Can you make a video about the research of Mauro Biglino where he claims that the Bible was written by the Israeli people to describe their relation with their governor called Yahweh, and that theologians of the following centuries inappropriately ''turned'' Yahweh in a spiritual God, a God that does not belong to us by manipulating the Bible and the name of God itself and creating grammar rules to justify the use of the word ''Elohim'' which describes ''God'' but in the plural form.
The example of the water flowing around rock instead of trying to move it, yet, gradually eroding the stone helps me to understand the idea much better.
Except that YOU are not the water, the water is society. You yourself get tumbled around and society doesn't care if you crash into a rock. Daoism, like all chinese cultural heritage, is fundamentally against the individual and you should be careful falling for it.
@@yaldabaoth2 First of all, I'm not what you call falling for Daoism. I'm only trying to understand the meaning of the word discussed in the video which seems better explained with the example than with other attempts by others to try and explain the word. Second of all, I believe life needs to be a balance of the individual and the society at large. Sometimes the needs of the many outweigh then needs of the few or one, but without the value of the one then the many itself has no real value either. A lot of nothing is still nothing. Third I'm not going to belittle other societies because this is how they manage to cope with life. No one person has all the answers as our pea sized brains, no matter how large it may be, only makes up a very small portion of the universe of knowledge, so I won't talk about the ideas of others putting more value on society as being generally inferior to mine nor theirs as being superior to mine. No one has a monopoly on truth, and I doubt that you do by presenting Daoism as some sort of scam.
That's why in China we all wonder why westerners all use the Chinese character for water 水 for confucianism. It's apparently Daoism and confucianism is totally different.
The idea of "uselessness" as a good thing is really helpful to me as a disabled person who cannot work. I have other value to the world that isn't providing labor for money.
@@eaterdrinker000 You are being useful right now by sharing your experience for others to relate to though, and doing labor is very useful to the world even if you (regrettably) don't get the pay you deserve for said labour. And even if you didn't do anything you still have potential to act, which means you are not useless. But usefulness and value are two different terms, you have value because you are human and you are alive... Regardless of your usefulness
I think even at that point in time you would be considered useless. The thing is neither you nor anyone else has value to the world, that’s what ultimate truth is when it comes to eastern faiths.
@@toxendon In a society, the material usefulness of a person is determined by the contributions they can make for other people in relationship to the resources they need themselves. So yes, a person can indeed be useless to society, precisely when that person is using more resources than they provide. And I think you have to see usefulness in this very materialistic way, because usefulness itself is a utilitarian concept. What is more debatable is whether a persons overall *value* should be determined by their usefulness. I would argue that this depends a lot on perspective and relationships and that there is no such thing as objective value of a human, but only value in relationship to another person or oneself. The value of strangers to me is entirely defined by their material usefulness; however, the same does not apply to close friends and family or even my own sense of value.
I am reading the comments and I see that so many ppl misunderstand the dao/flow concept. Lao Tzu may have lived a very simple life, but just because someone is simple and "goes with the flow" it does NOT mean that they are a FOOL....remember that. Because he knows himself, he also knows you, your intentions......he sees right through you. A person of the Dao is wise therefore cannot be manipulated. A person that is aligned with the Dao always knows what the right action/response is in any situation.......and what to do, when to do it or...........when NOT to act. It takes wisdom. Lao Tzu would not let others walk all over him. He would even use violence to defend himself IF attacked. Daoists are not vegetables.
My own understanding of this concept (which I actually discovered through my own personal insight, before ever being aware of Taoism): to do things without intention, acting that comes naturally (nature thus acts by the principle of Wu-Wei). I put it thusly: "Fruits fall when ripe, if we pick them too soon, they turn out sour." It is about watching and waiting until circumstances are just so, then jump in and "ride the wave" to success. But don't wait too long or hesitate, as you may then "miss the boat." "Let it happen; don't make it happen."
Since this video mentioned The Tao of Pooh, it's quite fitting that your insights reminded me of this bit between Rabbit and Pooh in "The House At Pooh Corner" when Rabbit asks Pooh if Pooh had wrote the song he'd just sang; ”Well, I sort of made it up,” said Pooh. ”It isn’t Brain,” he went on humbly, ”because You Know Why, Rabbit; but it comes to me sometimes.” ”Ah!” said Rabbit, who never let things come to him; but always went and fetched them. Pooh let's things happen, unlike Rabbit who makes things happen (goes out to fetch them).
“In my lane” is kind of missing the point. You can go out of your lane and change the course of things and remain taoist. You are part of the flow of things but don’t resist the things that cant be changed.
I think the wuwai is a good approach for when we struggle with making decisions, choices and overthinking about something that might go wrong or turn bitter in the future. It's common for people to stress over what happens in their life and try to control the flow of their lives by " making sure they always made the right choice ", but this is impossible, yet something that turns out to be bad in the beginning, might actually prove itself useful in the future. Another example could be living based on what your family/society wants to do do and be, and ignoring your calling. You make your family / society proud and get recognition and appreciation, but you are unable to live your true purpose because you let others control and influence what you do, therefore you aren't going with the flow.
Iffy. One of the reasons people fret over decisions for the future is the catastrophic consequences society sets up for making a contrary decision. The people are only a reflection of what is set before them. The stone in the river is also effortless action. It is not moving, not acting; simply is. But allows itself to be changed by its surroundings.
Interesting perspective, it’s much appreciated. To be devil’s advocate, I’ve also heard the opposite of your second example used as a reason for not following one’s passion. It’s not the way according to society/family and deference to seniority/filial piety inclines a person to not exert their influence beyond their station. Thoughts?
That’s not really what it’s about though. Your thinking about what you want while in terms of the Dao it’s what’s in harmony with nature which isn’t always what you want
I would argue against your last point, I think that disregarding the people around you for your dreams is incorrect. I believe that you should follow your heart but without going against what your family wants for you. It might not seem like that's a lot of space to maneuver around, but there is so much in life that it's impossible for anyone else to fully control what you do or decide. It's important to have an ease of mind, and rebelling against your family isn't going to give you that. But that doesn't mean blind obedience, sometimes things just don't end up the way your parents expected it to go, eventually it will become natural for them to give up on their expectations on you.
I'm unsure about logic used at the end of your comment.. It sounds like going along with the familial and societal expectations set forth to you that you are going with the flow. Going against those expectations would then be going against the flow
Perhaps it would be also helpful to mention that the times the Daoist traditions arose, were the most chaotic, hectic, and bloody period in the history of China, being the Warring States Period (mid-5th century BCE - 221 BCE). The Warring States were all about power, ambition, and the will and intent to fight, survive, annex and conquer through power. What began as an estimated 1,500 large and small independent states in the beginning of the Spring&Autumn Period (mid-8th century BCE ~), ended up around 120 states at the beginning of the WSP, and in the final days of the WSP boiled down to around 7. In that context, it's not hard to see where and why the Daoist beliefs arose.
True. It's always important to keep historical context in mind when trying to understanding any philosophical or religious tradition. They don't emerge out of thin air. They're unavoidably shaped by material conditions.
@@johnmatrix3664and this is why I think we will have a pretty robust religion centered around the environment and nature as a counter to our current society of capital and resource exploitation
As you talked about the rock, the river, and not striving for a goal, I thought of two things. The Zen Archer never things about the bulls eye, understanding that by perfecting each step in the process, the arrow will eventually reach the bulls eye "on its own". Then there's a concept in Sociology called _Intergroup Contact Theory._ While the march of progress for marginalized groups has _definitely_ benefited from people who _push against the stone,_ it has also largely benefited from people getting to know (or _finding out_ that somebody they already know _is)_ a _member_ of such a group. Simply by being _themselves,_ as nature made them (inactive), they make (active) those around them come to terms with their own irreconcilable prejudice.
