When I started studying Taoism, I became fascinated with a concept called Wu Wei. This is a central theme of Taoism and is often translated as “non-action” or “acting without forcing”. I’ve been noodling on this concept for so long that I refined my own definition and created the following haiku poem:
WU WEI
Align with nature
Embrace effortless action
Do without doing
Wu Wei can be an elusive concept and I had a little notion some years back to make the idea accessible to as many people as possible. I combined my study of the Tao Te Ching, the I-Ching, The Art of War, and my experience in the martial arts to develop a board game called Wu Wei: Journey of the Changing Path. The game is meant to be a guide for players to understand the universe from a Taoist perspective and to experience the concept of Wu Wei directly as they play the game.
In the game, players are trying to collect five different animal cards. There are obstacles throughout the game that will make it difficult to obtain these cards and it is up to each player to maintain a flexible strategy in order to be the first to collect them all.
Sounds simple enough! The trouble comes in when a player gets fixated on a certain goal. They’ve made a plan and they are going to execute it come hell or high water. And while this player is fixating on a single objective, they are missing multiple opportunities to go with the flow and effortlessly complete a number of other objectives.
If you are interested in my game, you can check it out here:
https://graywolfgames.com/
If you become fixated on achieving something in life and you refuse to deviate from your plan (even when other potentially beneficial opportunities come your way), you may be going against the natural order of things. You might be tempted to dominate or conquer in a circumstance that would be better served by yielding. If you keep running into walls, you might be operating from a sense of ego and that can put you at odds with the universe.
Have you ever had a moment where something got done and it was effortless? Maybe even joyous or fun? That’s because it was in line with the natural order of things! That’s Wu Wei. There might be something in life you want so bad and you’ve tried and tried to make it happen. It’s possible that it’s not meant to happen. It’s possible it’s not meant to happen now but maybe later. It’s possible that it’s meant to happen but only after you give up striving for it. That’s Wu Wei!
The Tao Te Ching (an amazing book of Chinese poetry and philosophical ideas) often refers to affairs of state. Many of the verses seem to be written for the direct benefit of a future leader (you):
CHAPTER 17
When the Master governs, the people
are hardly aware that he exists.
Next best is a leader who is loved.
Next, one who is feared.
The worst is one who is despised.
If you don’t trust the people,
you make them untrustworthy.
The Master doesn’t talk, he acts.
When his work is done,
the people say, “Amazing: we did it, all by ourselves!”
Here’s a link to an online version of the Tao Te Ching: https://terebess.hu/english/tao/mitchell.html
In this case, the master isn’t operating from the ego. His actions are in accordance with what is needed. They are in accordance with the natural order of things. In fact, the master’s actions are so subtle that no one even realizes that he did anything. And in a way, maybe he didn’t. He produces action without acting. He doesn’t muddy the water with the need for credit.
We are all compelled to takes actions every day. If we pay attention and act in a manner that falls in line with a natural momentum or pattern, we may see great benefits with very little effort. If you find that you are making very little progress with a monumental amount of effort, you might consider a different path. You might consider yielding like the willow instead of breaking like the oak.
And now that you spent all that effort reading… here’s a great video explaining Wu Wei from The School of Life: