Taoism | Wu Wei | | Nonduality

How to Be “Wu Wei” — Living the Tao’s Perfect Life

The closest we, as sentient beings, can come to knowing truth is to be ‘wu wei’.

Photo by Robert Lukeman on Unsplash

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***Wu Wei* — traditional Chinese: 無為; simplified Chinese: 无为; pinyin: wúwéi; jyutping/Cantonese: mou4-wai4

Wu wei is a key philosophical concept in East Asia, probably formulated by poets in ancient China (ca. 1000 to 700 BCE). It has influenced Chinese philosophical writings in Confucianism (ca. 500 BCE), Taoism (ca 400 BCE), Legalism (ca 250 BCE), and Chan/Zen/Seon/Thien Buddhism (ca 600 CE).

In Confucianism and Legalism, wu wei is a style of governance where leaders appear to take no action but maintain order and efficiency. For Confucianism, order is created through leaders who exhibit virtuous (good) values. For Legalism, an effective leader manages those below them through unseen (wu wei) management practices (or even manipulation) that will not upend their authority.

Taoism defines wu wei in more spiritual (or transcendental) terms. That approach is also found in Chan/Zen Buddhism, although the term wu wei is used less in that tradition.

WU means to ‘not have’ or to ‘*lack’

WEI *means to ‘act’ or to ‘become’

Wu wei is commonly translated into English as…

• nonaction, no-action, or inaction
• non-doing, or not-doing

While correct word-for-word translations, those definitions appear passive, as if no action is taking place. But wu wei does not deny action. Instead, action is taking place without unnecessary effort or manipulation. Thus, better translations include …

• ‘actionless action’ and ‘doing without doing’
• ‘effortless action’ and ‘acting without intent or force’
• ‘unbiased or unconditioned action’ [especially in Buddhism]
• ‘not doing but nothing is left undone’

Excluding Confucianism and Legalism (see above), philosophical Taoism is the basis for deeper definitions of wu wei, which include …

• action in harmony with your true self, with nature, and with the universe (or the Absolute)
• acting in the flow state (“in the zone”), but with a calm mind
• being in the present moment, not in the past or future (“be here now”)
• being one’s natural self
• being ego-less, nonjudgmental, or modest
• acting only when necessary, without resistance or control
• in Buddhism, wu wei has been associated with liberation/enlightenment (*nirvana), emptiness ([sunyata](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C5%9A%C5%ABnyat%C4%81)), and no-self ([anattā](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anatt%C4%81))*

Wu Wei in the Tao Te Ching

Here are a few examples of how wu wei is used by Lao Tzu in the *Tao Te Ching (or Dao De Jing*).

(1) Early on, in chapter 2, verse 6, of the Tao Te Ching, Lao Tzu introduces the concept of wu wei …

• 是以聖人處無為之事，行不言之教；萬物作焉而不辭，生而不有。
• “The sage acts by doing nothing [wu wei], teaches without speaking, attends all things without making claim on them, works for them without making them dependent, demands no honor for his deed.”

(2) In chapter 3, verse 10, Lao Tzu reflects earlier Confucianism when he suggests that leaders …

• 為無為，則無不治。
• “Do action that consists of no action (not forced), and harmony will prevail.”

(3) In chapter 37, verse 31, Lao Tzu concludes the first half of the Tao Te Ching by describing how wu wei is a fundamental characteristic of the Tao …

• 道常無為而無不為。
• “The Tao (Way) never acts, yet nothing is left undone.”

(4) The first half of the Tao Te Ching describes the Tao (the Way). The second half of the Tao Te Ching, starting with chapter 38, describes the Te (Virtue), or how to live the Tao.

In chapter 63, verses 147 and 148, Lao Tzu suggests a wu wei approach or attitude toward daily life …

• 為無為，事無事，味無味。大小多少，報怨以德。 圖難於其易，為大於其細；天下難事，必作於易，天下大事，必作於細。
• “Do that which consists in taking no action; pursue that which is not meddlesome; savour that which has no flavor. Make the small big and the few many; do good to him who has done you an injury.”

And from that same chapter, line 151a concludes ...

• 是以聖人猶難之，故終無難矣。
• “Therefore, the sage can see the difficulty even in what seems easy, and seeing that, has no difficulties.”