"Life is a series of natural and spontaneous changes. Don't resist them - that only creates sorrow. Let reality be reality. Let things flow naturally forward in whatever way they like." - Lao Tzu
I think many non Chinese have misunderstood the actual meaning of Bu Wei, it’s a vocabulary of Classical Chinese, not modern Chinese. The phrase is 无为而无不为 wu wei er wu bu wei which loosely translates as non action while not no actions. It means your actions must be done in consistency with the nature of things without any of your interference yet your actions was the ideal outcome, as how it should have been. In layman’s term, you have put in a lot of effort to ensure your selfless performance is the desired outcome that meets the general expectations of another with nothing in return. That’s why it is important to find your own way. Dao De Jing (Dao De also means moral ethics) is meant as a guideline to become a ideal person. A belief of idealism. If one fails to be in harmonious with the way of his path, it means the path is not suitable for him, and he should moved on. I hope this helps.
I have heard it put as "Action without thought." It was explained as a skilled archer trapped in a ring by some malevolent creature. The only way out was to hit the creature with an arrow. The hard part was that the creature knew all your thoughts. So you would think to shoot and the creature would move and you would miss. In the end, the archer was able to just shoot off an arrow with no forethought to it. With no thought, the creature was unable to know it was coming and it got hit by the arrow. This also goes into being one with The Dao. When you are one with The Dao, you have no need for thought. Like the river, you just flow through life. One of the early ones he states is action without action. In this it is the difference between "Making" something happen and "Allowing" it to happen. Say you have a cylinder of water with no top. It is completely full. You are told to put air in the cylinder. "Making" air go into the cylinder would be opening an air hose in the cylinder. The air pushes the water out and takes its place (making a mess in the process). "Allowing" air into the cylinder would be to open a spout at the bottom and let water drain out of the cylinder and thus cause a vacuum that air goes into (controlled and with no force). Hope this helps some to better understand these concepts.
I left this comment on an Alan Watts video about six months ago and it's got a lot of good feedback. If you don't know Watts, he does an amazing job of explaining the fundamental impetus of many religions - if you like Religion for Breakfast you'll like his lectures. Anyway - something finally clicked for me over Christmas and if I may be so bold, I'll leave the idea (just my version of very old ideas) here so perhaps you might resonate with it too. ** The secret can be found by looking at the characteristics of your life so far (and Watts has said this). Look at your own mind. Look how it works. Bam! There's a thought. Bam! Another thought, perhaps contradicting the first. And feelings (sensations in the body) that arise with those thoughts. The secret: you've chosen precisely zero of any of those things. They just come into your mind and body. Sit with that and you’ll realize actually you have no control. It's what Schopenhauer said - your desires, they're free. But only in the sense that they seem to be under no one's control, not even yours. You don't choose what you prefer. You just prefer. And so it's not that you're under the control of others or the universe (determinism), it's that 'free will' is an illusion. Choice is an illusion. Not just for you, but for anything. How do you choose? You think about something and see how it makes you feel, right? But you don't choose how it makes you feel. How would you choose your thoughts? By thinking of one and seeing how it makes you feel. But this isn’t a trap, because a) we never know what we’ll think of next, nor how anything will make us feel the next time around, and b) we DO learn. So, if you prefer logical, pragmatic thoughts, it's likely because you’ve learned that the consequences of logic and pragmatism tend to FEEL better to you. And thus our preferences change and we are able to see past our own noses and predict the consequences of our actions. And there are always consequences, even if it's just the voice inside that says "That was a good thing you did," or "Shame on you." That voice never goes away (to all the silly moral relativist children about to pipe in). But we don't choose. Yet our unwillingness to feel things (and to stay in our brains and think instead) seems to be what holds us up. Thankfully we can learn to feel things. To put our focus on body sensations (anxiety is the main one) and feel them. Try it. Just for a few moments. Feel where you feel anxious in your body. Feel the muscles there, tight. Just feel them, and they'll start to relax. Points of tension seem to relax to the extent that you are willing to feel them. Be patient - it takes a few moments of holding concentration. And once relaxed, the tensions often come back. So it’s not precisely “getting them relaxed” that’s the point, because that suggests there’s an end goal (some state of perfect relaxation). I don’t think so. Rather, the goal seems more simply to dive in, over and over, and feel completely the sensations that are emerging. It’s the feeling-without-resisting that begins to truly calm the mind, because you realize “Hey, I CAN feel this” - that thing you’ve been resisting. It’s simple, I know. Now try it again for longer. You’ll realize that you have an innate fear of feeling those pockets of anxiety you find. But also that it’s the fear of feeling the anxiety that IS the anxiety. And that's what anxiety is. The fear of feeling. So you clench. And that clenching stops you from being the relaxed, playful human you can be. It's actually you not feeling life, preferring to keep thinking about how things ‘should be’ or how you ‘should feel.’ Again the secret is just to feel whatever is happening right now. So if that’s you chastising yourself because you can’t seem to do what I’m suggesting, then feel the chastise-ness. Feel what that emotion does in your body. The clench. The buzz. The tension. The tingle. Whatever it is, feeling the clench is what unclenches it. Unclenching doesn’t mean you lose your conscience. You still value what you value, you simply see more relaxed, fun ways to get there. It’s the difference between being offered drugs and lashing out with some sort of implicit or explicit “How dare you offer that trash to me,” versus smiling and saying, “No thanks, but thanks for thinking of me.” Conversely, in the drug-offering scenario, unclenching also means allowing yourself to feel that first emotion (the emotion of ‘how dare you’) if that’s what courses through you in that moment. So put your imaginary mental cursor on body sensations as often as you can remember to. I learned to do this for singing, but I’ve realized the willingness to feel can be cultivated in other parts of life, too. While walking. While talking to people. While working. Just feel, and see how you start to handle each part of your life. If you forget (you realize you’ve been caught up in some inner story for minutes or hours) it's ok - you don't choose your thoughts! But you DO learn, so have faith that you can learn to do this. Do it lots, and watch how your brain starts to heal itself in the calm, in its ability to feel again and not run from everything. Imagine being a person who could valiantly feel every emotion. It’s a different kind of bravery, isn’t it? Not ‘in control of the world,’ and not even ‘in control of oneself’ (as much as you want to be), but simply honest. “Here’s the sensation I’m having now.” Notice I don’t call them emotions, because the word ‘emotion’ seems to add the weight of the conceptual label you’ve given them - ‘sorrow,’ ‘anxiety,’ ‘anger’ - and the idea of the emotion gets in the way of you feeling the body sensation that it brings. And again, I’m certainly NOT suggesting we act on every emotion or that any given emotion is ‘justified.’ Rather, it’s what’s happening in your body right now and you can choose to clench against it or not. Just feel what you’re shown. It’s surrender. It’s faith. You know it's your fear of feeling that's in your way, that makes you clench, and that makes you react with hostility to the world around you. Our devils are our fears of feeling and the egos that arise by thinking we're in control. Except we’re not in control - nothing is. But we can learn. And feeling the body sensations (the physical act of surrender and having faith) seems to be a secret no one quite remembers.
