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Wei Wu Wei literally means action through inaction. There are large
numbers of interpretation are floating around the corners from the
Universities, philosophical studies to internet blogs.
Photo by Rob Mulally on Unsplash |
Overview Wei Wu Wei
A couple of years back I read Lao Tzu's Book Tao Te Ching . After first reading I must confess that I could really understand anything about the philosophy of non-doing but it kept me amazed. I had searched other sources from the internet and read the book once again without much of a result. And I started loosing interest on the subject. I never thought that I would ever try to go through the philosophy again. But the theory itself started reflecting in my mind for which I had not put much of a thought. This is the beauty of Wei Wu Wei. This is the paradox . It is acting without acting, doing the things that we admire, we can find flow in. By going with this flow , we reach the state of non-doing.
Wei Wu Wei literally means action through inaction. There are large numbers of interpretation are floating around the corners from the Universities, philosophical studies to internet blogs. But I am trying to elaborate here my experience during my journey towards the idea of Wu Wei in order to refine the central idea of Taoism. This is the art of effortless action as described in Taoist teachings.
In our day to day activities we act, try to act lot of things in order to live. Wei Wu Wei is about knowing when effort is needed, appropriate and when it's fruitless or wasted. It does not mean like cooking, cleaning, caring , doing official jobs, checking emails etc. we do not do but sit idle. If we minutely observe and reflect we can easily see some valuable things in life which cannot be achieved by pushing harder. They are merely self defeating.
The idea of Wu Wei is a part of Taoism whose central philosophy is known as The Way. Written in China 600 B C in the Tao Te Ching the idea of Wu Wei is first described as
do that which consists in taking no action and order will prevail.
When things get challenging in life we can check that if we can practice Wu Wei. In state where we loose self consciousness, the self and environment merges into one. We should not confuse ourselves that we are stuck in a singular state of mind. The state of Wu Wei is always moving and flowing.
Chinese Painters during the Tang period and onward tried to put the ideas into their paintings. The flow that is achieved during the acts, arts.
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| Terence James Stannus Gray - In 1958, at the age of 63, he wrote and published the first of the “Wei Wu Wei” titles |
Terence James Stannus Gray (14 September 1895 – 5 January 1986), better known by the pen name Wei Wu Wei, was a 20th-century mystic, Taoist philosopher, and writer. Between the years 1958 and 1974 he wrote eight books and penned some articles which featured in various periodicals under the pseudonym 'Wei Wu Wei'
During my study of Wu Wei I eventually came across Terence Gray. Apart from his writing his life story made me amazed.
He was born in Felixstowe England in a well established Irish Family . An Oxford University graduate Terrace Gray was interested in Egyptology in early life and pursued scholarly education on the subject.which culminated in the publication of two books on ancient Egyptian history and culture in 1923. He was then involved till 1940 as theorist , theatrical producer, creator of radical 'dance-dramas', publishers of several related magazines and author of two books. He was a major influence on many noted dramatists, poets and dancers of the day, including his cousin Ninette de Valois, founder of the Royal Ballet (which in fact had its origins in his own dance troupe at the Cambridge Festival Theater which he leased from 1926 to 1933).
He also maintained his family's racehorses in England and Ireland.
In the decade 1940s he apparently lost his interest in drama ,theater and turned towards Philosophy and Meta-physics. That time he traveled throughout Asia and stayed sometime in the Ashram of Ramana Maharshi ,Tiruvannamalai , India. In 1958, at the age of 63, he wrote and published the first of the “Wei Wu Wei” titles . In the next 16 years he wrote seven subsequent
books, including his final work under the further pseudonym “O.O.O.” in
1974. During most of this later period he maintained a residence with
his wife Natalia Bagration-Imeretinsky in Monaco. He is believed to have
known, among others, Lama Anagarika Govinda, Dr. Hubert Benoit, John
Blofeld, Douglas Harding, Robert Linssen, Arthur Osborne, Robert Powell
and Dr. D. T. Suzuki. He died in 1986 at the age of 90.
One of his famous writing is
The ocean moves, not because it wishes to move or because it knows that it is wise or good: it moves involuntarily, unconscious of movement. It is thus that you also will return to Tao, and when you have returned, you will not know it, because you yourself would have become Tao.
While I go by his life and creation , I observe the shifts his actions of inaction moved involuntarily. Terrace Gray is happened to be significant contributor in the study of Wu Wei in the Western World.
Wu Wei is the flow of energy , life energy, energy of creation and energy of destruction, energy of being and energy of non being, male energy and female energy, positive energy and negative energy . Here idea of Yin-Yang derives. This is the essence of Qi, the vital force of any living being.
