View source for Wu wei

{{Short description|Concept in Chinese philosophy}}
{{other uses|Wuwei (disambiguation)|Wu Wei (disambiguation)}}
{{Multiple issues|
{{Technical|date=January 2024}}
{{Overly detailed|date=January 2024}}
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{{title language|zh-Latn}}
{{Infobox Chinese
|s = 无为
|t = 無為
|p = wúwéi
|w = wu<sup>2</sup>-wei<sup>2</sup>
|mi = {{IPAc-cmn|wu|2|.|wei|2}}
|j = mou4-wai4
|y = mòuhwàih
|ci = {{IPAc-yue|m|ou|4|.|w|ai|4}}
|vie= vô vi
|order = ts
|hiragana=むい
|kanji=無為
|revhep=mui
|hanja={{lang|ko|無爲}}
|hangul=무위
|rr=muwi
}}'''''Wu wei''''' ({{zh|t={{linktext|無為}}|s=无为|first=t|p=wúwéi}}) is a [[polysemous]], ancient Chinese concept expressing an ideal [[dao|practice]] of "inaction", "inexertion" or "effortless action",{{efn|[[Daodejing]]'s [https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Translation:To_Te_Ching#Chapter_37_(%E7%AC%AC%E4%B8%89%E5%8D%81%E4%B8%83%E7%AB%A0) chapter 37] quote: "
{{lang|zh|道常無為而無不為}}。" translation: "The Dao abides in non-action but there is nothing it does not do."}}<ref>{{harvp|Slingerland|2007|p=7}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/16/science/a-meditation-on-the-art-of-not-trying.html|title=A Meditation on the Art of Not Trying|last=Tierney|first=John|date=2014-12-15|work=The New York Times|access-date=2019-12-07|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331}}</ref> as a state of personal harmony and free-flowing, spontaneous [[Improvisation|creative manifestation]]. In a political context, it also refers to an ideal form or principle of governance or government.<ref name="auto1">{{harvp|Slingerland|2007|p=6}}</ref> 

''Wu wei'' appears as an idea as early as the [[Spring and Autumn period]], with early literary examples in the [[Classic of Poetry]].{{sfnp|Slingerland|2007|pp=39, 40}} It became an important concept in the [[Confucian Analects]],{{sfnmp|Slingerland|2007|1p=43|Creel|1970|2pp=59, 78}} linking a Confucian ethic of practical morality to a state of being harmonizing intention and action.<ref name=":1">{{Cite book |last1=Ivanhoe |first1=Philip J. |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/60826646 |title=Readings in Classical Chinese Philosophy |last2=Van Norden |first2=Bryan W. |publisher=[[Hackett Publishing Company]] |year=2005 |isbn=0-87220-781-1 |edition=2nd |location=Indianapolis |pages=2 |oclc=60826646 |author-link=Philip J. Ivanhoe |author-link2=Bryan W. Van Norden}}</ref> It would go on to become a central concept in [[Chinese Legalism|Legalist]] statecraft and [[Daoism]], in Daoism as a concept emphasizing alignment with the natural Dao in actions and intentions, avoiding force or haste against the natural order.

Sinologist [[Jean François Billeter]] describes wu-wei as a "state of perfect knowledge (understanding) of the coexistence of the situation and perceiver, perfect efficaciousness and the realization of a perfect economy of energy".

==Early scholarship==
The early scholarship of [[Feng Youlan]]  suggested a distinction between philosophical and religious [[Taoism|Daoism]].{{sfn|Feng|1948|p=3}} Following him, [[sinologist]] [[Herrlee G. Creel]] took a "contemplative Daoism" as coming first, and "purposive Daoism" second.{{sfn|Creel|1970|p=5}} Creel took ''wu wei'' as found in the ''[[Zhuangzi (book)|Zhuangzi]]'' and ''[[Daodejing]]'' as denoting two different things:{{sfn|Creel|1970|p=74}}

# An "attitude of genuine non-action, motivated by a lack of desire to participate in human affairs" and
# A "technique by means of which the one who practices it may gain enhanced control of human affairs".

The first aligns closely with the contemplative Daoism of the Zhuangzi. Daoist texts rarely suggest that wu wei could help ordinary people gain political power, portraying it as a source of serenity. Creel takes the Zhuangzi's idea of Wu wei as rooted in its transcendental idea of the [[dao]], viewing such things as life and death as an "indissoluble unity." Creel did not see the ''Zhuangzi's'' view of wu wei as a definitive philosophical idea so much as that the [[sage (philosophy)|sage]] avoids worldly affairs. Whether seeking gain or fame, the Zhuangzi regards the "small" and "superior" men largely the same, inasmuch as they abandon the "normal feelings of men" and "proper human course" in favor of "strange and unnatural endeavors".{{sfn|Creel|1970|p=3–4, 74}}

Creel suggested that Daoists might have adopted the second idea of wu wei from [[Shen Buhai]] (400 BCE – {{circa|337 BCE}}) as they became interested in rulers' use of power.{{sfn|Creel|1970|p=11,73}} Regardless, Shen Buhai and the [[Han Feizi]] are a major influence for the [[Huainanzi]]'s idea of wu wei in the [[Han dynasty]].{{sfnmp|1a1=Major|1y=2010|1pp=26–27|2a1=Goldin|2y=2005}}

Called "rule by non-activity" and strongly advocated by the Han Feizi, during the Han dynasty until the reign of [[Han Wudi]], rulers confined their activity "chiefly to the appointment and dismissal of his high officials". This "conception of the ruler's role as a supreme arbiter, who keeps the essential power firmly in his grasp" while leaving details to ministers, has a "deep influence on the theory and practice of Chinese monarchy", playing a "crucial role in the promotion of the autocratic tradition of the Chinese polity", ensuring the ruler's power and the stability of the polity.{{sfn|Creel|1970|p=99}}

Although the Inner Zhuangzi may precede them, much of the Outer Zhuangzi derives more from at least the later part of the Warring States period, ridiculing Confucian moralization.<ref>{{cite journal |first=Yuri |last=Pines |year=2022 |trans-title=''Han Feizi'' and the Earliest Exegesis of Zuozhuan |script-title=zh:最早的《左傳》詮釋——再論《韓非子・難四》篇 |journal=Monumenta Serica |volume=70 |issue=2 |pages=341–365 |doi=10.1080/02549948.2022.2131797}}{{pages needed |date=March 2025}}</ref> Still only appearing three times in the second half of the Zhuangzi, Creel supposed that early Daoists may have avoided the term for its association with Legalism before ultimately co-opting its governmental sense as well, regarding this as attempted in the Outer ''Zhuangzi''{{'}}s chapter 13, {{zhi|c=天道|p=Tiāndào|l=Way of Heaven}}. In the more "purposive" Daoism of the ''Daodejing,'' likely written after the early ''Zhuangzi'', ''wu wei'' becomes a major "guiding principle for social and political pursuit", in which the Daoist "seeks to use his power to control and govern the world".{{sfn|Go|2002|p=84,198}}<ref>{{cite book |author=Pan Ku |authorlink=Ban Gu |translator-first=Homer |translator-last=Dubs |title=The History of the Former Han Dynasty |date=1938–1955}}{{pages needed |date=March 2025}}</ref>