I think this is the time to say that, along with Anton Petrov, Indy Nydell/Spartacus Olsson and Lex Friedman, you are one of those educational TH-camrs I am fully committed to and watch every video of. The value of your content is hard to overestimate.
True, once I didn't study for a test and said "the Dao will provide" and lo and behold the test was postponed due to a surprise fire drill. I'm very satisfied with it the Dao, would buy again, highly recommended, five stars rating.
I took a class on classical Chinese philosophers this semester in college. My favorite philosopher that we learned about was Xunzi who was rather anti-laoist and pro-confucianist. His philosophy praised intentional effort and had a lot in common with modern Atheo-paganism because he believed that heaven did not care about the affairs of people, but ritual was still important because it held society together and fulfilled peoples needs in an orderly way. He believed that people could not control nature through ritual as many people did at the time, but that people should strive to respond to the challenges that nature presented in an orderly way. (Ie. You cant control the weather but you can change how you dress and on a societal level, you can ensure that the people have shelter and clothing) He believed that this could not be done without intentional effort. I think he did write about the dao, but he had a different view on it than Laozi and Zhuangzi.
@@odieseventeen1077 I personally can be described as an optimistic nihilist so I didnt think it was that bleak. His teachings on not controlling nature arent too far off from things I've learned in therapy such as "you cannot control your circumstances only how you react to them" or even the christian prayer "lord give me the strength to change the things I can change and the serenity to accept the things I cannot and the wisdom to know the difference"
I'm so excited for your new video! Love your series about Taoism.I was first introduced to Taoist philosophy in the 9th grade when I've first read a translation of Laozi in my language, and encountered this 無為, translated as something like "action through non-action".It didn't make any sense to me so I gave up.After I finished high school and went to study in China, I've got introduced to Taoism again in a better way, had more clarity on the 無為 concept, and became one of favorite philosophies ever since.
The way I interpret this is sort of living a non-performative life, by being your authentic self regardless of the situation and allowing life to happen around you whilst also participating in it as it comes. I like that it's open to interpretation too, that's a very Wuwei approach to Wuwei lol
"Zen is an end in itself. Your only goal must be mushotoku, the goal of having no goals, of striving not to strive. 'How is it possible to strive to not have goals?' you might ask. 'Isn’t that itself a goal?' Don't be a smart aleck. You should be as goal-less and lacking in purpose as your cousin, the successful one." -- Zen Judaism: For You, A Little Enlightenment by David M. Bader.
Two things occur. What you are describing is embedded in Chinese language and philosophy. In the language, words are not parts of speech (nouns, verbs etc.). They are concepts, often broad and metaphorical ones. Whether they are meant as what we would call an adjective, a noun or a verb has to do with how they occur in the sentence--what they are next to, in other words, their context. This is why wu wei is so hard to define. It is contextual itself while also emphasizing the contextual nature of reality. The trouble comes when trying to pin it down outside of the context of its usage. That brings one to Chinese philosophy. Yin and yang are the two most basic qualities of being that only have existence in relationship to each other. They are oppositional, contain each other, turn into each other and define each other. Which they are doing simultaneously, but which we discern in context. Without dark, there is no light. Without hard, there is no soft, and vice versa and so on. Thus, action and non-action actually define each other and are contained within each other. Which one chooses has to do with the context of the moment--ie., is spontaneous and natural, rather than contrived and synthetic. It is very hard to discuss such things with a language that has absolute definitions and functions of words. Thought this might help.
I think one of the best ways to describe the Dao and it's actions is as an "Unguided Will". It is not intentional in it's flow, but it nonetheless carries the force to make things happen. Exactly like a river.
"Grandpa... You're a good man. A really good man." "I'm just a pebble beside the river. I've been worn down so long, now I'm nice and smooth." - The Lower Depths (1957) The Sayings of Old Man Tcheng: th-cam.com/video/JEorK1_DWSs/w-d-xo.html
For many wu-wei is a different concept because we as people love to strategize our lives to avoid what we perceive as potential harm, thus in the Daodejing it is said: “the reason I have an enemy is because I have a ‘self’ if I had no self, what enemy would I have?” This falls in line very much with the Buddhist idea of letting go of ego, in another chapter it says “the master is de-tached from all things, therefore she is United with all things” if we let go of the concept of ‘self’ the Dao we will hear and feel the pull of the Dao by intuition, which will guide us to assist others through compassion, because we are United with Dao, the Dao “nourishes infinite worlds, yet does not seek to posses the smallest creature”
The Tao is always moving and you are it/in the middle of it so there is no other way than the Tao's way. If you fight it you are like the rock in the river- battered until you fall apart, but if you move with it like you would swimming in a river then you are moving with the energy of the universe- when you let yourself be moved by the universe- that is wu-wei. As much as language can convey these things.
I like to look at it using the more western idea of serendipity. Everything being serendipitous, and knowing how to spot baseless rumors of it being otherwise. It's being in touch with a creative process of building silver linings to such a degree that it's as reflexive to create good as breathing.
Non‐utilitarian/un‐instrumentalized unattached (not striving) but contextualized/ passive attention that doesn't attempt to change the local context around you but rather follow the larger context beyond your immediate situation (Daoist skillsets & quietism beliefs and practices) but the larger outlook is still responsive to your situation but through the lens of something larger due to less attachment. This is sometimes called a "cold"/contemplative (but not ruminating) flow state attenuation. Reflex vs reaction is similar to response vs reaction. I practiced a rather quietist school of Zen (Soto, shikantaza) and it's extremely similar to wu wei. I've used neurofeedback during practice. Heightened alpha brainwave activity is what i saw on the feedback read‐out. Beta waves go back up when i do something more deliberate or think more deliberatively
Edward Slingerland, Professor of Philosophy at the University of British Columbia and author or the book Trying Not to Try, likes to explain Wu-Wei by through the Stroop Test (look it up). This test shows exactly the kind of effort that Daoists want to evade through Wu-Wei.
It's always there if you really think about it,, like I realized it's better to go talk naturally to a chick without any added stress rather than memorize lines and worry about what she'll say
I act in inaction and found it to be a powerful force. I use it as a form of peaceful resistance. You may limit my motion but you may not make me flow for you. Tao was violently squashed in many places as a threat to the powers that be.
@@jasonblalock4429 I would say authority is challenged when people are happy with what they ARE rather than with what they HAVE. Sometimes people don't have what they need to fulfill their basic needs. If it is humanity's natural state to survive and socialize, then a starving lonely man isn't fulfilling his natural purpose.
@@jasonblalock4429 What does it say about me that I feel like both sides (well the most extreme versions ends of them) of this hyper partisan country don’t want me to be happy with who I am.
How does one go on to study Dao further? This might just change my life, given the things currently in my life right now that are causing me a lot of distress.
If you want to study it academically, there are a lot of good scholarly intro books. Here are a few I've been using for this series: Ronnie Littlejohn, Daoism: An Introduction, 2009. Livia Kohn, Introducing Daoism, 2008. James Miller, Daoism: A Beginner's Guide, 2003.
Or go straight to the source. Read the Tao Te Ching and Zhuangzi for yourself and find your own meaning. The text is plain enough, even if the concepts are tricky. Assuming you're reading translations, my suggestion would be to read at least two translations of each since the authors will inevitably insert some of their own interpretations. (Which is simply unavoidable.)
I’m far from an expert on this, as I myself have only recently encountered the concept (thanks to RFB’s previous Daoism introduction video), but I would second the recommendation of reading the Dao de Jing. I have read a couple translations, as well as the Tao of Pooh, and found the concepts enlightening.
