Wu-Wei
In this paper I will show how an ideal Daoist sage incorporates wu-wei within his or her life. I will begin with a general explanation of how this person (a Daoist sage) would view the self. I will then show how one may possibly come to an understanding of wu-wei, and then show the effect of embracing wu-wei. Finally, I will explain how the sage can extend wu-wei to all parts of his or her life.
The self, according to Daoist perspective, “is an opening that perceives the world” (Prof. Park, Sept. 26, 2005) and is integrated within the world. In other words, the self is the focal point in which a person gains experiential knowledge of the world. The Daoist sage considers the self a part of the ever changing, fluctuating, impermanent world. When a person perceives the world, she is in direct connection with the environment around her. She is no way separate from her environment, as she only exists in relation to it. In other words, I could not exist apart from food, water, and shelter. Nor could I come to this point in my life without the care of my parents as an infant and child. My existence depends on my environment. Chuang-Tzu says, “‘Without an Other there is no Self, without Self no choosing one thing rather than another’” (51). In other words, the self is not one thing, and the environment the other; rather, the self is deeply connected to the environment and should not be seen as an individual entity.
A Daoist sage would live a life deeply connected to the environment, but to do so she must practice wu-wei. Wu-wei can be considered a power one embraces that allows one to move with ease, to “go with the flow,” to work with the Dao. Embracing wu-wei requires practice and focus. A great musician begins by learning the language of music, the theory, the basics. But these things alone are not what made the musician great. Scales are the foundation of all music, but understanding what to do with the scales is a process that cannot be explicated through steps. A musician must then absorb his or herself in the world of music, playing all the time, watching others play, listening to others play, perfecting his or her techniques, so that he learns how he can use the scales. Only through this absorption will a musician become great. Chuang-Tzu provides the example of Cook Ting, the butcher. He says, “When I first began to carve oxen, I saw nothing but oxen wherever I looked. Three years more and I never saw an ox as a whole. Nowadays, I am in touch through the daemonic in me, and do not look with the eye. With the senses I know where to stop . . .” (63-4). Thus, in learning to live life with ease, or with the Dao, the sage must learn how to absorb the self in her surroundings, like the musician does. The sage must learn wu-wei.
Chuang-Tzu provides many examples of people who have embraced wu-wei in one way or another, but I will focus on Cook Ting. Cook Ting, as mentioned before, is a good example of a daemonic person (or one who has embraced wu-wei). Cook Ting says, “‘I rely on Heaven’s structuring, cleave along the main seams, let myself be guided by the main cavities, go by what is inherently so. A ligament of tendon I never touch, not to mention solid bone’” (64). Cook Ting, when wu-wei is with him, stops thinking about the method in which he will cut the oxen; rather, he is guided by wu-wei, or by the nature of the oxen, and stops thinking. Wu-wei is the power which Cook Ting has embraced to do his job with extreme efficiency. He says, “A good cook changes his chopper once a year, because he hacks. A common cook changes it once a month, because he smashes. Now I have had this chopper for nineteen years . . ., but the edge is as though it were fresh from the grindstone” (64). Cook Ting uses his knife with such grace that it never even dulls. This is what the Daoist sage aspires to, greatness and ease within life, the ability to move through life without being dulled by suffering.
The examples of wu-wei that I have given all relate to an expertise in one particular activity; however, wu-wei can be extended into the everyday life of the sage, when the sage accepts that the world is in constant flux and focuses on the moment at hand. All things within the world, and the world itself, are constantly coming into being and going out of being. The sage must accept that all things are impermanent. To do otherwise would be going against the Dao and against wu-wei, which would cause suffering. Maintaining a mind frame that believes, even subconsciously, that a part of the environment will not change is going against wu-wei in that one cannot absorb oneself completely in the environment (go into a wu-wei state) if he or she cannot accept change. Thus, the sage must accept that her loved ones will one day die, that the security she finds in her home may one day be destroyed. However, wu-wei allows one to deal with constant flux. By absorbing the self within the environment, one can sense the changes that will come and that will go, and learns that if one interrupts the flow of change by trying to stop it either physically or mentally, then suffering will occur.