== Confucian development ==
Sinologist [[Roger T. Ames]] regards attempts to determine the origin of ''wu wei'' as strained speculation.{{sfnp|Ames|1994|pp=50, 216}} But while [[Shen Buhai]] bears a "striking" resemblance to the [[Tao te Ching]],{{sfn|Creel|1974|p=189}} it would still be difficult to date the Tao te Ching back to the time of [[Confucius]], even if it predated the third century bce.{{sfnp|Chan|2013}} Apart from Shen Buhai, the [[Analects of Confucius]] (Lun-yu) are the only preserved text prior to the [[Zhuangzi (book)|Zhuangzi]] that directly use the term. More modernly, [[Edward Slingerland]] believes the ''idea'' of wu wei predated the term. With older sinologists more focused on terms, Creel believed that an important clue to the idea of ''wu wei'' existed in the Analects.

A saying attributed to Confucius reads: "The Master said, 'Was it not [[Emperor Shun|Shun]] who did nothing and yet ruled well? What did he do? He merely corrected his person ("made himself reverent" – Slingerland) and took his proper position (facing south) as ruler'". The concept of a divine king whose "magic power" (virtue) "regulates everything in the land" (Creel) pervades early Chinese philosophy, particularly "in the early branches of Quietism that developed in the fourth century B.C."{{sfnmp|Creel|1970|1pp=59,78|Slingerland|2007|2p=9}}

Slingerland argues ''wu wei'' in this sense has to be attained. But in the Confucian conception of virtue, virtue can only be attained by not consciously trying to attain it.<ref name="auto1"/> The manifestation of virtue is regarded as a reward by Heaven for following its will – as a power that enables them to establish this will on earth. In this, probably more original sense, ''wu wei'' may be regarded as the "skill" of "becoming a fully realized human being", a sense which it shares with Daoism. This "skill" avoids relativity through being linked to a "normative" metaphysical order, making its spontaneity "objective". By achieving a state of ''wu wei'' (and taking his proper ritual place), Shun "unifies and orders" the entire world, and finds his place in the "cosmos". Taken as a historical fact demonstrating the viable superiority of Confucianism (or Daoism, for Daoist depictions), ''wu wei'' may be understood as a strongly "[[Philosophical realism|realist]]" spiritual-religious ideal, differing from [[Kantian]] or [[Cartesianism|Cartesian]] realism in its Chinese emphasis on practice.{{sfnp|Slingerland|2007|pp=8–9}}

The "object" of ''wu wei'' "skill-knowledge" is the Way, which is – to an extent regardless of school – "embodying" the mind to a "normative order existing independently of the minds of the practitioners". The primary example of Confucianism – Confucius at age 7 – displays "mastery of morality" spontaneously, his inclinations being in harmony with his virtue. Confucius considers training unnecessary if one is born loving the Way, as with the disciple [[Yan Hui]]. [[Mencius]] believed that men are already good, and need only realize it not by trying, but by allowing virtue to realize itself, and coming to love the Way. Training is done to learn to spontaneously love the Way. Virtue is compared with the grain seed (being domesticated) and the flow of water.{{sfnp|Slingerland|2007|pp=10–13,15–16}} On the other hand, [[Xun Kuang]] considered it possible to attain ''wu wei'' only through a long and intensive traditional training.{{sfnp|Slingerland|2007|pp=10–13}}

== Daoist development ==
{{Taoism}}
Following its developments elsewhere, [[Zhuang Zhou]] and [[Laozi]] turn towards an unadorned "no effort". Laozi, as opposed to carved Confucian jade, advocates a return to the primordial Mother and to become like uncarved wood. He condemns doing and grasping, urging the reader to cognitively grasp oneness (still the mind), reduce desires and the size of the state, leaving human nature untouched. In practice, ''wu wei'' is aimed at through behaviour modification; cryptically referenced meditation and more purely physical breathing techniques as in the ''[[Guanzi (text)|Guanzi]]'', which includes just taking the right posture.<ref>{{harvp|Slingerland|2007|p=14}}</ref> While the ''Guanzi'' itself may have been compiled even after the Han Feizi, they may be of much earlier origin.

{{blockquote|<poem>When your body is not aligned,
The inner power will not come.
When you are not tranquil within,
Your mind will not be well ordered.
Align your body, assist the inner power,
Then it will gradually come on its own.</poem><ref>Verse 11, tr. {{harvp|Roth|1999|p=66}}</ref>
}}

Though, by still needing to make a cognitive effort, perhaps not resolving the paradox of not doing, the concentration on accomplishing ''wu wei'' through the physiological would influence later thinkers.<ref>{{harvp|Slingerland|2007|pp=14}}</ref> The ''Daodejing'' became influential in intellectual circles around 250 BCE.<ref>{{harvp|Roth|1999|pp=26–27}}</ref> Included in the 2nd century Guanzi, the likely older ''[[Neiye]]'' (or ''Inward Training'') may be the oldest recovered Chinese text, describing what would become Daoist breath meditation techniques and qi circulation, with Harold D. Roth considering it to be a genuine 4th-century BCE text.{{sfnp|Roth|1999|pp=23–25}}

{{blockquote|<poem>When you enlarge your mind and let go of it,
When you relax your ''qi''; vital breath and expand it,
When your body is calm and unmoving:
And you can maintain the One and discard the myriad disturbances.
You will see profit and not be enticed by it,
You will see harm and not be frightened by it.
Relaxed and unwound, yet acutely sensitive,
In solitude you delight in your own person.
This is called "revolving the vital breath":
Your thoughts and deeds seem heavenly.</poem><ref>Verse 24, tr. {{harvp|Roth|1999|p=92}}</ref>}}

Verse 13 describes the aspects of {{zhi|神|p=shén|l=numen', 'numinous}}, attained through relaxed efforts.