Wu Wei as Nonduality

Chan Buddhism (aka *Thiền in Vietnam, [Seon](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Korean_Seon) in Korea, and [Zen](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zen) in Japan) was a religious syncretism [merging] that occurred when Bodhidharma brought his form of Buddhism from India/Central Asia to Taoist China in ca 500 CE. In Zen and Seon Buddhism, the wu wei of Taoism comes closest to the emptiness ([sunyata](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C5%9A%C5%ABnyat%C4%81)) and no-self ([anattā](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anatt%C4%81)) *of Buddhism.

For example, the Korean Buddhist nun and Seon master Daehaeng (1927–2012) taught that the nondual oneness that encompasses everything was the ultimate truth. There is no separate doer (there is no self) who does things. Instead, everything happens naturally within the whole that is everything (what Lao Tzu calls the Tao). She described wu wei as “doing without doing”, which means we do things, but that doing is not us — it is the flow (the Tao) of the whole (or universe).

Similarly, in the book, Zen Mind, Beginners Mind (1970), Shenriyo Suzuki says, “Everything comes out of nothingness.” He says we are our natural state of being when we are close to, or even become, that nothingness.

S. Suzuki and Daehaeng’s perspectives are similar to the views of Radical Nondualism and Radical Dualism.

Radical Nondualism’s basic premise is that nothing is real and nothing (or no thing) exists. Things “appear” to exist, but they are all temporary and do not really exist. The only reality is the unchanging no thing, which cannot be known or described. But there are many ways of pointing to it. The Tao is one way of pointing to the no thing. Even Lao Tzu said, in the first two lines of the Tao Te Ching, that what we call the Tao is not the real Tao.

***Radical Dualism** is a concept I recently introduced to round out my “Duality-Nonduality Spectrum” model of spirituality. Radical Dualism’s basic premise is that everything we can experience is real, is infinite (there is no end to our experience), and is all there is. Our total experience (all of our inner and outer senses) is all that exists. And it is so infinite that we can never grasp it with our senses or intellect — which aligns it with definitions of the Tao*.

For both Radical Nondualism and Radical Dualism, wu wei describes our normal or apparent life when there is a realization (or awakening) of the truth of existence. — For Radical Nondualism, that truth is the reality of no thing and the unreality of everything else. — For Radical Dualism, that truth is the infinite experiential reality that is everything. — For both, the closest we, as sentient beings, can come to knowing truth is to be wu wei.

How to Be Wu Wei

At an idealist level, as presented by Radical Nondualism and Dualism, wu wei is when our daily life becomes one (inseparable) with the Tao (or the Absolute) — some call that ‘unity consciousness’.

At a more mundane level (before we reach enlightenment), wu wei is …

• Acting in alignment with the natural flow of energy. Being patient, calm, and open to a range of outcomes.
• Empowering others to do their best without manipulating or micro-managing them. Being less self-centered (ego-less) and judgmental toward others. Being modest.
• Being more in the present moment, and not dwelling too much on the past or worrying too much about the future.

It is easy to have calmness in inactivity. It is hard to have calmness in activity. But calmness in activity is true calmness. — Shunryu Suzuki, in “Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind” (2010, p.31)

The Many Taoist Wu’s

Sorry, I cannot cite the original source of the list below as I do not recall where I copied it from 😛 …

Here are the many wu’s (無) of Taoism…

• wu ming (not naming)
• bu shi fei (not this nor that)
• wu zhi / wu xue (no knowledge / no doctrine)
• wu wo (no I / me)
• wu yu / si (no desire)
• wu qing (no emotions)
• wu yo (not having / being)
• wu zheng (no quarrel)
• wu yong (no use, useless)
• wu xin (no heart-mind)
• wu wei er wu bu wei (not doing but nothing is left undone)

Related

• This is my only other article specifically on Taoism:

[embed]“The Five Colors Blind the Eye” — chapter 12 of the ‘Tao Te Ching’ Exploring three versions of an ancient Chinese text.by Alan Lew — medium.com

• For more on Nonduality (Advaita, Zen, & Tao), see this collection of articles.

[embed]Nonduality (Advaita, Tao, Zen) I have recently found the teachings of Nonduality interesting, especially Radical Nonduality, but also Traditional…alanlew.medium.com

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