I have given an account of wu-wei in relation to the sage, who has incorporated wu-wei into her everyday life. Understanding the standpoint from which the sage views the world, i.e. as a focal point that senses the environment, allows one to understand the power of wu-wei in accepting and dealing with the impermanence of the world.
The self, according to Daoist perspective, “is an opening that perceives the world” (Prof. Park, Sept. 26, 2005) and is integrated within the world. In other words, the self is the focal point in which a person gains experiential knowledge of the world. The Daoist sage considers the self a part of the ever changing, fluctuating, impermanent world. When a person perceives the world, she is in direct connection with the environment around her. She is no way separate from her environment, as she only exists in relation to it. In other words, I could not exist apart from food, water, and shelter. Nor could I come to this point in my life without the care of my parents as an infant and child. My existence depends on my environment. Chuang-Tzu says, “‘Without an Other there is no Self, without Self no choosing one thing rather than another’” (51). In other words, the self is not one thing, and the environment the other; rather, the self is deeply connected to the environment and should not be seen as an individual entity.
A Daoist sage would live a life deeply connected to the environment, but to do so she must practice wu-wei. Wu-wei can be considered a power one embraces that allows one to move with ease, to “go with the flow,” to work with the Dao. Embracing wu-wei requires practice and focus. A great musician begins by learning the language of music, the theory, the basics. But these things alone are not what made the musician great. Scales are the foundation of all music, but understanding what to do with the scales is a process that cannot be explicated through steps. A musician must then absorb his or herself in the world of music, playing all the time, watching others play, listening to others play, perfecting his or her techniques, so that he learns how he can use the scales. Only through this absorption will a musician become great. Chuang-Tzu provides the example of Cook Ting, the butcher. He says, “When I first began to carve oxen, I saw nothing but oxen wherever I looked. Three years more and I never saw an ox as a whole. Nowadays, I am in touch through the daemonic in me, and do not look with the eye. With the senses I know where to stop . . .” (63-4). Thus, in learning to live life with ease, or with the Dao, the sage must learn how to absorb the self in her surroundings, like the musician does. The sage must learn wu-wei.
Chuang-Tzu provides many examples of people who have embraced wu-wei in one way or another, but I will focus on Cook Ting. Cook Ting, as mentioned before, is a good example of a daemonic person (or one who has embraced wu-wei). Cook Ting says, “‘I rely on Heaven’s structuring, cleave along the main seams, let myself be guided by the main cavities, go by what is inherently so. A ligament of tendon I never touch, not to mention solid bone’” (64). Cook Ting, when wu-wei is with him, stops thinking about the method in which he will cut the oxen; rather, he is guided by wu-wei, or by the nature of the oxen, and stops thinking. Wu-wei is the power which Cook Ting has embraced to do his job with extreme efficiency. He says, “A good cook changes his chopper once a year, because he hacks. A common cook changes it once a month, because he smashes. Now I have had this chopper for nineteen years . . ., but the edge is as though it were fresh from the grindstone” (64). Cook Ting uses his knife with such grace that it never even dulls. This is what the Daoist sage aspires to, greatness and ease within life, the ability to move through life without being dulled by suffering.
The examples of wu-wei that I have given all relate to an expertise in one particular activity; however, wu-wei can be extended into the everyday life of the sage, when the sage accepts that the world is in constant flux and focuses on the moment at hand. All things within the world, and the world itself, are constantly coming into being and going out of being. The sage must accept that all things are impermanent. To do otherwise would be going against the Dao and against wu-wei, which would cause suffering. Maintaining a mind frame that believes, even subconsciously, that a part of the environment will not change is going against wu-wei in that one cannot absorb oneself completely in the environment (go into a wu-wei state) if he or she cannot accept change. Thus, the sage must accept that her loved ones will one day die, that the security she finds in her home may one day be destroyed. However, wu-wei allows one to deal with constant flux. By absorbing the self within the environment, one can sense the changes that will come and that will go, and learns that if one interrupts the flow of change by trying to stop it either physically or mentally, then suffering will occur.
I have given an account of wu-wei in relation to the sage, who has incorporated wu-wei into her everyday life. Understanding the standpoint from which the sage views the world, i.e. as a focal point that senses the environment, allows one to understand the power of wu-wei in accepting and dealing with the impermanence of the world.
posted by Karen Jarboe at
10:18 AM
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