Expert: Joe McSorley - 12/13/2010

Question
Hi, I am writing a paper exploring how the concept of wu-wei is important to
followers of Taoism.  Please explain the following, if you can: what is wu-wei,
how is it important to Taoism, how do people learn to interpret the teaching and
apply it to their lives. Anything you can tell me would be helpful. Thank you.

Answer
Hello Hannah,
  I would more say that Taoism is practiced than followed, you have to incorporate it into your daily consciousness and become it rather than believe in or follow it. I have been told by Chinese scholars that the term ‘wu-wei’ really should be read as ‘wei-wu-wei’, literally to ‘do-no-do’ or to ‘do without doing’.  The way most people express it is in the negative as just ‘no doing’ or no voluntary action but that is misleading.  Here’s an example.  To become proficient at playing a musical instrument you need to practice.  This practice is ‘doing’.  The more you practice the more you are ‘doing’ but you hope to reach a point where your playing becomes unconscious so that you are no longer ‘doing’.  When you reach this point you are doing it without doing, no voluntary action, you are moving freely.  Now practicing the scales got you there but practicing the scales is not ‘it’.  You need to transcend the doing to get to the non-doing.  Most people mistake this non-doing as being placid and blank but it is the exact opposite, it is active and dynamic.  So through meditation or any other practice you strive to reach the point that you are no longer doing it, you are ‘it’.
  Our bodies function without us doing anything, in effect, we sit on top of the body and say we are the body.  It is the mind that makes a mind/body distinction or duality, the body itself does not do this.  We function physically in nature without a problem.  We digest, breathe and all of our organs function without the mind being involved.  When our mind is involved we can create great stress for the body.  By stilling the mind we can realize that which functions beyond our thought, the root source of our being, that which is doing as pure doing without distinction.  This is the goal of Taoism, to realize our true nature and thus all nature.  Here wei-wu-wei is the attempt at overcoming our minds till we become fully harmonized with everything much like the music analogy.  We are the instrument, the player and the song simulatneoulsy.
  I hope this helps you, take care,
             Joe