THE GREAT WAY

Personal reflections on Wu Wei

Taoism is a way of life. A way that brings tremendous peace of mind in the midst of both challenges and successes alike. In Taoism the teachings emphasise: that to achieve great success in the world by our “own” commitment and will-power, always leads to more stress. As the responsibility is on “you” to succeed by your own efforts.Taoism teaches that this kind of trying to force, manipulate or coerce life, to go the way that we desire it to go, depletes our personal store house of life energy. 

In Taoism this store house of personal life energy is called “Jin” (I may have the terminology wrong).So, if we can be still, open and simple, just in a relaxed yet wide open and alert state in a kind of disposition of “waiting without waiting”. (To use a phrase the late Jean Klein often used as pointer to our original nature.) Kind of in the way that you may perhaps be relaxing in a park with your family. You are just laying on the grass, soaking in the sun. There is nothing to do, no need or desire to alter, fix or improve on that sweet moment. We know that eventually our children will come running to us, perhaps one has fallen off a swing and is hurt and the other has found some amazing imaginary monster he wants to tell you all about. So suddenly, a need for some action has arisen. The need is for our love and attention and we would spontaneously react according to the needs of our children.

This is vastly different than “being the boss” of the family picnic. As if – if we didn’t try our best to control events, the picnic would somehow turn out all wrong, full of mistakes, failures and problems. This kind of ordering everyone arround, including Life itself and even oneself. Is nothing but a vain attempt to “force life” into our little conceptual box of what we consider “Right”. We also often expend a tremendous amount of energy in avoiding an outcome that we imagine would be “Wrong”. 

We as a species are very, very good at “building imaginary futures” for the occasions which naturally arise in life. And all this happens in our minds.For the right action to arise naturally, we need only be centred deeply in peace and rest. Abiding in a place deep within us that has no desires or agendas. Then, quite paradoxically success will come looking for you. Although the success may not be in the specific form we had imagined. How often do we miss or overlook the sheer wonder and beauty of life, those moments of pure Grace wherein wondrous gifts of life come to us unbidden?We are generally so busy imagining our version of success, planning our conquest over the natural order of things. That we very often fail to notice the many wonders and gifts from life Itself which come unbidden, unexpectedly and quite often often out of what seems to us like a failure or disaster of some kind.

If we simply stay open and alert without agenda, waiting without waiting. We then live in a way that is no longer beset with plans of controlling and manipulating life, ourselves and others to our own advantage. Our intellect is a dubious gift as Ramesh Balsekar often remarked. As the Sufi Mystic Rumi said “Sell your cleverness and buy bewilderment”Jesus teachings are very similar to the Taoist teachings. Jesus said “Seek ye first the kingdom of heaven and all else will be added unto you. In Taoism we follow the natural way of things and listen deeply to life and move with its ebbs and flows. There is a lightness of being and absence of subtle or overt violence against life. From this kind of space, we notice and are open to the inherent beauty and abundance of Life. 

Carl Jung pointed out that when people lived more in harmony with life, they appeared to have an amazing amount of happy coincidences happen in their lives. Mr Jung called these Synchronicities.Wu Wei – is a fundamental tenant of Taoism. It points out that when we remain at ease and alert, yet relaxed, “in tune with the what is of the present”. In a kind of innocent and humble appreciation of the sheer miracle of being alive, with no intention to do, or not do anything. Suddenly spontaneous right action tends to spring forth, without intention, or agenda.This spontaneous right action is called “Wu Wei”. It is action arising from the natural Ease of Being, which is relaxed yet alert and in tune with the present circumstances. 

We can cultivate the understanding and recognition of this innate ease of being by simply remembering this one simple truth “I NEED DO NOTHING”!What is Wu Wei? Wu means simply means “Non” and Wei equals “Effort” or “Doing”. Said simply Wu Wei means “Non Doing”. In practical terms we could say Wu Wei is effortless action spontaneously arising without intention. This way of living is innate to every human being, it is our birthright. We have zero need to learn it. For, it is already our natural inherent condition and while it can be overlooked, it can never be lost. 

Another way of saying this is it is the “simple sense of presence”, which is there always.Thought does not disturb it, a life of action does not taint it. It is the ease of being, which is ever at our core and is not dependant on the absence of thought or action. This ease of being is what underlies all actions, thoughts and perceptions. Yet, its resplendant purity is never altered or tainted by any outer happening, such as a personal loss, nor by any inner happening, such as a bout of depression.

Just being Present, innocently, like a child, without the slightest urge to change or transform our circumstances, inner or outer. Is all that is required of us and this is no requirement at all. As our innate innocent presence has been with us from birth. Its is not learning we require but unlearning. Think of all the many years of enculturation we have had, overlaying erroneous and often insane notions on top of our innate radiant happiness.

To “see” this erroneous conditioning, which has been forced onto us from childhood, is all that is required to begin to bring it undone. And, such seeing is not a doing. As, Being, Presence, Aliveness and Seeing, are all synonymous. How can merely “seeing” this illusory conditioning, that has us running, chasing success, undo the wrong ideas and thus reveal our True Nature? This is due to Grace, which is inherent in Seeing. In this Seeing, we do not judge what is seen within or without as wrong or right, good or bad. If the mind is labelling what is seen as good or bad, right or wrong, this too is Seen as the mind just doing its job, which is also a spontaneous happening. 

Awareness without judgement or agenda has an immense healing power inherent within its own nature.There is no need to rush. Simply Understand “I NEED DO NOTHING” All action is the natural functioning of nature, which is an incomprehensible whole.Many teachings portray this natural ease of being as being a goal to be achieved through our fervent and arduous spiritual practice. “We must clear the mind of all thoughts” These teachings declare and of course they have the methods and techniques, the seminars and books you need to attain the one thing that you have never lost.But, think about this “ease of being” in terms of your daily life. Does it not become clearly recognised when we lay down after a hard days work. Is it not present in the milky darkness that precedes sleep. We recognise this innate spontaneous happiness quite often. Sitting in a cafe reading a novel. Just walking in a park. Upon seeing a loved on and so on. 

We all know this deep peace and natural ease of being very well.Its just that we have not been taught to value it. In fact, we are taught from the beginning that we need to “become-somebody”. We need to work hard to achieve success. And why do we really seek success in worldly terms? It is due to our glimpse of peace afforded us, if for but a brief moment. When the desire for our goal, is achieved. Then we find ourselves in a condition without wanting. The release from the desire and mad rush towards achieving our goal, makes room for natural ease and spontaneity to shine forth, effortlessly.So, understanding all this, we need not fumble about, buffeted by our culture and all of its insane pressures and expectations. 

We can cultivate the awareness of our inherent ease of being right now, which is like unto a beautiful shade giving tree. Underneath and against which we can rest and watch the flowers bloom of themselves. This tree also bears forth fruit which is filled with the healing elixir of radiance.(Wu Wei) gives a whole way of living, an entire teaching and philosophy of life in just 2 words. Action that is spontaneous, arising from an inner stillness, or from our innate natural ease of being, with no agenda, is always action that is in harmony with the Tao. Tao has no translation in english. It simply means THE GREAT WAY. Not as in a prescriptive, specific way to live.THE GREAT WAY is the way of things, the way of nature, the natural order in the Universe.This is why the early Taoists emphasised being in nature and observing her ways. In Taoism the natural world is the real teacher. Books and poems come at best a distant 2nd.