Excellent video. Your coverage of the topic was outstanding. And I am so glad you included a mention of Ben Hoff. I have read and reread The Tao of Pooh dozens of times since the late 90's. I highly recommend it.
"Perfection of character is to live each day as if it were your last; without frenzy, without apathy, without pretence" - Marcus Aurelius "The secret of genius is to carry the spirit of the child into old age; which means never losing your enthusiasm" - Aldous Huxley "The harder we try with conscious will do to something, the less we shall succeed... Proficiency and results come only to those who have learned the paradoxical arts of doing and not doing, or combining relaxation with activity" - Aldous Huxley. "Who is my master? He who decides what I do or do not like" - Epictetus "Be water" - Bruce Lee "Desire is making a contract with yourself to be unhappy until you get what you want" - Naval Ravikant.
What you think about this? A man that swims against the current is not in synch with the Tao A man who let himself get carried by the current is not in synch with the Tao A man who swims with current is in synch with the Tao
I got it. I got the perfect example to explain the concept of wuwei and general taoist ideas -- watch the movie, "Everything Everywhere all at Once." That movie, is like a textbook of Tao.
Action without action feels like something that resonates with mindful presence. To focus too much on the future or the past detracts from the experience of the now.
One way to look at Wuwei is to look at it as a meditation on cutting and the use of blades. Combat and battle and the refined use of edged weaponry may even have been the origin of Daoist thought. It is also a bit of an embrace of what is sometimes called lateral thinking. Let me explain. The metaphor of the rock and the river will be a useful one to start with, since it connects directly to your video and to the act of cutting. Take the water and a rock or another way to say it might be water and the bed of a river, since the river bed is cut by the running water as well. The water cuts through continuous application of friction. This is in fact how all cutting happens, through the continuous application of friction. Now you can cut in a diffuse manner, like how a river might cut or you can can in a precise manner, like how you might cut a tomato with a knife. In fact, if you would like to participate in this meditation you really can't do better than breaking out your favorite kitchen knife and some thick skinned vegetables, like tomatoes. I am not kidding but you do not have to to at least get to concept. Back to my point. Just like with the river idea, where the moment the water stops flowing the cutting stops happening, if you stop dragging the edge of a blade against the thing you want to cut, the cutting does not happen. To be more specific and to give an example that applies to a kitchen knife and tomato, try cutting a tomato without any sawing motion at all. You might make some kind of cut but it will be messy, crude and maybe even somewhat dangerous because you might need to apply so much force that it might become difficult to control the blade on something as slippery as a tomato. Now, in contrast, instead of applying direct pressure try applying no pressure by simply allow the weight of the blade to apply all of the pressure and make a sawing motion with the knife instead. You will see that the knife will readily, "bite," into the tomato and cut right through it with little pressure at all. You will also start to find that things like edge quality and alignment matter more than kinetic speed or force. These seemingly contradictory concepts are part of Daoism's tradition of educational paradoxes. Another paradox exists in the concept of an edge itself. You see, as dangerous as the edge of a blade is, the edge is also the weakest part of a blade. You would never try to strike with a sword, as if it were a baseball bat. This is why edge very edge parries were never desired. You needed to protect your edge from damage or else it will no longer cut. Now, interestingly enough, the mind is often also represented this way and is treated like a sharp tool that is as useful as it is dangerous. A mind should also not be used as if it were a baseball bat. This is in many ways the kit and the kaboodle of my argument but a lot emerges from this core concept. For instance, this is why Taoist philosophy and taoism martial arts, such as tai chi are so linked. Taichi's movements are great for maintaining edge contact with something you are trying to cut. In fact, back to the water metaphor, in general it is not the water that is doing the cutting vs the stone. Instead it is the small bits of sand a rock that the water carries and throws against the larger stone, that wear the stone down, just like how a water just uses garnet grit to do the actual cutting. So Tai chi is a way to move yourself like the water and the sword you may or may not choose to hold in your hand, is your grit. Many of these principals probably originated in India and there is an interesting Sikh martial artist who teaches traditional Indian and Sikh martial arts and he has spoken about how the teachings are shiva especially, are hidden martial texts. In may ways I believe that daoism was informed by these traditions coming from the Indian subcontinent. If you want to check out the Sikh teacher I was talking about, his name is Nidar Singh Nihang and his youtube channel is named Sanatan Shastarvidiya. He has many lecture and video all over youtube and has some interesting scholarly conversations and is not just another youtube martial artist. Any how, I've rambled enough but I'd like to leave you with one that thought. Taoism is somewhere between the old saying, strike when the iron is hot and the tradition of Japanese blacksmiths, where by they start their fires by making a piece of iron redhot through repeated striking. =)
I know it's a touchy subject but would you do a video on the authenticity of the Book of Mormon or how likely it is to be set in the Americas? Love to hear what a learned person has to say about this.
Excellent 👍 It took me time to figure it because we take so many identities through out our lives, but it's like everyone is actually naturally born a Daoist. If we are all just natural then we would all be Daoist without labeling ourselves our Daoist👌
Lao Tzu taught us that life is like a river running into eternity... the destination is not important...the path we choose to get there is in Buddhism we are often told that emptiness is form... and form is emptiness. another conundrum possibly... or very clear description of what is and what to look for when you get there... movement without moving is... indeed, like a tree anchored to a rock, but able to bend with the wind... Taoism is probably the oldest philosophy we find in the World today... it's roots are in the I Ching with its 64 hexagrams.. and 10,000 interpretations.. the philosophy is best in the original Chinese... but you can find the latest Chinese translation by a man who cares... someone once said... seek and ye shall find so it is
Action without resistance. In particular, behavior that conforms to the laws of nature. Taoism is already completed, so artificial efforts toward perfection are reluctant. The Tao of the Taoist is to just flow with the flow, without trying to stop the flowing water or making meaningless efforts to make it flow quickly. The important thing here is not to question the purpose of the flow. At the time Taoism was established, many ideologies were obsessed with goals and tools. Because of this, it caused a war for the people, the purpose, and mobilized the people, the means, for harsh labor. Therefore, in order to prevent such irrationality from occurring, he preached that the best politics is to understand people as constituents of nature that live on their own and let each other live the way they want to live instead of hastily seeing them as objects or tools.
This represents my way of life and thinking to a frightening degree. In my opinion, just do the bare minimum and life will lead you to a place where you don't have to spend so much effort keeping your standard of living. Of course you can set the bar high for what is the bare minimum, and you definitely should raise it as high as you can, but only as much as you're not straining yourself keeping up with preconceived notions and standards. Just do the best that you can do without having to do your best.