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| Symbol of Yin-Yang |
What are Yin and Yang
In the Chinese perspective, given the importance of
all things are relative. A thing can be understood only in relation to something else. This is the essential concept of Yin and Yang.taking everything as a whole
Yin and yang are terms used to describe relative opposite qualities or
manifestations of Qi. If yin is form, then yang is function. If yin is
material, then yang is immaterial.
- Yin refers to aspects or manifestations of Qi that are relatively material, substantial, condensing, solid, heavy, descending, cold, moist, cooling, dark, passive and quiescent.
- Yang refers to aspects or manifestations of Qi that are relatively immaterial, amorphous, expanding, hollow, light, ascending, hot, dry, warming, bright, aggressive, and active.
The Wisdom of Wei Wu Wei
Wu Wei essentially have 2 key principles and 5 Secrets
The Principles
1 Be mindful of Flow
Observing our surrounding. being the witness are the key perspective of being mindful. What we eat, what we do, what is or was the time, what we see or saw, everything that comes to our sensory limit. The observations are endless. As soon as we start observing we can easily feel that area of our surrounding appears bigger when we take outward journey (Yin).
In contrary when we observe our body and take to more inward then we reach at subtle state of the mind and to the Soul (Yang)
2 Don't Force it
The essence of the Wu Wei is to go with the flow not against it . We should not be hard and we should not have to force it.
Sometimes things appear to be stagnant and bad fit.We struggle beyond belief in something. Perhaps that is a sign that we need help. Or maybe we should simply focus our efforts elsewhere or in a different way. This is especially true if there are things in our life that already put us in a state of flow.
Of course finding flow does not just happen. It is as much Science as it is Philosophy. The key is finding balance between difficulty and skill. so adjusting these two variables may help get us there.
The Secrets
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1 No action is not equal to Nothing Happens
Lao Tzu states
The Tao does nothing and yet nothing is undone
Action-less action is considered the natural way to do things, as opposed to striving, forcing, succumbing to complete inertia. When we are at the alignment to the source. the Tao, then we do not have to anything. This is not to be confused with doing nothing. Instead it describes inspired action with life energy., dedicated actions to a purpose towards Oneness. Without wasting energy, we need to move when the time is right and then we see magnificent acumen and seemingly magical support behind each action.
2 Working with the Cosmos
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To practice Wu Wei we must realize that we are connected to the Oneness
of all things.Once we are open and protected we can begin to observe
nature and embrace universal energy as it ebbs and flows
Photo by Andrew Preble on Unsplash |
Free from desire, you realize the mystery. Caught in desire, you see only the manifestation
We are confused with heaven and earth. To practice Wu Wei we must realize that we are connected to the Oneness of all things.Once we are open and protected we can begin to observe nature and embrace universal energy as it ebbs and flows. From there we learn when to move with the energy ebbing and flowing with our own actions in accordance with the Oneness of all things.
An immense sense of freedom comes from knowing we require no fight against the Cosmos and understanding that it is never working against us- only we choose to work against it's flow or with the flow.
3 Physical Action is only one of the actions
Calming our ever-busy mind is an important aspect of Wu Wei. Even we are not doing anything physically, often our mind is very busy. Wu Wei works only when our minds is calm and witness the nature.
Lao Tzu advises that we must be quiet and watchful, learning to listen to both our own inner voices and to the voices of our environment in a non-interfering, receptive manner. This requires a calm, but astute mind.
4 Acceptability to the Changes
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Since we are part of the nature we change accordingly. It is obvious
that moving with that change instead opposing. we are well placed to
welcome change at our doorstep.
Photo by Cristina Gottardi on Unsplash |
Our Universe is constantly changing and evolving. The changes are governed by the laws which are unalterable and that are not perceivable unless consciously observe the changes. Once we observe this flow of change in nature, we can apply principles of Wu Wei to our own transformation. Since we are part of the nature we change accordingly. It is obvious that moving with that change instead opposing. we are well placed to welcome change at our doorstep.
5 Purposeless Wandering
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Our Universe is constantly changing and evolving. The changes are
governed by the laws which are unalterable and that are not perceivable
unless consciously observe the changes.
Photo by Palash Jain on Unsplash |
you can use the analogy of an artist or craftsman. The skilled woodcarver, the skilled swimmer. . . does not ponder or ratiocinate on the course of action he should take; his skill has become so much a part of him that he merely acts instinctively and spontaneously, without knowing why, and achieves success.He further describes an enlightened person as being one who wanders through creation enjoying its delights without ever becoming attached to any one part of it.
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