around". [2]
References
- ^ Zhuangzi, Chapter 2: Theories on all things being equal translated by Nina Correa.
- ^ This neat idea is reproduced all over the Internet, but doesn't seem to
have any support from other Chinese scholars.
External links
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