Hey! I enjoyed the video, and made me rise some reflections: The Daodejing suggests many times that Wuwei is an effective way to solve certain complex affairs, such as the political or familiar, so inherently the most superficial "doing nothing" interpretation should't be discarded? - Besides this, even though it is also suggested that Wuwei can be considered as "prevention" in many situations, it is also shown related to a specific state of mind, or state of consciousness, which is not following the stream of the discursive mind or responding from it, same with the emotions or instincts (po soul), but from a different state of consciousness called "pre heaven spirit" in Daoist tradition. So, as for most people the image of "flowing naturally" can only appeal to sources of action coming from mind, emotion or instinct, expressions like "flow" or "carefree" can not actually communicate the intended meaning, as they immediately get linked to pleasing one's desires, right? even though in the very first chapter it is adverted that only the "constant absence of desires let us see this wonder". So what can we use to express a point of view that requires not using our commonsense or even anything from within us touched by our self-identity? This is why Daoist philosophy led to Daoist practice as the only way to understanding. But, if there's a need to describe how ideal action is shaped, it can be related to what is "good", just like water is considered to be "good" in chapter 8: non-violent, generous, humble, doing fitting the appropriate place and time, compassive, sincere, organized, skilled and "deep in the heart", quite close to Confucian thought. Thanks a lot! :)
To me, wuwei seems very similar to stoicism, especially when reading Marcus Aurelius' Meditations: 2-9. Always remember the following: what the nature of the Whole is; what my own nature; the relation of this nature to that; what kind of part it is of what kind of Whole; and that no man can hinder your saying and doing at all times what is in accordance with that Nature whereof you are a part. 3-2. Nature's processes possess a sort of grace and attraction. To take one instance, bread when it is being baked breaks open at some places; now even these cracks, which in one way contradict the promise of the baker's art, somehow catch the eye and stimulate in a special way our appetite for the food. And again figs, when fully mature, gape, and in ripe olives their very approach to decay adds a certain beauty of its own to the fruit 5-25. Make trial for yourself how the life of the good man, too, fares well, of the man pleased with what is assigned from Universal Nature and contented by his own just action and kind disposition.
Sinologist Jean François Billeter describes wu-wei as a _"state of perfect knowledge of the reality of the situation, perfect efficaciousness and the realization of a perfect economy of energy",_ {:o:O:}
I didn't know about the Tao of Pooh, but I did come across "The Te of Piglet" the other day by the same author. Virture of the small, as the back cover puts it.
Chuang-Tzu is a hilarious yet profound but more intellectual than anything person. I advise people to read his book. Id say the first 1 - 7th chapters are written by him. The rest, less so. ❤
I never knew that my beliefs and philosophies I held even had a name, even the story of the fortune tellers that lost a horse resonates with me and the analogies I use.
This principle reminds me a lot of what Jesus taught in the Sermon on the Mount, especially in Matthew 6:25-34. Turning the other cheek and considering the lilies of the field sounds a lot like wuwei.
5:04 ~ Harmony with the Divine Mind. Strive for nothing, attain what's needed. Align with natural flow of Universe allows you to EFFORTLESSLY LAND WHERE YOU SHOULD BE. 5:30 ~ Flow where you need to be:) Beautiful analogy. 10:59 ~ spontaneity, effortless, natural, fluid, flexible
I used to teach in China and had a student who, when I asked her why she hadn't done her homework one day, used 无为 as her excuse :p It was interesting, though, hearing more about doaism. I'd read some of the 道德经 when I was abroad, but could only make so much progress in understanding it.
I did the same thing as a kid. My dear teacher then have me practice wuwei standing in front of the classroom in every recess and during her classes for the month😅
Also read Paul's epistles where he says God uses the weak things of this world to humiliate the strong things, and even the things that don't exist to humiliate the things that exist.
It's funny how this concept has been interpreted for politics and government, because sounds very similar to Libertarianism/Liberalism. It's very interesting to see different people across time come to very similar conclusions through different means and starting points.
So there’s a different way to understand Daoist writing, which is that it is similar to European medieval and renaissance alchemy texts: everything is metaphorical language to hide the true meaning which is a method of Daoist “alchemy” to become a 仙人, basically an immortal. There are many Daoist texts which are very well understood to be secretive descriptions of meditation and qi gong practices from the Ming and Qing eras, but it’s not clear if earlier Daoist texts were similarly written.
In all I've read (which isn't nearly enough) about Dao, why is Wuwei rarely if ever translated or expressed as acceptance, or to accept what things are and get on with it? The water itself never erodes the stone. It carries abrasives, particles of former stones, that it accepts as they are, and moves them around/against the stone.
Taoism is a pretty good response to utilitarianism. I know how I would inact in that situation but I also don't. I do what I do but I don't even know why sometimes.
My understanding that the Dao is a sort of the natural law of the world, similar to the concept of God ordained laws and inalienable rights in Christianity. What these laws are are never spelled out in the plain, but that they needs to felt and learned. I think this aversion to dogma arose due to the religious dogmas of shamanism in the various post-Zhou feudal realms, where superstition and ritual sacrifices impacted state policies (especial in the kingdom of Chu). I think the intention was to have a more sensible approach to spiritual needs at the time that does away with all the rituals of Shamanism and emphasis on personal cultivation. I see the same kind of "moving away from superstition" in Confucianism and Legalism, but more agnostic in their worldview.
Non-action is to have no desires. Words, thoughts, and desires are all memories. Memories are dead and from the past. Dao is the Source of Life and that it does not act, but flows and moves all objects, even your neurons creating neural patterns (thoughts, words, memories)
In a flowing stream, every drop of water remains a drop of water. Each drop of water is in essence the same. Each drop of water possesses and embodies the same principles and natural dynamics of every other drop of water. The drop becomes the stream and the stream becomes the drop. We are all one in Christ
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Can you do a video on Ahmadiyya Islam?
Can you please a video on the Holy Spirit?
Can you make a video about the research of Mauro Biglino where he claims that the Bible was written by the Israeli people to describe their relation with their governor called Yahweh, and that theologians of the following centuries inappropriately ''turned'' Yahweh in a spiritual God, a God that does not belong to us by manipulating the Bible and the name of God itself and creating grammar rules to justify the use of the word ''Elohim'' which describes ''God'' but in the plural form.
bro. im a fan. But how have you not adressed hinduism yet? Your channel has ignored a major world religion.
The example of the water flowing around rock instead of trying to move it, yet, gradually eroding the stone helps me to understand the idea much better.
Except that YOU are not the water, the water is society. You yourself get tumbled around and society doesn't care if you crash into a rock. Daoism, like all chinese cultural heritage, is fundamentally against the individual and you should be careful falling for it.
@@yaldabaoth2 First of all, I'm not what you call falling for Daoism. I'm only trying to understand the meaning of the word discussed in the video which seems better explained with the example than with other attempts by others to try and explain the word. Second of all, I believe life needs to be a balance of the individual and the society at large. Sometimes the needs of the many outweigh then needs of the few or one, but without the value of the one then the many itself has no real value either. A lot of nothing is still nothing. Third I'm not going to belittle other societies because this is how they manage to cope with life. No one person has all the answers as our pea sized brains, no matter how large it may be, only makes up a very small portion of the universe of knowledge, so I won't talk about the ideas of others putting more value on society as being generally inferior to mine nor theirs as being superior to mine. No one has a monopoly on truth, and I doubt that you do by presenting Daoism as some sort of scam.
It's a rather common metaphor in Chinese philosophy. Bruce Lee used it referring to his martial arts style - "be like water."
@@markadams7046, in your own words, define “TRUTH”. ☝️🤔☝️
That's why in China we all wonder why westerners all use the Chinese character for water 水 for confucianism. It's apparently Daoism and confucianism is totally different.
The idea of "uselessness" as a good thing is really helpful to me as a disabled person who cannot work. I have other value to the world that isn't providing labor for money.
No human is useless
I have no other value to the world than providing labor for money; and even that's debatable.
@@eaterdrinker000 You are being useful right now by sharing your experience for others to relate to though, and doing labor is very useful to the world even if you (regrettably) don't get the pay you deserve for said labour. And even if you didn't do anything you still have potential to act, which means you are not useless. But usefulness and value are two different terms, you have value because you are human and you are alive... Regardless of your usefulness
I think even at that point in time you would be considered useless. The thing is neither you nor anyone else has value to the world, that’s what ultimate truth is when it comes to eastern faiths.