{{blockquote|<poem>There is a numen &#91;{{transliteration|zh|shén}}&#93;; naturally residing within;
One moment it goes, the next it comes,
And no one is able to conceive of it.
If you lose it you are inevitably disordered;
If you attain it you are inevitably well ordered.
Diligently clean out its lodging place;
And its vital essence will naturally arrive.
Still your attempts to imagine and conceive of it.
Relax your efforts to reflect on and control it.
Be reverent and diligent
And its vital essence will naturally stabilize.
Grasp it and don't let go
Then the eyes and ears won't overflow
And the mind will have nothing else to seek.
When a properly aligned mind resides within you,
The myriad things will be seen in their proper perspective.</poem><ref>tr. {{harvp|Roth|1999|p=70}}</ref>}}

==''Wuwei'' in Chan Buddhism==
In early Chinese Buddhism, ''wuwei'' was used as a translation of [[Nirvana|nirvāṇa]], which was understood to be unproduced and inactive. Although this translation was eventually abandoned in favor of ''niepan,'' a phonetic transliteration of nirvāṇa, ''wuwei'' continued to be used in Chinese Buddhist scholastic contexts as a translation of the Sanskrit term ''asaṃskṛta'', or "unconditioned."<ref>{{cite book |last1=Buswell Jr. |first1=Robert E. |last2=Lopez Jr. |first2=Donald S. |year=2014 |title=The Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism|publisher=Princeton University Press|page=1004}}</ref> In [[Chan Buddhism|Chan]] sources, ''wuwei'' retains its native Chinese sense of "nonaction" and "without intent," although the term can also have multiple senses in one and the same source.<ref>{{harvp|Sharf|2002|p=240}}</ref> Perhaps the earliest occurrence of the term in Chan can be found in the ''[[Two Entrances and Four Practices]]'' of [[Bodhidharma]], located in the ''Long Scroll'' (dubbed the "Bodhidharma Anthology" by Jeffrey Broughton), which contains the earliest known records of Chan. There Bodhidharma says, "Principle is the obverse of the conventional; quiet mind and practice no-action; forms follow the turnings of fate; the ten thousand existences are thus void; wish for nothing."<ref>Jeffrey Broughton. The Bodhidharma Anthology: The Earliest Records of Zen, pages 10–11, University of California Press, 1999</ref>

''Wuwei'' appears in teachings of the [[East Mountain Teaching|East Mountain school]]. For example, in the ''Xiuxin yao lun'', [[Daman Hongren|Hongren]] explains that the ignorant mind's learning is useless compared to the learning of the mind which is inactive or unconditioned (''wuwei''). Although this is "true learning," there is ultimately nothing which is learned.<ref>McRae, John. The Northern School and the Formation of Early Ch’an Buddhism, pages 125-126. University of Hawaii Press, 1986</ref>

Henrik Sorensen observes that ''wuwei'' and other concepts commonly associated with [[Taoism|Daoism]] appear in the two [[Oxhead school|Oxhead School]] texts, the ''Jueguan lun'' (Treatise on Cutting Off Contemplation) and the ''[[Xin Ming]]'' (Mind Inscription).<ref>{{cite journal |last=Sorensen |first=Henrik H. |date=1986 |title=The "Hsin-Ming" Attributed to Niu-T'ou Fa-Jung |journal=Journal of Chinese Philosophy |volume=13 |page=104 |doi=10.1163/15406253-01301004}}</ref> For example, the ''Xin Ming'' says:<blockquote>Enjoying the Dao is calming<br />Wandering at ease in the truly real<br />Nothing to do [{{lang|zh|無為}}, {{tlit|zh|pinyin|wuwei}}], nothing to attain<br />Relying on nothing, appearing naturally<ref>{{harvp|Daoyuan|p=95}} (for the Chinese, see page 241, note 384)</ref></blockquote>
According to Robert Sharf, the above mentioned ''Jueguan lun'' (Treatise on Cutting Off Contemplation) and the ''Xin Ming'' (Mind Inscription) can be grouped together with a number of other early Chan texts, probably composed sometime during the eighth or ninth century, which exhibit a similarity of lexical terms and doctrinal content. This group of texts includes such works as the ''Xinwang Ming'' (Mind King Inscription) and the well known ''[[Xinxin Ming]]'' (Faith-Mind Inscription), as well as the [[Dunhuang manuscripts|Dunhuang manuscript]], the ''Wuxin lun'' (Treatise on No-Mind).<ref>{{harvp|Sharf|2002|p=47}}</ref> ''Wuwei'' occurs in these texts as well, as the ''Xinwang Ming'' says, "The Dharma-jewel of unbiased activity [{{lang|zh|無為}}, {{tlit|zh|pinyin|wuwei}}] / Is neither shallow nor profound,"<ref>{{harvp|Daoyuan|p=84}} (for the Chinese see page 239, note 340)</ref> and in the ''Xinxin Ming'' one finds: "The wise are without interfering activity [{{lang|zh|無為}}, {{tlit|zh|pinyin|wuwei}}] / Foolish men entangle themselves."<ref>{{harvp|Daoyuan|p=87}} (for the Chinese see page 240, note 351)</ref> The ''Wuxin lun'' says, "Engaged in actions day in and day out, [I] do without doing—which is nothing other than [[no-mind]],"<ref>{{cite journal |last=App |first=Urs |date=Spring 1995 |title=Translation: Treatise on No-Mind: A Chan Text from Dunhuang |url=https://otani.repo.nii.ac.jp/records/8623 |journal=The Eastern Buddhist |series=New Series |volume=28 |issue=1 |page=86}}</ref> and "No perception, no activity: that’s ''wuwei.''"<ref>{{cite journal |last=App |first=Urs |date=Spring 1995 |title=Translation: Treatise on No-Mind: A Chan Text from Dunhuang |url=https://otani.repo.nii.ac.jp/records/8623 |journal=The Eastern Buddhist |series=New Series |volume=28 |issue=1 |page=104}}</ref> According to Urs App, the use of ''wuwei'' here resembles that of chapter 3 of the ''[[Tao Te Ching|Daodejing]]'', which says, "[The perfect man] acts without acting; thus everything is taken care of."<ref>{{cite journal |last=App |first=Urs |date=Spring 1995 |title=Translation: Treatise on No-Mind: A Chan Text from Dunhuang |url=https://otani.repo.nii.ac.jp/records/8623 |journal=The Eastern Buddhist |series=New Series |volume=28 |issue=1 |pages=104-105, note 157}}</ref>

