Wu Wei
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Wu wei is a Chinese term, and anything relating to Chinese philosophy may reliably be expected to involve yin and yang and change (bedrock elements of Chinese philosophy.) Gia Fu Feng’s translation of Tao Te Ching verse 42 begins this way:
The Tao begot one.
One begot two.
Two begot three.
And three begot the ten thousand things.
The ten thousand things carry yin and embrace yang.
They achieve harmony by combining these forces.
It is of course not necessary to include the Chinese terms yin and yang, or the concept of ten thousand things, when the idea of Being is used in a context as quintessential as Tao. Just as a few steps away from Tao one finds the ten thousand things, there may be similar ideas that are proximate to Being. Finding those ideas may be facilitated by adding the next ingredient: change.
Gia Fu’s translation of Tao Te Ching verse 5 includes this: “The space between heaven and Earth is like a bellows. The shape changes but not the form.” Steven Mitchell interprets verse 74 with this phrase: “If you realize that all things change, there is nothing you will try to hold on to.” Chinese philosophy sometimes refers to ‘the way of change’ (or ‘dao of i’): it is self-evident things change, and including the idea in philosophy therefore makes sense. I think the Hegelian dialectic's categories of thesis, antithesis, and synthesis are a valuable related Western reference point. This is Gia Fu’s translation of verse 29:
Do you think you can take over the universe and improve it?
I do not believe it can be done.
The universe is sacred.
You cannot improve it.
If you try to change it, you will ruin it.
If you try to hold it, you will lose it.
So sometimes things are ahead and sometimes they are behind;
Sometimes breathing is hard, sometimes it comes easily;
Sometimes there is strength and sometimes weakness;
Sometimes one is up and sometimes down.
Therefore the sage avoids extremes, excesses, and complacency.
Change is intrinsic in nature, but trying to change nature is imprudent. Instead of trying to influence things, the verse above proposes an enduring presence in the natural state of things. Wu wei suggests a modest, harmonious relationship with natural change.
In Chinese philosophy, the way of change is connected with a yin/yang dynamic. It is a complex scheme. The natural flux of change posits individuals as inextricably part of archetypal change, all equally part of the ultimate or cosmic condition. The concept defies brief description, it really is better seen than told. However, instilling wu wei into a PaB framework also has merit (with a caveat that, like many concepts from complex philosophies that are found in PaB discussions, this discussion also must necessarily remain incomplete.)
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Version from 08:07, 25 Oct 2011
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Version as of 08:09, 25 Oct 2011
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Wu wei is a Chinese term, and anything relating to Chinese philosophy may reliably be expected to involve yin and yang and change (bedrock elements of Chinese philosophy.) Gia Fu Feng’s translation of Tao Te Ching verse 42 begins this way:
The Tao begot one.
One begot two.
Two begot three.
And three begot the ten thousand things.
The ten thousand things carry yin and embrace yang.
They achieve harmony by combining these forces.
It is of course not necessary to include the Chinese terms yin and yang, or the concept of ten thousand things, when the idea of Being is used in a context as quintessential as Tao. Just as a few steps away from Tao one finds the ten thousand things, there may be similar ideas that are proximate to Being. Finding those ideas may be facilitated by adding the next ingredient: change.
Gia Fu’s translation of Tao Te Ching verse 5 includes this: “The space between heaven and Earth is like a bellows. The shape changes but not the form.” Steven Mitchell interprets verse 74 with this phrase: “If you realize that all things change, there is nothing you will try to hold on to.” Chinese philosophy sometimes refers to ‘the way of change’ (or ‘dao of i’): it is self-evident things change, and including the idea in philosophy therefore makes sense. I think the Hegelian dialectic's categories of thesis, antithesis, and synthesis are a valuable related Western reference point. This is Gia Fu’s translation of verse 29:
Do you think you can take over the universe and improve it?
I do not believe it can be done.
The universe is sacred.
You cannot improve it.
If you try to change it, you will ruin it.
If you try to hold it, you will lose it.
So sometimes things are ahead and sometimes they are behind;
Sometimes breathing is hard, sometimes it comes easily;
Sometimes there is strength and sometimes weakness;
Sometimes one is up and sometimes down.
Therefore the sage avoids extremes, excesses, and complacency.
Change is intrinsic in nature, but trying to change nature is imprudent. Instead of trying to influence things, the verse above proposes an enduring presence in the natural state of things. Wu wei suggests a modest, harmonious relationship with natural change.
In Chinese philosophy, the way of change is connected with a yin/yang dynamic. It is a complex scheme. The natural flux of change posits individuals as inextricably part of archetypal change, all equally part of the ultimate or cosmic condition. The concept defies brief description, it really is better seen than told. However, instilling wu wei into a PaB framework also has merit (with a caveat that, like many concepts from complex philosophies that are found in PaB discussions, this discussion also must necessarily remain incomplete.)
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