About Taoism?

Question

how does the idea of wu-wei work? if you do nothing, well, what if you had cancer? how would not acting help cure you ??

Answer 1

Taoism is a religion which developed in China in the 2nd century BCE, emphasizing the improvement of life through getting into touch with cosmic forces and thus achieving harmony with nature.

Alternate Spellings: Dao

A key principle in realizing our oneness with the Tao is that of wu-wei, or "non-doing." Wu-wei refers to behavior that arises from a sense of oneself as connected to others and to one's environment. It is not motivated by a sense of separateness. It is action that is spontaneous and effortless. At the same time it is not to be considered inertia, laziness, or mere passivity. Rather, it is the experience of going with the grain or swimming with the current. Our contemporary expression, "going with the flow," is a direct expression of this fundamental Taoist principle, which in its most basic form refers to behavior occurring in response to the flow of the Tao.

The principle of wu-wei contains certain implications. Foremost among these is the need to consciously experience ourselves as part of the unity of life that is the Tao. Lao Tzu writes 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. In this way we also learn to rely on more than just our intellect and logical mind to gather and assess information. We develop and trust our intuition as our direct connection to the Tao. We heed the intelligence of our whole body, not only our brain. And we learn through our own experience. All of this allows us to respond readily to the needs of the environment, which of course includes ourselves. And just as the Tao functions in a manner to promote harmony and balance, our own actions, performed in the spirit of wu-wei, produce the same result.

Wu-wei also implies action that is spontaneous, natural, and effortless. As with the Tao, this behavior simply flows through us because it is the right action, appropriate to its time and place, and serving the purpose of greater harmony and balance. Chuang Tzu refers to this type of being in the world as flowing, or more poetically (and provocatively), as "purposeless wandering!" How opposite this concept is to some of our most cherished cultural values. To have no purpose is unthinkable and even frightening, certainly anti-social and perhaps pathological in the context of modern day living. And yet it would be difficult to maintain that our current values have promoted harmony and balance, either environmentally or on an individual level.

To allow oneself to "wander without purpose" can be frightening because it challenges some of our most basic assumptions about life, about who we are as humans, and about our role in the world. From a Taoist point of view it is our cherished beliefs - that we exist as separate beings, that we can exercise willful control over all situations, and that our role is to conquer our environment - that lead to a state of disharmony and imbalance. Yet, "the Tao nourishes everything," Lao Tzu writes. If we can learn to follow the Tao, practicing non-action," then nothing remains undone. This means trusting our own bodies, our thoughts and emotions, and also believing that the environment will provide support and guidance. Thus the need to develop watchfulness and quietness of mind.

Answer 2

You obviously are missing the point. We-wei is the same thing as 'not doing', in Castenada's books. Think of an athlete... say a pro basketball player... taking a shot at the basket. He is basically performing that act in an unconscious state... he is not calculating angles, and trying to figure out just how much force to apply... his body and his subconscious knows. If he applys conscious focus and attention to the task, he will likely miss... if he just 'lets it happen', he will most likely succeed. That is 'wu wei'. That is 'not doing'.

Nowhere does the Tao suggest that your cancer will get better if you just don't do anything about it.

Answer 3

It is not non-action but going with the current. A master goes with the flow of life and acts when it is appropriate to act.

Only you can know when an action is appropriate in your life or when you are struggling against the current. What does it matter to a master if this life will end, they are already one with the Tao and death will just end the illusion of separateness?

Jesus did not struggle against his execution because of his knowledge of what comes after. The same is true for any spiritual master, why struggle against something that you do not fear?

Answer 4

In the Chinese language the word tao means indicating a way of thought or life. ... The origins of Taoism are lost in obscurity. ...

check this out
www.exposingsatanism.org/taoism.htm

Answer 5

If you are in touch with yourself and have inner peace you won't care
I clearly have no idea

Answer 6

I heard about this bull....it.






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