''Wuwei'' also occurs several times in another text associated with the Oxhead School known as the ''Baozang lun'' (Treasure Store Treatise), where it appears alongside the East Asian philosophical concept of ''ganying'', or "sympathetic resonance." In a Buddhist context, this relates to the idea of ''ying-shen,'' the resonant or response body of a Buddha.<ref>{{harvp|Sharf|2002|p=111}}</ref> It is that by which the Buddhist sage is able to respond to external stimuli and the needs of suffering beings spontaneously and "without any premeditation or will of his own."<ref>{{harvp|Sharf|2002|p=112}}</ref> According to Sharf, this combines the early Chinese ideal of the sage-king with Indian Buddhist notions of [[Enlightenment in Buddhism|Bodhi]] as free of karmic activity.<ref>{{harvp|Sharf|2002|pp= 111-112}}</ref> The ''Baozang lun'' says: "Some call it holy, some call it brilliant; there are many ways to refer to it, as each employs its own name. But in reality its essential principle is nonaction, and its appearance is the absence of attributes."<ref>{{harvp|Sharf|2002|pp= 162-163}}</ref>{{refn|group=note|Also from the ''Baozang lun:''<br /><br />"Its greatness is vast and boundless; it is the single substance of all sentient life, equally embracing the myriad things. It responds, giving rise to a thousand transformations; it changes, producing a multitude of manifestations. It neither comes forth nor passes away, yet it functions without pause. There is mind but no form, functioning but no human agency. It manifests as birth, yet there is no birth; it manifests as a body, yet there is no body. Always reckoning but never reckoned, always perceiving but never perceived, there is action without intention, and attainment without anything attained."<ref>{{harvp|Sharf|2002|p=162}}</ref>}} Sharf observes that the ''Baozang lun'' contains influences from [[Chongxuan School|Twofold Mystery Daoism]] (''ch’ung-hsüan'').<ref>{{harvp|Sharf|2002|p=26}}</ref>

''Wuwei'' appears in verses attributed to the [[Liang dynasty]] figure Baozhi. For example: "The uncontrived [{{lang|zh|無為}}, {{tlit|zh|pinyin|wuwei}}] Great Way is natural and spontaneous; you don't need to use your mind to figure it out."<ref>The Zen Reader, edited by Thomas Cleary, page 9, Shambhala Publications, 2012</ref>{{refn|group=note|Alternative translation by Randolph Whitfield:<br /><br />"''Wuwei,'' the great Dao, self-existent<br />
No use to weigh it with the heart"<ref>{{harvp|Daoyuan|p=38 (for the Chinese, see page 232, note 110)}}</ref>}} It also appears in the famous ''[[Song of Enlightenment|Zhengdao ge]]'' (Song of Attaining the Way), attributed to [[Huineng|Huineng's]] disciple [[Yongjia Xuanjue]]: "A man of the Way, awakening left behind, selfless, at ease [{{lang|zh|無為}}, {{tlit|zh|pinyin|wuwei}}], Does not eliminate foolish thoughts, nor seeks the real."<ref>{{harvp|Daoyuan|p=109}} (for the Chinese see page 244, note 450)</ref> According to Jinhua Jia, although the above have been attributed to Baozhi of the Liang and Yongjia Xuanjue respectively, these are likely products of the [[Hongzhou school]] of Chan, which flourished during the [[Tang dynasty]].<ref>{{cite book |first=Jinhua |last=Jia |title=The Hongzhou School of Chan Buddhism in Eighth- through Tenth-Century China |pages= 89–95 |publisher=State University of New York Press |year=2006 |isbn=0791468232 }}</ref>

In other Chan sources one can also find the similar term, ''wú shì'' ({{lang|zh|無事}}), often translated as "nothing-to-do," but which also has the meaning of no affairs, no concerns, no matters, and no business.<ref>{{cite journal |first= Daisetz T. |last=Suzuki |title=Rinzai on Zen |page=15, note 7 |journal=Chicago Review |volume=12 |issue=2 |date=Summer 1958 |doi=10.2307/25293449|jstor=25293449 }}</ref> For instance, [[Huangbo Xiyun]] states, "the person of the Way is the one who has nothing to do &#91;''wú shì''&#93;, who has no mind at all and no doctrine to preach. Having nothing to do, such a person lives at ease."<ref>{{harvp|Linji|p= 159}}</ref> Likewise, Huangbo's student [[Linji Yixuan]] says, "Followers of the Way, as to buddhadharma, no effort is necessary. You have only to be ordinary, with nothing to do—defecating, urinating, wearing clothes, eating food, and lying down when tired."<ref>{{harvp|Linji|p= 11}}</ref> Linji also connects non-doing with [[Turning the light around|"turning one's light around"]] ({{zh|labels=no|p=fǎn zhào|c=返照}}). That is, according to Linji, when one stops seeking externally and turns one's own light in upon oneself, one will on that very instant have nothing to do.<ref>{{harvp|Linji|p= 28}}</ref>{{refn|group=note|Compare with the ''[[Xinxin Ming]]'':<br /><br />"In self-illumination, vast and clear,<br />The mind’s power exerts itself no more."<ref>Three Chan Classics, page 126, Bukkyo Dendo Kyokai and Numata Center for Buddhist Translation and Research, 1999</ref>}}

In recent times, the Korean [[Korean Seon|Sŏn]] master [[Daehaeng]] (1927–2012) taught "doing without doing" (''ham i ŏpsi handa'').<ref>Chong Go (2010). Sŏn Master Daehaeng's ‘Doing without Doing’, in ''Makers of Modern Korean Buddhism'', Park, Jin Young, (ed), page 228, SUNY Press</ref> According to her view, the fundamental reality, or natural state, is a nondual whole in which everything functions together as one. As such, no separate doer exists, since everything is "happening naturally, without a conscious effort on the part of the individual."<ref>Chong Go (2010). Sŏn Master Daehaeng's ‘Doing without Doing’, in ''Makers of Modern Korean Buddhism'', edited by Jin Young Park, page 229, SUNY Press.</ref> In terms of a method of spiritual cultivation, "doing without doing" entails letting go of the thought of the individual as a separate doer. For Daehaeng, this requires faith in one's foundation, or fundamental mind, which is connected to all phenomena and functions together with them in a nondual way. As one knows that this foundation is doing all things, one entrusts everything to it with the faith that it is taking care of whatever arises in one's life. Thus, one is able to let go naturally and automatically.<ref>Chong Go (2010). Sŏn Master Daehaeng's ‘Doing without Doing’, in ''Makers of Modern Korean Buddhism'', edited by Jin Young Park, pages 235-237, SUNY Press.</ref> Daehaeng said:<blockquote>When you let go unconditionally and go forward, the front thought disappears and the thought after that also disappears. Thus you can let go with mindless mind, without the thought of letting go. Only when you are able to do this, will you understand the principle that there is no hindrance anywhere, that you do not block coming things and do not hold leaving things, and the principle of doing without doing.<ref>Daehaeng Sunim. The Inner Path of Freedom: the Teachings of Seon Master Dae Haeng Sunim, page 96. Hanmaum Seon Center, 1999.</ref></blockquote>

==In political theory==
[[File:EN-HAN260BCE.jpg|thumbnail|]]
Unable to find his philosopher-king, Confucius placed his hope in virtuous ministers.{{sfnp|Creel|1970|p=59}} Apart from the Confucian ruler's "divine essence" (''ling'') "ensuring the fecundity of his people" and fertility of the soil, Creel notes that he was also assisted by "five servants", who "performed the active functions of government".<ref name="ReferenceB">{{harvp|Creel|1982|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=5p6EBnx4_W0C&pg=PA59 59,78]}}; {{harvp|Slingerland|2007|p=9}}</ref> [[Xun Kuang]]'s ''[[Xunzi (book)|Xunzi]]'', a Confucian adaptation to [[Qin (state)|Qin]] Legalism, defines the ruler in much the same sense, saying that the ruler "need only correct his person" because the "abilities of the ruler appear in his appointment of men to office": namely, appraising virtue and causing others to perform.

