Action through inaction (taoism)

[Adam Hockworth]

One definition of wu wei that I always liked was that of "effortless flow".....





Peace!

chokmah

[Scarlett Wampus]

Originally Posted by Master Vigil

In a way, wu wei (effortless action) is the best method of getting more done.

Is Wu Wei simply more effective action? i.e. becoming more skilled at singing in a band, cooking nutritional food, killing your enemies, etc. or is there more to it than that? For instance, does it have any ethical dimension?

[Adam Hockworth]

Ethically speaking, wu wei would encompass the natural progression of a course of action or inaction: "To every action, there is an equal and opposite 're-action'

As we say in AA, "Be careful what you pray for".

[Jaymes]

MV may need to correct me on this, but I believe wu wei is a way of acting with the Tao in mind. Anything that goes against the Tao wouldn't be wu wei.

[Scarlett Wampus]

Not sure what you're trying to say there Adam. Could you explain further?

Jensa that would imply that Wu Wei was different to simple efficiency, and should in some way be distinguished from it.

[ChrisP]

Originally Posted by Jensa

MV may need to correct me on this, but I believe wu wei is a way of acting with the Tao in mind. Anything that goes against the Tao wouldn't be wu wei.

I agree, Wu Wei is acting WITH the Natural way(flow if you like) of things.

[Adam Hockworth]

Originally Posted by Scarlett Wampus

Not sure what you're trying saying there Adam.

Simply put, we really don't 'try' to do anything. If hungry eat, if tired sleep, etc. Once we start to attempt to control things, to manipulate our reality, we then are drawn into conflict. Perfectionism is a vice that many 'religions' load onto the backs of their adherents. Wu wei would negate any attempts at perfectionism, since all effort is perfect if done in the spirit of wu wei.

Does that make sense?

[Scarlett Wampus]

Originally Posted by Adam Hockworth

Simply put, we really don't 'try' to do anything. If hungry eat, if tired sleep, etc. Once we start to attempt to control things, to manipulate our reality, we then are drawn into conflict. Perfectionism is a vice that many 'religions' load onto the backs of their adherents. Wu wei would negate any attempts at perfectionism, since all effort is perfect if done in the spirit of wu wei.

Does that make sense?

I think so, but in an intuitive sense rather than a logical one. Here is what I interpreted: -

There is a kind of momentum to things, some way that they should unfold naturally, but trying to change momentum to fit some particular idea of perfection brings unnecessary conflict and has no worth, in fact, leads away from actual perfection.

[cfer]

Originally Posted by Scarlett Wampus

There is a kind of momentum to things, some way that they should unfold naturally, but trying to change momentum to fit some particular idea of perfection brings unnecessary conflict and has no worth, in fact, leads away from actual perfection.

Okay, but how does that work, then? If you're in a situation where you need to do something for you, it might not be the best solution to the whole problem. Does this make sense? I don't really have any good examples off-hand.

Maybe I'm better off asking it this way...Does wu wei differentiate between good for the individual and good for the majority? The two are often not the same.

[Adam Hockworth]

Originally Posted by Scarlett Wampus

I think so, but in an intuitive sense rather than a logical one. Here is what I interpreted: -

There is a kind of momentum to things, some way that they should unfold naturally, but trying to change momentum to fit some particular idea of perfection brings unnecessary conflict and has no worth, in fact, leads away from actual perfection.

I like this, I really do.. thanks for articulating my train of thinking. Women are much better communicators than us men!