@@toxendon In a society, the material usefulness of a person is determined by the contributions they can make for other people in relationship to the resources they need themselves. So yes, a person can indeed be useless to society, precisely when that person is using more resources than they provide.
And I think you have to see usefulness in this very materialistic way, because usefulness itself is a utilitarian concept.
What is more debatable is whether a persons overall *value* should be determined by their usefulness. I would argue that this depends a lot on perspective and relationships and that there is no such thing as objective value of a human, but only value in relationship to another person or oneself. The value of strangers to me is entirely defined by their material usefulness; however, the same does not apply to close friends and family or even my own sense of value.
I am reading the comments and I see that so many ppl misunderstand the dao/flow concept.
Lao Tzu may have lived a very simple life, but just because someone is simple and "goes with the flow" it does NOT mean that they are a FOOL....remember that. Because he knows himself, he also knows you, your intentions......he sees right through you.
A person of the Dao is wise therefore cannot be manipulated. A person that is aligned with the Dao always knows what the right action/response is in any situation.......and what to do, when to do it or...........when NOT to act. It takes wisdom.
Lao Tzu would not let others walk all over him. He would even use violence to defend himself IF attacked. Daoists are not vegetables.
The story of Bruce Lee punching water and only tiring himself out comes to mind. And his precept, “Be water, my friend,” is very much Wu Wei.
My own understanding of this concept (which I actually discovered through my own personal insight, before ever being aware of Taoism): to do things without intention, acting that comes naturally (nature thus acts by the principle of Wu-Wei). I put it thusly: "Fruits fall when ripe, if we pick them too soon, they turn out sour." It is about watching and waiting until circumstances are just so, then jump in and "ride the wave" to success. But don't wait too long or hesitate, as you may then "miss the boat." "Let it happen; don't make it happen."
Since this video mentioned The Tao of Pooh, it's quite fitting that your insights reminded me of this bit between Rabbit and Pooh in "The House At Pooh Corner" when Rabbit asks Pooh if Pooh had wrote the song he'd just sang;
”Well, I sort of made it up,” said Pooh. ”It isn’t Brain,” he went on humbly, ”because You Know Why, Rabbit; but it comes to me sometimes.”
”Ah!” said Rabbit, who never let things come to him; but always went and fetched them.
Pooh let's things happen, unlike Rabbit who makes things happen (goes out to fetch them).
Contemplating the concept of the Dao never fails to calm my mind. It is as simple as it is deep.
You're my best lecturer in religion. It's not boring, i don't feel sleepy.
I like that he gives us the facts without being for or against it.
Unbothered. Moisturized. Happy. In My Lane. Focused. Flourishing.
The dao will always grow and adapt
moisturized is the key
“In my lane” is kind of missing the point. You can go out of your lane and change the course of things and remain taoist. You are part of the flow of things but don’t resist the things that cant be changed.
I think the wuwai is a good approach for when we struggle with making decisions, choices and overthinking about something that might go wrong or turn bitter in the future.
It's common for people to stress over what happens in their life and try to control the flow of their lives by " making sure they always made the right choice ", but this is impossible, yet something that turns out to be bad in the beginning, might actually prove itself useful in the future.
Another example could be living based on what your family/society wants to do do and be, and ignoring your calling. You make your family / society proud and get recognition and appreciation, but you are unable to live your true purpose because you let others control and influence what you do, therefore you aren't going with the flow.
Iffy.
One of the reasons people fret over decisions for the future is the catastrophic consequences society sets up for making a contrary decision. The people are only a reflection of what is set before them.
The stone in the river is also effortless action. It is not moving, not acting; simply is.
But allows itself to be changed by its surroundings.
Interesting perspective, it’s much appreciated. To be devil’s advocate, I’ve also heard the opposite of your second example used as a reason for not following one’s passion. It’s not the way according to society/family and deference to seniority/filial piety inclines a person to not exert their influence beyond their station. Thoughts?
That’s not really what it’s about though. Your thinking about what you want while in terms of the Dao it’s what’s in harmony with nature which isn’t always what you want
I would argue against your last point, I think that disregarding the people around you for your dreams is incorrect. I believe that you should follow your heart but without going against what your family wants for you. It might not seem like that's a lot of space to maneuver around, but there is so much in life that it's impossible for anyone else to fully control what you do or decide. It's important to have an ease of mind, and rebelling against your family isn't going to give you that. But that doesn't mean blind obedience, sometimes things just don't end up the way your parents expected it to go, eventually it will become natural for them to give up on their expectations on you.
I'm unsure about logic used at the end of your comment.. It sounds like going along with the familial and societal expectations set forth to you that you are going with the flow. Going against those expectations would then be going against the flow
Perhaps it would be also helpful to mention that the times the Daoist traditions arose, were the most chaotic, hectic, and bloody period in the history of China, being the Warring States Period (mid-5th century BCE - 221 BCE).
The Warring States were all about power, ambition, and the will and intent to fight, survive, annex and conquer through power. What began as an estimated 1,500 large and small independent states in the beginning of the Spring&Autumn Period (mid-8th century BCE ~), ended up around 120 states at the beginning of the WSP, and in the final days of the WSP boiled down to around 7. In that context, it's not hard to see where and why the Daoist beliefs arose.
True. It's always important to keep historical context in mind when trying to understanding any philosophical or religious tradition. They don't emerge out of thin air. They're unavoidably shaped by material conditions.
@@johnmatrix3664and this is why I think we will have a pretty robust religion centered around the environment and nature as a counter to our current society of capital and resource exploitation
As you talked about the rock, the river, and not striving for a goal, I thought of two things. The Zen Archer never things about the bulls eye, understanding that by perfecting each step in the process, the arrow will eventually reach the bulls eye "on its own". Then there's a concept in Sociology called _Intergroup Contact Theory._ While the march of progress for marginalized groups has _definitely_ benefited from people who _push against the stone,_ it has also largely benefited from people getting to know (or _finding out_ that somebody they already know _is)_ a _member_ of such a group. Simply by being _themselves,_ as nature made them (inactive), they make (active) those around them come to terms with their own irreconcilable prejudice.
"Life is a series of natural and spontaneous changes. Don't resist them - that only creates sorrow. Let reality be reality. Let things flow naturally forward in whatever way they like."
- Lao Tzu
Good information...
I think many non Chinese have misunderstood the actual meaning of Bu Wei, it’s a vocabulary of Classical Chinese, not modern Chinese. The phrase is 无为而无不为 wu wei er wu bu wei which loosely translates as non action while not no actions. It means your actions must be done in consistency with the nature of things without any of your interference yet your actions was the ideal outcome, as how it should have been. In layman’s term, you have put in a lot of effort to ensure your selfless performance is the desired outcome that meets the general expectations of another with nothing in return. That’s why it is important to find your own way. Dao De Jing (Dao De also means moral ethics) is meant as a guideline to become a ideal person. A belief of idealism. If one fails to be in harmonious with the way of his path, it means the path is not suitable for him, and he should moved on. I hope this helps.
I have heard it put as "Action without thought." It was explained as a skilled archer trapped in a ring by some malevolent creature. The only way out was to hit the creature with an arrow. The hard part was that the creature knew all your thoughts. So you would think to shoot and the creature would move and you would miss. In the end, the archer was able to just shoot off an arrow with no forethought to it. With no thought, the creature was unable to know it was coming and it got hit by the arrow.