Important information lay in the recovery of the fragments of administrator [[Shen Buhai]]. Shen portrays [[Emperor Yao|Yao]] as using Fa (administrative method) in the selection and evaluation of men.{{sfnp|Creel|1970|p=64}} Though not a conclusive argument against proto-Daoist influence, Shen's Daoist terms do not show evidence of Daoist usage (Confucianism also uses terms like 'Dao', meaning the 'Way' of government), lacking any metaphysical connotation.{{sfnp|Creel|1970|p=62–63}} The later Legalist book, the ''Han Feizi'' has a commentary on the ''Daodejing'', but references Shen Buhai rather than Laozi for this usage.{{sfnp|Creel|1970|p=69}}

Shen is credited with the dictum "The Sage ruler relies on method and does not rely on wisdom; he relies on technique, not on persuasions",{{sfnp|Goldin|2005|p=93}} and used the term ''wu wei'' to mean that the ruler, though vigilant, should not interfere with the duties of his ministers, saying "One who has the right way of government does not perform the functions of the five (aka various) officials, and yet is the master of the government".{{sfnmp|Creel|1970|1pp=48, 62–63|Barlow|1985|2p=92}}

Since the bulk of both the ''Daodejing'' and ''Zhuangzi'' appear to have been composed at a later point, Creel argued that it may therefore be assumed that Shen influenced them,<ref name="Creel 48, 62–63">{{harvp|Creel|1982|pp=48, 62–63}}</ref>{{sfnp|Barlow|1985|p=92}} much of both appearing to be counter-arguments against Legalist controls.<ref name="ReferenceC">{{harvp|Creel|1982|p=69}}</ref> The "Way of Heaven" chapter of the ''Zhuangzi'' seems to follow Shen Buhai down to the detail, saying "Superiors must be without action in-order to control the world; inferiors must be active in-order to be employed in the world's business..." and to paraphrase, that foundation and principle are the responsibility of the superior, superstructure and details that of the minister, but then goes on to attack Shen's administrative details as non-essential.{{sfnp|Creel|1970|p=71}}

Elsewhere, the ''Zhuangzi'' references another Legalist, [[Shen Dao]], as impartial and lacking selfishness, his "great way embracing all things".<ref>Antonio S. Cua 2003 p.362, Encyclopedia of Chinese Philosophy</ref>

=== Non-action by the ruler ===
[[File:Zhaoming Mirror, Western Han dynasty, from M16 at the construction sit of Enterprise Bureau of Military Region, Meihua Cun, Guangzhou - Hong Kong Museum of History - DSC00797.JPG|thumbnail|Zhaoming Mirror frame, Western Han dynasty]]
Shen Buhai argued that if the government were organized and supervised relying on proper method (Fa), the ruler needs to do little – and must do little.<ref>{{harvp|Creel|1970|pp=69,99}}, {{harvp|Creel|1974|p=66}}</ref> Apparently paraphrasing the [[Analects]], Shen did not consider the relationship between ruler and minister antagonistic necessarily,<ref>R. P. Peerenboom 1993 p.241. [https://books.google.com/books?id=ctWt6bvFaNAC&pg=PA241 Law and Morality in Ancient China.]</ref> but still believed that the ruler's most able ministers were his greatest danger,<ref name="Creel p.35">{{harvp|Creel|1974|p=35}}</ref> and was convinced that it was impossible to make them loyal without techniques.<ref>{{harvp|Go|2002|p=143}}</ref> Sinologist [[Herrlee G. Creel]] explains: "The ruler's subjects are so numerous, and so on alert to discover his weaknesses and get the better of him, that it is hopeless for him alone as one man to try to learn their characteristics and control them by his knowledge... the ruler must refrain from taking the initiative, and from making himself conspicuous – and therefore vulnerable – by taking any overt action."{{sfnp|Creel|1970|p=67}}

Emphasizing the use of administrative methods (''Fa'') in secrecy, Shen Buhai portrays the ruler as putting up a front to hide his weaknesses and dependence on his advisers.<ref>Karyn Lai 2017. p.171. [https://books.google.com/books?id=3M1WDgAAQBAJ&pg=PA171 An Introduction to Chinese Philosophy.]</ref> Shen therefore advises the ruler to keep his own counsel, hide his motivations, and conceal his tracks in inaction, availing himself of an appearance of stupidity and insufficiency.<ref name="auto">{{harvp|Creel|1982|p=67}}</ref><ref name="Creel p.35"/> Shen says:

{{blockquote
| text=If the ruler's intelligence is displayed, men will prepare against it; if his lack of intelligence is displayed, they will delude him. If his wisdom is displayed, men will gloss over (their faults); if his lack of wisdom is displayed, they will hide from him. If his lack of desires is displayed, men will spy out his true desires; if his desires are displayed, they will tempt him. Therefore (the intelligent ruler) says 'I cannot know them; it is only by means of non-action that I control them.'<ref>{{harvp|Creel|1970|p=66}}; {{harvp|Huang|2016|p=185}}</ref>}}

Acting through ''Fa'', the ruler conceals his intentions, likes and dislikes, skills and opinions. Not acting himself, he can avoid being manipulated.{{sfnp|Barlow|1985|p=92}} The ruler plays no active role in governmental functions. He should not use his talent even if he has it. Not using his own skills, he is better able to secure the services of capable functionaries. Creel argues that not getting involved in details allowed Shen's ruler to "truly rule", because it leaves him free to supervise the government without interfering, maintaining his perspective.{{sfnmp|1a1=Creel|1y=1970|1p=65–66|2a1=Go|2y=2002|2p=198}} Seeing and hearing independently, the ruler is able to make decisions independently, and is, Shen says, able to rule the world thereby.{{sfnp|Creel|1974|p=26}}

{{blockquote
| text=The ruler is like a mirror, reflecting light, doing nothing, and yet, beauty and ugliness present themselves; (or like) a scale establishing equilibrium, doing nothing, and yet causing lightness and heaviness to discover themselves. (Administrative) method (Fa) is complete acquiescence. (Merging his) personal (concerns) with the public (weal), he does not act. He does not act, and yet the world itself is complete.
| source=Shen Buhai<ref name="auto2">{{harvp|Creel|1982|p=64}}</ref>
}}

