How far should wu wei go?

[Jaymes]

How far should we take action through inaction, and at what point can we determine when we should deal with the small things before they become big?

 

[michel]

How far should we take action through inaction, and at what point can we determine when we should deal with the small things before they become big?

Are we talking personal hygene, pimples, or politics?

P.S I think you still need to wake up a bit Jensa.........

 

[Jaymes]

I swear I'm still not asleep :biglaugh:

'Wu wei' means 'without action' and is an important part of Taoism. Acting by not acting, seeing what's coming up ahead before it hits you and getting out of its way before you get it. Man, I'm bad at explaining things in the morning...

 

[michel]

Maybe it is me who is asleep? - apologies, I should have lknown better.........

 

[anders]

Classical Chinese texts leave out lots of things that the informed reader at the time would have understood. My interpretation of wu wei is something like "Don't do anything against the Dao/Nature".

So, it's more of actively weighing in the consequences of actions than for example being idle and leave everything to fate (or similar entity). There are no standard solutions that can be applied in every case, but we have to regard every case as unique.

 

[one]

Jensa - a very good topic. My interpretation is that one should not act to upset an equilibrium, or a balance. Where it seems necessary to perform an action, I believe it should be done. However, only when it seems necessary. And, furthermore, the action taken should not be so miniscule, nor so overwhelming, as to be either ineffective, or too effective.
By acting in accordance with the Tao, I believe Wu Wei simply means to stay in the middle, rather than taking active extremely one way or the other.

 

[Master Vigil]

Wu Wei. Ah, one of my favorite concepts.

As you know, taoism is based on the concept of simplicity. It is also based on necessity like One said. Wu Wei is only doing whats necessary. No more, No less!! Sometimes whats necessary could mean doing alot of work, while other times it could be doing hardly anything at all. When you understand how Tao works like Anders said. Than you will know what is necessary. And when you know what is necessary, you can practice Wu Wei.

Make sense?

 

[Jaymes]

I was wondering where you were MV, I really wanted to know your views on this. And yea, that makes sense now. Thanks to everyone who replied!

 

[Kowalski]

The concept of non-action or no doership. My own limited knowledge understands this as not actually to do nothing, but doing those things which come to you without effort, and therfore feel not alien to the soul, but an extension of the soul's true path through life. An example of this might be, I hate this job, it requires pain and effort, wheras, I love what I do, it comes so naturally, is this truly non-doership ?
__________________
Now

 

[Master Vigil]

The concept of non-action or no doership. My own limited knowledge understands this as not actually to do nothing, but doing those things which come to you without effort, and therfore feel not alien to the soul, but an extension of the soul's true path through life. An example of this might be, I hate this job, it requires pain and effort, wheras, I love what I do, it comes so naturally, is this truly non-doership ?

Well sometimes things that take pain and effort are needed for balance to be sustained. But if you do TOO much of something that takes pain and effort, you get health problems. And thus, is against Wu Wei. And against Tao. It isn't whats alien to the soul, it is what's not in accordance to Tao. And like I said the Tao works in simplicity and necessity. So it's whats necessary.

 

[Quiddity]

I think I already practice Wu Wei....just never knew it...

~Victor