This also goes into being one with The Dao. When you are one with The Dao, you have no need for thought. Like the river, you just flow through life.
One of the early ones he states is action without action. In this it is the difference between "Making" something happen and "Allowing" it to happen. Say you have a cylinder of water with no top. It is completely full. You are told to put air in the cylinder. "Making" air go into the cylinder would be opening an air hose in the cylinder. The air pushes the water out and takes its place (making a mess in the process). "Allowing" air into the cylinder would be to open a spout at the bottom and let water drain out of the cylinder and thus cause a vacuum that air goes into (controlled and with no force).
Hope this helps some to better understand these concepts.
I left this comment on an Alan Watts video about six months ago and it's got a lot of good feedback. If you don't know Watts, he does an amazing job of explaining the fundamental impetus of many religions - if you like Religion for Breakfast you'll like his lectures. Anyway - something finally clicked for me over Christmas and if I may be so bold, I'll leave the idea (just my version of very old ideas) here so perhaps you might resonate with it too.
**
The secret can be found by looking at the characteristics of your life so far (and Watts has said this). Look at your own mind. Look how it works.
Bam! There's a thought.
Bam! Another thought, perhaps contradicting the first.
And feelings (sensations in the body) that arise with those thoughts.
The secret: you've chosen precisely zero of any of those things. They just come into your mind and body.
Sit with that and you’ll realize actually you have no control. It's what Schopenhauer said - your desires, they're free. But only in the sense that they seem to be under no one's control, not even yours. You don't choose what you prefer. You just prefer.
And so it's not that you're under the control of others or the universe (determinism), it's that 'free will' is an illusion. Choice is an illusion. Not just for you, but for anything.
How do you choose? You think about something and see how it makes you feel, right? But you don't choose how it makes you feel. How would you choose your thoughts? By thinking of one and seeing how it makes you feel.
But this isn’t a trap, because a) we never know what we’ll think of next, nor how anything will make us feel the next time around, and b) we DO learn.
So, if you prefer logical, pragmatic thoughts, it's likely because you’ve learned that the consequences of logic and pragmatism tend to FEEL better to you. And thus our preferences change and we are able to see past our own noses and predict the consequences of our actions.
And there are always consequences, even if it's just the voice inside that says "That was a good thing you did," or "Shame on you." That voice never goes away (to all the silly moral relativist children about to pipe in). But we don't choose.
Yet our unwillingness to feel things (and to stay in our brains and think instead) seems to be what holds us up. Thankfully we can learn to feel things. To put our focus on body sensations (anxiety is the main one) and feel them. Try it. Just for a few moments.
Feel where you feel anxious in your body. Feel the muscles there, tight. Just feel them, and they'll start to relax. Points of tension seem to relax to the extent that you are willing to feel them. Be patient - it takes a few moments of holding concentration. And once relaxed, the tensions often come back.
So it’s not precisely “getting them relaxed” that’s the point, because that suggests there’s an end goal (some state of perfect relaxation). I don’t think so. Rather, the goal seems more simply to dive in, over and over, and feel completely the sensations that are emerging. It’s the feeling-without-resisting that begins to truly calm the mind, because you realize “Hey, I CAN feel this” - that thing you’ve been resisting. It’s simple, I know. Now try it again for longer.
You’ll realize that you have an innate fear of feeling those pockets of anxiety you find. But also that it’s the fear of feeling the anxiety that IS the anxiety. And that's what anxiety is. The fear of feeling.
So you clench. And that clenching stops you from being the relaxed, playful human you can be. It's actually you not feeling life, preferring to keep thinking about how things ‘should be’ or how you ‘should feel.’ Again the secret is just to feel whatever is happening right now.
So if that’s you chastising yourself because you can’t seem to do what I’m suggesting, then feel the chastise-ness. Feel what that emotion does in your body. The clench. The buzz. The tension. The tingle. Whatever it is, feeling the clench is what unclenches it.
Unclenching doesn’t mean you lose your conscience. You still value what you value, you simply see more relaxed, fun ways to get there. It’s the difference between being offered drugs and lashing out with some sort of implicit or explicit “How dare you offer that trash to me,” versus smiling and saying, “No thanks, but thanks for thinking of me.” Conversely, in the drug-offering scenario, unclenching also means allowing yourself to feel that first emotion (the emotion of ‘how dare you’) if that’s what courses through you in that moment.
So put your imaginary mental cursor on body sensations as often as you can remember to. I learned to do this for singing, but I’ve realized the willingness to feel can be cultivated in other parts of life, too. While walking. While talking to people. While working. Just feel, and see how you start to handle each part of your life.
If you forget (you realize you’ve been caught up in some inner story for minutes or hours) it's ok - you don't choose your thoughts! But you DO learn, so have faith that you can learn to do this. Do it lots, and watch how your brain starts to heal itself in the calm, in its ability to feel again and not run from everything.
Imagine being a person who could valiantly feel every emotion. It’s a different kind of bravery, isn’t it? Not ‘in control of the world,’ and not even ‘in control of oneself’ (as much as you want to be), but simply honest. “Here’s the sensation I’m having now.” Notice I don’t call them emotions, because the word ‘emotion’ seems to add the weight of the conceptual label you’ve given them - ‘sorrow,’ ‘anxiety,’ ‘anger’ - and the idea of the emotion gets in the way of you feeling the body sensation that it brings.
And again, I’m certainly NOT suggesting we act on every emotion or that any given emotion is ‘justified.’ Rather, it’s what’s happening in your body right now and you can choose to clench against it or not.
Just feel what you’re shown. It’s surrender. It’s faith.
You know it's your fear of feeling that's in your way, that makes you clench, and that makes you react with hostility to the world around you. Our devils are our fears of feeling and the egos that arise by thinking we're in control. Except we’re not in control - nothing is. But we can learn.
And feeling the body sensations (the physical act of surrender and having faith) seems to be a secret no one quite remembers.
I think "Uselessness" is a good quality to cultivate, in the era of end-stage capitalism.
I think this is the time to say that, along with Anton Petrov, Indy Nydell/Spartacus Olsson and Lex Friedman, you are one of those educational TH-camrs I am fully committed to and watch every video of. The value of your content is hard to overestimate.
Congrats on the GW position!
True, once I didn't study for a test and said "the Dao will provide" and lo and behold the test was postponed due to a surprise fire drill. I'm very satisfied with it the Dao, would buy again, highly recommended, five stars rating.
I took a class on classical Chinese philosophers this semester in college. My favorite philosopher that we learned about was Xunzi who was rather anti-laoist and pro-confucianist. His philosophy praised intentional effort and had a lot in common with modern Atheo-paganism because he believed that heaven did not care about the affairs of people, but ritual was still important because it held society together and fulfilled peoples needs in an orderly way. He believed that people could not control nature through ritual as many people did at the time, but that people should strive to respond to the challenges that nature presented in an orderly way. (Ie. You cant control the weather but you can change how you dress and on a societal level, you can ensure that the people have shelter and clothing) He believed that this could not be done without intentional effort. I think he did write about the dao, but he had a different view on it than Laozi and Zhuangzi.