This ''wu wei'' might be said to end up the political theory of the [[Legalism (Chinese philosophy)|"Legalists"]], if not becoming their general term for political strategy, playing a "crucial role in the promotion of the autocratic tradition of the Chinese polity". The (qualified) non-action of the ruler ensures his power and the stability of the polity.<ref name="go 198">{{harvp|Go|2002|p=198}}</ref>

=== Non-action in statecraft ===
[[File:Wang Juzheng's Spinning Wheel, Close Up 2.jpg|thumb|"The Way of Listening is to be giddy as though soused. Be dumber and dumber. Let others deploy themselves, and accordingly I shall know them."
{{paragraph break}}
Right and wrong whirl around him like spokes on a wheel, but the sovereign does not complot. Emptiness, stillness, non-action—these are the characteristics of the Way. By checking and comparing how it accords with reality, &#91;one ascertains&#93; the "performance" of an enterprise.<ref>{{harvp|Goldin|2013| p=10}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Chen |first=Qiyou {{lang|zh|陳奇猷}} |year=2000 |trans-title=Han Feizi, with new collations and commentary |script-title=zh:韓非子新校注 |location=Shanghai |publisher=Guji |pages=2.8.156}}</ref>
{{paragraph break}}
Han Fei
{{paragraph break}}
Detail of ''The Spinning Wheel'', by [[History of Chinese art|Chinese artist]] Wang Juzheng, [[Northern Song dynasty]] (960–1279)<ref>{{cite book |last1=Deng |first1=Yingke |first2=Pingxing |last2=Wang |year=2005 |title=Ancient Chinese Inventions |publisher={{lang|zh|五洲传播出版社}} (World communication publishing) |isbn=7-5085-0837-8 |page=[https://archive.org/details/ancientchinesein0000deng/page/48 48] |url=https://archive.org/details/ancientchinesein0000deng/page/48 }}</ref>]]

Shen Buhai insisted that the ruler must be fully informed of the state of his realm, but couldn't afford to get caught up in details and in an ideal situation need listen to no one. Listening to his courtiers might interfere with promotions, and he does not, as Sinologist [[Herrlee G. Creel]] says, have the time to do so. The way to see and hear independently is the grouping together of particulars into categories using mechanical or operational method (Fa). On the contrary the ruler's eyes and ears will make him "deaf and blind" (unable to obtain accurate information). Seeing and hearing independently, the ruler is able to make decisions independently, and is, Shen says, able to rule the world thereby.{{sfnmp|1a1=Creel|1y=1970|1p=81|2a1=Creel|2y=1974|2p=33,68–69|3a1=Graham|3y=1989|3p=283}}

Despite this, Shen's method of appointment, ''Ming-shih'', advises a particular method for listening to petitioners in the final analyses, which would be articulated as Xing-Ming by [[Han Fei]]. In the Han dynasty secretaries of government who had charge of the records of decisions in criminal matters were called Xing-Ming, which [[Sima Qian]] (145 or 135 – 86 BC) and [[Liu Xiang (scholar)|Liu Xiang]] (77–6 BC) attributed to the doctrine of Shen Buhai (400 – {{circa|337 BC}}). Liu Xiang goes as far as to define Shen Buhai's doctrine as Xing-Ming.{{sfnmp|Creel|1970|1pp=72, 80, 103–104|Creel|1959|2pp=199–200|Makeham|1990|3pp=91–92}} Rather than having to look for "good" men, ming-shih or xing-ming can seek the right man for a particular post by comparing his reputation with real conduct (xing "form" or shih "reality"), though doing so implies a total organizational knowledge of the regime.{{sfnmp|1a1=Creel|1y=1974|1p=57|2a1=Creel|2y=1970|2p=83|3a1=Creel|3y=1959|3p=203}}

More simply though, one can allow ministers to "name" themselves through accounts of specific cost and time frame, leaving their definition to competing ministers. Claims or utterances "bind the speaker to the realization a job" (Makeham). This was the doctrine, with subtle differences, favoured by Han Fei. Favoring exactness, it combats the tendency to promise too much.<ref>{{harvp|Makeham|1990|p=91}}; Mark Edward Lewis, 1999 p.&nbsp;33, Writing and Authority in Early China; {{harvp|Goldin|2013| p=9}}</ref> The correct articulation of {{zhi|c=名|p=míng|l=name', 'speech', 'title}} is considered crucial to the realization of projects.{{sfnmp|Makeham|1990|1p=91|Makeham|1994|2p=67}}

Shen resolved hair-splitting litigation through ''wu wei'', or not getting involved, making an official's words his own responsibility.{{sfnp|Makeham|1990|p=91}} Shen Buhai says, "The ruler controls the policy, the ministers manage affairs. To speak ten times and ten times be right, to act a hundred times and a hundred times succeed – this is the business of one who serves another as minister; it is not the way to rule."{{sfnp|Creel|1970|p=65}} The correlation between ''wu wei'' and ming-shih likely informed the Taoist conception of the formless Tao that "gives rise to the ten thousand things."<ref>Julia Ching, R. W. L. Guisso. 1991. pp.&nbsp;75,119. [https://books.google.com/books?id=ynfrlFZcUG8C&pg=PA75 Sages and Filial Sons. ]</ref>

====Yin (passive mindfulness)====
Adherence to the use of technique in governing requires the ruler not engage in any interference or subjective consideration.{{sfnp|Makeham|1990|pp=90–91}} Sinologist [[John Makeham]] explains: "assessing words and deeds requires the ruler's dispassionate attention; (yin is) the skill or technique of making one's mind a [[tabula rasa]], non-committaly taking note of all the details of a man's claims and then objectively comparing his achievements of the original claims."{{sfnp|Makeham|1990|pp=90–91}}

A commentary to the Shiji cites a now-lost book as quoting Shen Buhai saying: "By employing (yin), 'passive mindfulness', in overseeing and keeping account of his vassals, accountability is deeply engraved." The ''Guanzi'' similarly says: "Yin is the way of non-action. Yin is neither to add to nor to detract from anything. To give something a name strictly on the basis of its form – this is the Method of yin."{{sfnmp|Makeham|1990|1pp=90–91|Makeham|1994|2p=69}} Yin also aimed at concealing the ruler's intentions, likes and opinions.{{sfnp|Makeham|1990|pp=90–91}}

=== Shen Dao ===
Shen Dao espouses an impersonal administration in much the same sense as Shen Buhai, and argued for ''wu wei'', or the non action of the ruler, along the same lines, saying
{{blockquote| text=The Dao of ruler and ministers is that the ministers labour themselves with tasks while the prince has no task; the prince is relaxed and happy while the ministers bear responsibility for tasks. The ministers use all their intelligence and strength to perform his job satisfactorily, in which the ruler takes no part, but merely waits for the job to be finished. As a result, every task is taken care of. The correct way of government is thus.<ref>{{harvp|Chen |Sung|2015|page=251}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Emerson |first=John |title=Shen Dao: Text and Translation |oclc=911414271 |year=2013 |publisher= Éditions Le Real}}</ref>}}

