An Exploration of Wu wei through the Tao te Ching -#23
This is an introduction to a Taoist poem by Lao Tzu, which is presented in full, towards the middle of this post I call it “The Action That Has No Action”. It refers to the Taoist idea of We-wei — the action that requires no effort of any kind to do what needs to be done.
This concept, Wuwei, is difficult to explain, especially in an era where people are always looking to work, more and harder to achieve success. Think of it as a perfect balance reflecting the concept of Yin and Yang — We call this Wuwei.
It is important to understand that Wuwei does not imply doing nothing to get something done. It is a reflection of natural law and the idea that even when we seem to be in a state of inaction, everything around us changes. Nature is very active, after all, and accomplishes many great things, and yet nature does this without effort.
I like to say that when a person is in alignment with the flow of nature, and with great intention, there is a complete unity of purpose and action and a state of non-doing appears.
A truly wise person can still do great things that are unfathomable by what Lao Tzu calls the “common person.” This happens not with effort, but with a singleness of purpose that integrates the Beginner’s Mind (a term in Essential Zen) with the world that they are…
