The Concept of Wei-wu-wei "To Be by not Being" Teaching of Lao Tzu

One of the most prominent teachings of Lao Tzu is the Wei-Wu-Wei; it is the concept of non-doing and non-striving. Many interpretations of this teaching arose from different perspectives, one of which is to do nothing, or as little as possible. This means to eliminate all probabilities of interfering with the flow of life. Human interference can become a common occurrence since humans constantly feel the need to take control over everyday circumstances. Non-interference can become especially difficult because of varied desires and expectations of a human on his future. Wei-Wu-Wei becomes challenging because a human is naturally explorative; he is not known for taking things naturally. A human has natural urges to plan everything by the minute, making Wei-Wu-Wei an experience of the opposite. Following this concept of human interference, one of the ideas of Wei-Wu-Wei is to know when efforts are going on a dead end.

An elaborate example would be to think that there are some things that cannot be accomplished by making efforts at its fullest extent; this idea does not go with writing essays or finishing a project, but it contributes to concepts such as happiness and appreciation. There are instances wherein happiness seeks a human, and not the opposite. One might think that a human must seek his happiness but the more you try to find happiness, the more it becomes unnatural. Seeking happiness is not the way to achieve it at the full extent; let things make you happy, let the sight of colorful flowers make your eyes smile, let the smell of freshly baked cookies warm your heart. Let the flow of things go in its natural state. Wei-Wu-Wei is the idea of natural action; it is the idea of knowing that what happens in your life is meant to happen that way. As contrary to common belief, Lao Tzu talks of life as a pre-planned happening. It talks of the misfortunes, obstacles, and mistakes we encounter and how life is a novel that has already been written prior to our birth. This makes dealing with life easier and guilt-free; it makes humans think that they can do nothing to affect whatever happens in their life. It makes people think that life is a continuous flow of river and whatever happens, happens. Lao Tzu talks of the cause of humans acting unnaturally: consciousness; through consciousness, we become aware of what is happening in our lives. We are privy of our mistakes and this, in turn, results to an overdose of efforts to reverse these actions that bore mistakes.

The root cause of unnatural action is self-consciousness. Consequently, Lao Tzu then talks about the elimination of consciousness to prevent the human to act opposite to what his life should be. Wei-Wu-Wei also introduces a life void of struggle; it introduces life as something that cannot be fought with because it has presets that cannot be altered. It is a common practice to try to reverse and fight with mistakes made to avoid monumental effects. It is a difficult act, rowing a boat opposite to the flow of a river; this is the entire concept of Wei-Wu-Wei. Our life has a natural flow that we have to follow only through a stable mental structure absent of conscious action. We act in accordance to spontaneity, with no guidebook planned prior to what we do. Our mind becomes one with the flow of life; we lose track of what is happening because everything happens naturally. To be absolutely coherent, the concept of Wei-Wu-Wei is not and should not be compared to laziness; one cannot graduate without any effort given to school works. One cannot apply for a job without preparing for the interview. Wei-Wu-Wei means achieving a mental state that becomes perfectly aligned with the flow of life that we do not become suppressive to what is happening to us.

There are proposed methods by various perspectives stating how to reach a peaceful mental state. One of these is to get in the flow; this means getting in the zone of your life. Be completely focused with every happening that you become one with it. Focus immensely, refrain from outside noises or external and internal factors that will unquestionably affect your line of thinking. Set yourself to an environment of healthy people and healthy sights, those that will add to the concentration that you wish to attain. Clear your mind from any stress, do not let every little thing disturb your natural state of calmness. Disconnect from the usual pollution of the city, the busyness of the streets. If your thoughts become far too disturbing, learn to clear out its noise. Attain a state of ideal personal development. Learn to grow on you own, achieve a mental state that is not dependent on any person or any material object. Do things that will naturally open up your mind to a state that will eventually achieve Wei-Wu-Wei.

Learning about Wei-Wu-Wei, it is safe to say that it is a complex and difficult state to attain. It is not something you can do overnight but once you achieve that mental state, it becomes bliss from that point forward. Life often complicates things for humans but it does not have to be that way; life should be in its natural order, it should not be suppresses. Mistakes happen but they happen intentionally, it does not happen because you chose for it to happen but because life consists of mistakes that will help you grow. Wei-Wu-Wei emphasizes a clear and calm state of mind wherein we do not fight with life’s natural course. This must be our natural principle to avoid any stress or disturbances. Wei-Wu-Wei is the human’s weapon to riding the tides.