How do you personally employ Wu Wei - Non-action - In Daily life?

[manitou]

There is a passage in the TTC about the best ruler or governor being the one that no one realizes is even there. He nips things in the bud. His vision is so distant that he sees things coming long before others do, and he is capable of tweaking with just the slightest tweak, just enough to 'bend the light' and change the situation so that there will be a different outcome than the one that he can see coming.

 

This is how I see wu-wei in our lives; if we've developed the third eye, the ability to see dynamics way out in the distance, then small actions can be taken well in advance. As the sage knows that there is a time and purpose for everything, he then knows there is no cause for concern; the action has been taken, the light has been bent. He can turn his attention to other things, knowing that the outcome will be the perfect one.

 

This can be analogized to Castaneda's 'setting one's intent' on something. He too taps into the concept of wu-wei without calling it that, trusting that the outcome will be the right one.

 

Both of these 'techniques', for lack of a better word, also involve something else. During the period of time when the intent has been set, the tweak has been made; after that, the sage or shaman will do nothing to intentionally change the dynamic of the situation. Rather, any time a decision is brought to the forefront and the sage or shaman has to take an action, it must always be the best and highest action; the most truthful or the most loving. But other than reacting only when one has to react, the sage or shaman does nothing to further the situation.

 

If a leader is doing this, he is often accused of leading from behind; this is because he is not the one out in front manipulating the situation; rather, he is watching it evolve, knowing that the tweak has already taken place and all things will align in the correct time and way.

[GrandmasterP]

Sorry GMP I dont understand what your point here is.

 

 

.............

To claim that a particular cultivation always works, every time and for everybody is optimistic to say the least.

HTH

[三江源]

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Edited August 27, 2015 by 三江源

[Mark Saltveit]

How do you personally employ Wu Wei - Non-action - In Daily life?

 

By not telling you the answer. BOOM!

 

No, I think you employ it by mastering something so deeply that you no longer have to think about doing it. Think of a musician learning scales for years until they can improvise intuititively, or a master woodcarver. You are getting to wu wei about the time you can't explain how you do it, any more.

 

Here's a simple example -- throwing a frisbee. I taught my nephew when he was about 6. There's a lot of technique actually, planting your feet a certain way, turning your body, curling your arm, the spin. But I had to slow step through it and watch myself before I could remember how to reduce my motion back down into mere words.

Edited February 2, 2013 by Mark Saltveit

[AsheSkyler]

If I understand the concept of Wu Wei, how it's applied in my life is instead applied to my kid. I've been given many papers saying he should do certain things at certain ages and how his daily routine must be planned down to the minute. I don't force him into their mold. He feed him when he's hungry and let him sleep when he needs it rather than deny him because "it's not time". I never counted meals and I never counted diapers, much to the resent of many doctors with long lectures. I'm not weaning him, he's weaning himself because his appetite is calling for much thicker stuff. And so far, he's turning out to be very healthy and very happy.

[Harmonious Emptiness]

I was reading some Shao Yung the other day and saw something which I found to be very illuminating on this.

 

He said (approximately) "It is for humanity to seek and heaven to bestow. Thus, one should just work on perfecting the self and diligently seek without expecting result, as it is up to heaven to determine results."

 

From this I realized that balance of action and inaction in balance. If we can seek, undeterred, and leave the results up to heaven to allot based on our inner work, then we can maintain tranquility while persisting in our task. This leaves greed and selfishness aside while persisting in seeking.

 

It's the greed and selfishness that causes us to try to control things, and often mess things up, including our ability to LISTEN in the sense that Ya Mu explained (imo at least). Of course, this is not always easy however.

 

What Shao Yung seems to be speaking of is Ming\Destiny\Heavens Government, saying to leave this to heaven.

When comparing to Wu Wei, which more literally means "absence of governing action" this, to me, makes sense as Wu Wei in action.

 

 

As to what Ya Mu was saying about LISTENING, that was a generous explanation. I can say that more recently, since I've been learning a few things from Ya Mu's (shall we say) program (and I don't mean to make a plug, it just seems to be a timely factor) I've become much more aware and comfortable with wild and common coincidences. One being that about 10 times in a row after meditating in the morning I would leave my place, jaywalk when the chance comes up, then walk 3 blocks down a side street and turn to the main street where within the same pace of steps, the light would change to green just as I was about to step onto the road, with no logical intention to make this happen. Every time, day after day, so long as I meditated before leaving, this would happen and I wouldn't check the time since before meditation. When I was in a rush or got distracted with something and didn't meditate, it wouldn't happen, and then the next time I would meditate and it would happen again, literally in time by 1 footstep, over and over and over again for weeks. The unexplainable coincidences become so frequent that they become acceptable as "oh, yeah, just that sychronization thing of course "

[manitou]

I was reading some Shao Yung the other day and saw something which I found to be very illuminating on this.

 

He said (approximately) "It is for humanity to seek and heaven to bestow. Thus, one should just work on perfecting the self and diligently seek without expecting result, as it is up to heaven to determine results."

 

 

This says it all, as far as I can see. Wu wei is realized the closer one gets to inner perfection, without seeking results. But the key here is self-realization (a perfection of the self to the best of our ability) wherein our character is delved into and the distortions removed.

 

Synchronicity, to me, is a confirmation that we are liiving in alignment.

[Vanir Thunder Dojo Tan]

USUally its just living life without consideration of thought; mindful, but thoughtless.

Aware, focused, engaged, but unconcerned, fearless, and autonomous.