Shen Dao eschews appointment by interview in favour of a mechanical distribution apportioning every person according to their achievement.<ref>{{cite book |first=John |last=Knoblock  |year=1988 |publisher=Stanford University Press |page=172 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DNqmAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA172 |title=Xunzi: Books 7–16. |isbn=9780804717717}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |author=Masayuki Sato |year=2003 |pages=122, 126, 133–136 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FXJuJl5XTqAC&pg=PA134 |title=The Confucian Quest for Order: The Origin and Formation of the Political Thought of Xun Zi |publisher=BRILL |isbn=9789004129658 |ref={{harvid|Sato|2003}}}}</ref> Linking administrative methods or standards to the notion of impartial objectivity associated with universal interest, and reframing the language of the old ritual order to fit a universal, imperial and highly bureaucratized state,<ref name="Erica Brindley p.6, 8">{{cite journal |first=Erica |last=Brindley |title=The Polarization of the Concepts Si (Private Interest) and Gong (Public Interest) in Early Chinese Thought |journal=Asia Major |volume=26 |issue=2 |year=2013  |pages=6, 8, 12–13, 16, 19, 21–22, 24, 27 |jstor=43829251}}</ref> Shen cautions the ruler against relying on his own personal judgment,<ref name="Shen Dao's Own Voice 2011. p.202">{{cite journal |title=Shen Dao's Own Voice in the Shenzi Fragments |year=2011 |page=202 |journal=Dao |volume=10 |doi=10.1007/s11712-011-9212-7 |last1=Yang |first1=Soon-ja |issue=2 }}</ref> contrasting personal opinions with the merit of the objective standard as preventing personal judgements or opinions from being exercised. Personal opinions destroy standards, and Shen Dao's ruler therefore "does not show favoritism toward a single person".<ref name="Erica Brindley p.6, 8"/>

{{blockquote | When an enlightened ruler establishes &#91;gong&#93; ("duke" or "public interest"), [private&#93; desires do not oppose the correct timing &#91;of things&#93;, favoritism does not violate the law, nobility does not trump the rules, salary does not exceed &#91;that which is due&#93; one's position, a &#91;single&#93; officer does not occupy multiple offices, and a &#91;single&#93; craftsman does not take up multiple lines of work... &#91;Such a ruler&#93; neither overworked his heart-mind with knowledge nor exhausted himself with self-interest (si), but, rather, depended on laws and methods for settling matters of order and disorder, rewards and punishments for deciding on matters of right and wrong, and weights and balances for resolving issues of heavy or light...<ref name="Erica Brindley p.6, 8"/>

The reason why those who apportion horses use ce-lots, and those who apportion fields use gou-lots, is not that they take ce and gou-lots to be superior to human wisdom, but that one may eliminate private interest and stop resentment by these means. Thus it is said: 'When the great lord relies on fa and does not act personally, affairs are judged in accordance with (objective) method (fa).' The benefit of fa is that each person meets his reward or punishment according to his due, and there are no further expectations of the lord. Thus resentment does not arise and superiors and inferiors are in harmony.

If the lord of men abandons method (Fa) and governs with his own person, then penalties and rewards, seizures and grants, will all emerge from the lord's mind. If this is the case, then those who receive rewards, even if these are commensurate, will ceaselessly expect more; those who receive punishment, even if these are commensurate, will endlessly expect more lenient treatment... people will be rewarded differently for the same merit and punished differently for the same fault. Resentment arises from this."<ref>{{harvp|Goldin|2011}} {{pages needed |date=March 2025}}; {{harvp|Sato|2003|p=129}}; {{harvp|Yang|2013|p=50}}</ref>}}

===Han Fei===
Devoting the entirety of Chapter 14, "How to Love the Ministers", to "persuading the ruler to be ruthless to his ministers", Han Fei's enlightened ruler strikes terror into his ministers by doing nothing (wu wei). The qualities of a ruler, his "mental power, moral excellence and physical prowess" are irrelevant. He discards his private reason and morality, and shows no personal feelings. What is important is his method of government. Fa (administrative standards) require no perfection on the part of the ruler.<ref name="Ellen Marie Chen p.2,4">{{cite journal |first=Ellen Marie |last=Chen |date=1975 |volume=3 |number=1 |pages=2, 4, 6–9 |title=The Dialectic of Chih (Reason) and Tao (Nature) in ''The Han Fei-Tzu'' |journal=Journal of Chinese Philosophy}}</ref>

If the Han Fei's use of ''wu wei'' was derivative of proto-Daoist [[Animism|folk religion]], its Dao nonetheless emphasizes autocracy ("Tao does not identify with anything but it non-self, the ruler does not identify with the ministers"). Accepting that Han Fei applies ''wu wei'' specifically to statecraft, professors Xing Lu argues that Han Fei still considered ''wu wei'' is still a virtue. As Han Fei says, "by virtue (De) of resting empty and reposed, he waits for the course of nature to force or unfold itself."<ref>{{cite book |author=Xing Lu {{lang|zh|呂行}} |date=1998 |title=Rhetoric in Ancient China, Fifth to Third Century, B.C.E.. |chapter=Conceptualization of Shui and Ming Bian by Han Feizi |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=72QURrAppzkC&pg=PA264 |page=264 |isbn=9781570032165 |publisher=University of South Carolina Press}}</ref>{{sfnp|Ames|1994|p=50}}

{{blockquote
|text=Dao is the beginning of the myriad things, the standard of right and wrong. That being so, the intelligent ruler, by holding to the beginning, knows the source of everything, and, by keeping to the standard, knows the origin of good and evil. Therefore, by virtue of resting empty and reposed, he waits for the course of nature to enforce itself so that all names will be defined of themselves and all affairs will be settled of themselves. Empty, he knows the essence of fullness: reposed, he becomes the corrector of motion. Who utters a word creates himself a name; who has an affair creates himself a form. Compare forms and names and see if they are identical. Then the ruler will find nothing to worry about as everything is reduced to its reality...<p>

Dao exists in invisibility; its function, in unintelligibility. Be empty and reposed and have nothing to do-Then from the dark see defects in the light. See but never be seen. Hear but never be heard. Know but never be known. If you hear any word uttered, do not change it nor move it but compare it with the deed and see if word and deed coincide with each other. Place every official with a censor. Do not let them speak to each other. Then everything will be exerted to the utmost. Cover tracks and conceal sources. Then the ministers cannot trace origins. Leave your wisdom and cease your ability. Then your subordinates cannot guess at your limitations.<ref> {{harvp|Han Fei|Watson|pp=16, 18}}; {{harvp|Csikszentmihalyi|1997}}{{pages needed |date=March 2025}}; {{harvp|Huang|2016|pages=186–187}}; {{harvp|Lim Xiao Wei |2005  |page=18}}; {{cite book |url=http://www2.iath.virginia.edu/saxon/servlet/SaxonServlet?source=xwomen/texts/hanfei.xml&style=xwomen/xsl/dynaxml.xsl&chunk.id=d2.5&toc.depth=1&toc.id=0&doc.lang=bilingual |title=The Complete Works of Han Fei Tzŭ with Collected Commentaries |chapter=Chapter V. The Tao of the Sovereign |access-date=2019-03-21}}</ref></p>}}