Today sucks, i got knocked off my balance



Took alllll fucking day to get back in a better mood too. whats up with that?

[manitou]

 

 

Today sucks, i got knocked off my balance

 

 

 

Took alllll fucking day to get back in a better mood too. whats up with that?

 

 

I noticed the same thing yesterday. The gravity was horrific and the earth sucked more than usual.....I was dropping stuff all day

Edited February 22, 2013 by manitou

[Birch]

Ah, so there was a 'something'. I almost checked for San Niang. I was pretty depressed most of the afternoon, the kind that pulls you earthwards. It's more nervous-system than emotional but it wasn't pleasant whatever it was.

 

Edit: and so I just checked. San Niang today

[C T]

My cell phone did not ring once today -- does that count?

[Harmonious Emptiness]

Art, communication, life.

[Lemon_Squeezy]

To answer your question directly, wu wei is a state of being. You are either in it or you aren't.

 

Once you have been in wu wei, it automatically employs itself for your benefit afterwards- including clarity of thought, effortlessness, and finding joy in simple things.

 

For me, it is difficult to stay in wu wei for a long period, but its benefits last awhile.

[Stosh]

I think its far easier to say what it is not ,

than what it is that I try to do.

 

Its not self destructive

Its not pursuing neurotic behaviors

its not creating imaginary crutches

It is not driving oneself nuts

But the rest is all 'free fish' ( in a Melville sense)

 

So you do whatever you like, as long as it

isnt creating new impediments , strife etc

IMO

Edited March 1, 2013 by Stosh

[Marblehead]

For me, it is difficult to stay in wu wei for a long period, but its benefits last awhile.

For me too, I assure you!

[RiverSnake]

You never employ Wu Wei. It employs you....if you allow it to.

 

My 2 cents, Peace

[Spotless]

To release and not interefere with the Dao in all it's complexity is actually somthing achieved only by enlightened beings, hehe...

 

but you can practice it in some microcosmic aspects.

 

(The above quote is from Marks of Glory on page 2 of this topic.)

 

This is a quote sitting on the edge of the question, this is a very important point - I would like to re-phrase it because there is a common shade of "exeptionalism" included within it that is resposible for such a simple thing being regarded as such a distant thing.

 

Marks of Glory is correct - this is something achieved by enlightened beings.

We are all just a moment from being this.

It should not be believed that it must take years or lifetimes to achieve this lofty state - though it may.

 

Imagine a ball that is held underwater - it is your sun - you.

When you are in the place of no inertia, neutrality, you have no "skin in the game", no goal, you will rise to the surface - you will be - you will be enlightened.

 

Nothing you do will grow the sun that is you. You do not grow to deserve you.

If you read all the metaphysical books in the world and write 100 of them you are no nearer enlightenment than an ignorant relecting on life.

 

We tend to think this "illusion" the sages talk about is not really so much illusion as something we need to understand, and we come to that understanding by meditation and cultivation. An so we set out to increase our awareness of this illusion, know this illusion and increase our abitlities within the illusion in hopes of ending the illusion - all the while we are exercising the illusion, gluing it to our framework of misunderstanding. We begin to Know things - we can even Teach things - we have clearly progessed - our blinders are now metaphysical blinders - and they are very cool - we are really able to help people now - others that are also asleep.

 

 

Why do you think so many of the sages will clearly state that they finally come to enlightenment when they "sat and meditated for 18 hours a day for 11 days and became enlightened"?

It is when they throw in the towel and just quit busying themselves with acumutlating and studing.

At the point that they become enlightened - all of them will teach the same thing - Your story is false, your positions are false, your goals are false, your intensions are false, you know nothing.

 

And they will all tell you what they have learned - that it was such a simple thing - that all those years in effort - were in effort away from themselves.

They became wizards and demons - then threw in the towel and did the deed - and all of them found out none of the effort was ever required to reach enlightenment - it was the effort that was the wall.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited March 1, 2013 by Spotless

[Vanir Thunder Dojo Tan]

You never employ Wu Wei. It employs you....if you allow it to.

 

My 2 cents, Peace

 

 

Worth quoting, however i will add:

 

 

We employ each other, but i pay better.

[silas]

The mystical form of wu-wei connects to inborn nature and Tao through a persistent meditative state: Wu-Wei Awareness Training.

[teknix]

How does it differ from "Just Be' or 'Be here, now"?

 

Edited March 1, 2013 by teknix

[Rara]

Whichever way nature takes me. I was born into a very rigid household. Must do 9-5 type mentality, must eat at sucha time etc...

 

I still struggle from time to time but being self-employed really helped me at least get freedom. Ever turned up to a job when there's NOTHING TO DO?! But your boss still makes you do some meaningless crap just because? That drew me in to a whole way of thinking and it was unhealthy...because I started applying the habits myself! I was cleaning the house exactly 7 days after I cleaned it last, as an example, EVEN if I was dead busy that day and it wasn't even that dirty. Stress build up alert.

 

I eventually learnt from my studies of Taoism, and now, if there is nothing on, I don't struggle to make something happen because it always ends in disaster. Takes too much of my precious time and leaves me stressed. Let be...something in the air will tell you to take action, just keep your ears open to it. Then, before you know it, tasks done...with no effort at all...

[manitou]

. Let be...something in the air will tell you to take action, just keep your ears open to it. Then, before you know it, tasks done...with no effort at all...

 

 

 

Yeeeeehaw!!!!