The ''Han Feizi''{{'}}s commentary on the Daodejing asserts that perspectiveless knowledge – an absolute point of view – is possible.<ref>Chad Hansen, 1992 p.&nbsp;371 [https://books.google.com/books?id=nzHmobC0ThsC&pg=PA371 A Daoist Theory of Chinese Thought]</ref>

=== Han dynasty ===
Legalism dominated the intellectual life of the Qin and early Han together with Daoism. Early Han dynasty Emperors like [[Emperor Jing of Han|Emperor Jing]] (r. 157–141 BCE) would be steeped in a Daoistic laissez-faire.<ref>Hansen, Chad, "Daoism", The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Fall 2014 Edition), Edward N. Zalta (ed.), http://plato.stanford.edu/archives/fall2014/entries/daoism/</ref> But Shen Buhai's book would be widely studied even from the beginning of the Han era.<ref name="Creel p.35"/> [[Jia Yi]]'s (200–168 AD) Hsin-shu, undoubtedly influenced by the "Legalists", describes Shen Buhai's techniques as methods of applying the Dao, or virtue, bringing together Confucian and Daoist discourses under the imagery of the Zhuangzi.<ref>{{harvp|Csikszentmihalyi|1997|pp=49, 65}}</ref> Many later texts, for instance in [[Huang-Lao]], use similar images to describe the quiescent attitude of the ruler.<ref>{{harvp|Csikszentmihalyi|1997|p=55}}
</ref>
The [[Huang-Lao]] text ''[[Huainanzi]]'' (Western Han dynasty 206 B.C. – 9 A.D.), although oriented toward state interest, would go on to include naturalist arguments in favour of rule by worthies on the basis that one needs their competence for such things as diplomacy, and defines ''wu wei'' as follows:

{{blockquote|"What is meant ... by wu-wei is that no personal prejudice &#91;private or public will,&#93; interferes with the universal Tao &#91;the laws of things&#93;, and that no desires and obsessions lead the true course ... astray. Reason must guide action in order that power may be exercised according to the intrinsic properties and natural trends of things."<ref>John M. Hobson, The Eastern Origins of Western Civilisation (Cambridge 2004), p. 190.</ref>}}

The Huang–Lao text [[Huangdi Sijing|Jing fa]] says:
{{blockquote|The right way to understand all these (things) is to remain in a state of &#91;vacuity,&#93; formlessness and non-being. Only if one remains in such a state, may he thereby know that (all things) necessarily possess their forms and names as soon as they come into existence, even though they are as small as autumn down. As soon as forms and names are established, the distinction between black and white becomes manifest... there will be no way to escape from them without a trace or to hide them from regulation... &#91;all things&#93; will correct themselves.<ref>{{harvp|Chen |Sung|2015|page= 253}}</ref>}}

==Modern==
Philosopher [[Alan Watts]] believed that ''wu wei'' can be described as "not-forcing."<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZzaUGhhnlQ8 |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211222/ZzaUGhhnlQ8 |archive-date=2021-12-22 |url-status=live|title=Alan Watts - The Principle Of Not Forcing|date=17 July 2018 |via=www.youtube.com}}{{cbignore}}</ref> Watts also understood ''wu wei'' as "the art of getting out of one’s own way" and offered the following illustration: "The river is not pushed from behind, nor is it pulled from ahead. It falls with gravity."<ref>{{cite book |last=Watts |first=Alan |author-link= |date=March 1974 |title=Cloud-Hidden, Whereabouts Unknown |url= |location= |publisher=Pantheon Books |page= |isbn=978-0-394-71999-3}}</ref>

[[Leo Tolstoy]] was deeply influenced by Daoist philosophy, and wrote his own interpretation of ''wu wei'' in his piece ''[[Non-Activity]]''.

Psychoanalyst [[Robin S. Brown]] has examined ''wu wei'' in the context of Western psychotherapy.<ref>Brown, R.S. (2020). [https://www.routledge.com/Groundwork-for-a-Transpersonal-Psychoanalysis-Spirituality-Relationship/Brown/p/book/9781138571891 ''Groundwork for a Transpersonal Psychoanalysis: Spirituality, Relationship, and Participation'']. Abingdon, UK; New York: Routledge.</ref> Brown links ''wu wei'' with the psychoanalytic notion of [[Enactment (psychology)|enactment]].

==See also==

*[[No-mind]]
*[[Flow (psychology)]]
*[[Willpower paradox]]
*[[Sprezzatura]]
*[[Sahaja]]
*[[Samyama]]
*[[Zuhd#Islam|Zuhd]]

==Notes==
{{notelist}}
{{reflist|group=note}}

==References==
=== Citations ===
{{reflist}}

=== General sources ===
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==External links==
* [https://web.archive.org/web/19981202123921/http://www.jadedragon.com/archives/june98/tao.html "Taoism – The Wu-Wei Principle"] by Ted Kardash.  Jade Dragon Online, June 1998.
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20000824131209/http://ccbs.ntu.edu.tw/FULLTEXT/JR-PHIL/loy3.htm "Wei-wu-wei: Nondual action"] by David Loy. ''Philosophy East and West'', Vol. 35, No. 1 (January 1985) pp.&nbsp;73–87. {{JSTOR|1398682}}.
* [http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/22479/ "Wu-Wei in Europe. A Study of Eurasian Economic Thought"] by Christian Gerlach. London School of Economics 2005.
* [http://guest@buddhism-dict.net/cgi-bin/xpr-ddb.pl?71.xml+id('b7121-7232') "Wú wéi translations and usages in Buddhism"]—''Digital Dictionary of Buddhism''
* [http://www.edepot.com/taoism_wu-wei.html ''wu wei'' (WuWei) Calligraphy Scrolls] from the ''Dao de Jing''
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20180313165200/http://www.daoism.net/ Daoism.net]—The Entire Philosophy of Laozi's Daodejing Explained in Common Sense
* [https://www.academia.edu/12104376/Laozi_Libertarianism_and_Wu-wei_Non-interference_Analysis%E8%80%81%E5%AD%90%E7%9A%84%E6%97%A0%E4%B8%BA%E8%AF%A6%E8%A7%A3 Laozi, Libertarianism & Wu-wei(Non-interference) Analysis老子的无为详解]

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