Sounds like a bleak postmodern taoist
@@odieseventeen1077 I personally can be described as an optimistic nihilist so I didnt think it was that bleak. His teachings on not controlling nature arent too far off from things I've learned in therapy such as "you cannot control your circumstances only how you react to them" or even the christian prayer "lord give me the strength to change the things I can change and the serenity to accept the things I cannot and the wisdom to know the difference"
I'm so excited for your new video! Love your series about Taoism.I was first introduced to Taoist philosophy in the 9th grade when I've first read a translation of Laozi in my language, and encountered this 無為, translated as something like "action through non-action".It didn't make any sense to me so I gave up.After I finished high school and went to study in China, I've got introduced to Taoism again in a better way, had more clarity on the 無為 concept, and became one of favorite philosophies ever since.
Thanks! This clarified for me the relationship between Taoism and grappling via Tai Chi Chuan, and judo as well coincidentally. Good judo is Wu Wei
The way I interpret this is sort of living a non-performative life, by being your authentic self regardless of the situation and allowing life to happen around you whilst also participating in it as it comes. I like that it's open to interpretation too, that's a very Wuwei approach to Wuwei lol
I read this book in my teens, changed my life! ❤❤❤
"Zen is an end in itself. Your only goal must be mushotoku, the goal of having no goals, of striving not to strive. 'How is it possible to strive to not have goals?' you might ask. 'Isn’t that itself a goal?' Don't be a smart aleck. You should be as goal-less and lacking in purpose as your cousin, the successful one." -- Zen Judaism: For You, A Little Enlightenment by David M. Bader.
Love Andrew's eyebrows 👁️
Two things occur. What you are describing is embedded in Chinese language and philosophy. In the language, words are not parts of speech (nouns, verbs etc.). They are concepts, often broad and metaphorical ones. Whether they are meant as what we would call an adjective, a noun or a verb has to do with how they occur in the sentence--what they are next to, in other words, their context. This is why wu wei is so hard to define. It is contextual itself while also emphasizing the contextual nature of reality. The trouble comes when trying to pin it down outside of the context of its usage. That brings one to Chinese philosophy. Yin and yang are the two most basic qualities of being that only have existence in relationship to each other. They are oppositional, contain each other, turn into each other and define each other. Which they are doing simultaneously, but which we discern in context. Without dark, there is no light. Without hard, there is no soft, and vice versa and so on. Thus, action and non-action actually define each other and are contained within each other. Which one chooses has to do with the context of the moment--ie., is spontaneous and natural, rather than contrived and synthetic. It is very hard to discuss such things with a language that has absolute definitions and functions of words. Thought this might help.
Ooh that's a good way of explaining it. Thank you.
@@sofdemi8042 You are most welcome.
Wu Wei = effortless effort = letting it happen instead of making it happen.
I think one of the best ways to describe the Dao and it's actions is as an "Unguided Will". It is not intentional in it's flow, but it nonetheless carries the force to make things happen. Exactly like a river.
When put our "ego" aside, everything we do is wu wei.
Thanks for doing more Taoism.
I love this video, very clear and comprehensive!
Being in a 'zone' and playing without thinking for a great athlete requires a lot of practice.
Awareness of self and others matters as well.
They were probably in the 'zone' during their practices, though.
A better example imo would be a musician playing in a jam band
Mother:'You're useless!"
Kid:"I know, I'm following the Dow"
Merry Wall Street Christmas!
Love your videos so so much.
The real star,however, is your eyebrows.
May this concept eclipse today’s “hustle culture.”
I like your presentation of the material and ideas. You're very natural, never trying to charm etc.
"Grandpa... You're a good man. A really good man."
"I'm just a pebble beside the river. I've been worn down so long, now I'm nice and smooth."
- The Lower Depths (1957)
The Sayings of Old Man Tcheng:
th-cam.com/video/JEorK1_DWSs/w-d-xo.html
For many wu-wei is a different concept because we as people love to strategize our lives to avoid what we perceive as potential harm, thus in the Daodejing it is said: “the reason I have an enemy is because I have a ‘self’ if I had no self, what enemy would I have?” This falls in line very much with the Buddhist idea of letting go of ego, in another chapter it says “the master is de-tached from all things, therefore she is United with all things” if we let go of the concept of ‘self’ the Dao we will hear and feel the pull of the Dao by intuition, which will guide us to assist others through compassion, because we are United with Dao, the Dao “nourishes infinite worlds, yet does not seek to posses the smallest creature”
The Tao is always moving and you are it/in the middle of it so there is no other way than the Tao's way. If you fight it you are like the rock in the river- battered until you fall apart, but if you move with it like you would swimming in a river then you are moving with the energy of the universe- when you let yourself be moved by the universe- that is wu-wei. As much as language can convey these things.
I like to look at it using the more western idea of serendipity. Everything being serendipitous, and knowing how to spot baseless rumors of it being otherwise. It's being in touch with a creative process of building silver linings to such a degree that it's as reflexive to create good as breathing.
Proud to be the first for this one, bought the Tao of Pooh recently haha
That book is really bad.
Non‐utilitarian/un‐instrumentalized unattached (not striving) but contextualized/ passive attention that doesn't attempt to change the local context around you but rather follow the larger context beyond your immediate situation (Daoist skillsets & quietism beliefs and practices) but the larger outlook is still responsive to your situation but through the lens of something larger due to less attachment. This is sometimes called a "cold"/contemplative (but not ruminating) flow state attenuation. Reflex vs reaction is similar to response vs reaction.
I practiced a rather quietist school of Zen (Soto, shikantaza) and it's extremely similar to wu wei.
I've used neurofeedback during practice. Heightened alpha brainwave activity is what i saw on the feedback read‐out. Beta waves go back up when i do something more deliberate or think more deliberatively
Another good translation is Efortless Action.
Once again, very interesting and informative.
Edward Slingerland, Professor of Philosophy at the University of British Columbia and author or the book Trying Not to Try, likes to explain Wu-Wei by through the Stroop Test (look it up). This test shows exactly the kind of effort that Daoists want to evade through Wu-Wei.
It's always there if you really think about it,, like I realized it's better to go talk naturally to a chick without any added stress rather than memorize lines and worry about what she'll say
This is beautifully expressed and clearly articulated. THANK YOU for sharing!!!! Much Love! Infinite blessings!
Action, no action means movement of the body without movement of the mind.
I act in inaction and found it to be a powerful force. I use it as a form of peaceful resistance. You may limit my motion but you may not make me flow for you.
Tao was violently squashed in many places as a threat to the powers that be.
Few things challenge authority quite like asking people to simply be happy with what they have.
@@jasonblalock4429 I would say authority is challenged when people are happy with what they ARE rather than with what they HAVE.
Sometimes people don't have what they need to fulfill their basic needs. If it is humanity's natural state to survive and socialize, then a starving lonely man isn't fulfilling his natural purpose.
@@jasonblalock4429 What does it say about me that I feel like both sides (well the most extreme versions ends of them) of this hyper partisan country don’t want me to be happy with who I am.
you'd make a good lecturer as u have a knack for explaining not so simple concepts in simple terms.
*Alan Watts* called *Daoism* "the art of *doing nothing effectively as opposed to effectively nothing."*
How does one go on to study Dao further? This might just change my life, given the things currently in my life right now that are causing me a lot of distress.
If you want to study it academically, there are a lot of good scholarly intro books. Here are a few I've been using for this series:
Ronnie Littlejohn, Daoism: An Introduction, 2009.
Livia Kohn, Introducing Daoism, 2008.
James Miller, Daoism: A Beginner's Guide, 2003.
Or go straight to the source. Read the Tao Te Ching and Zhuangzi for yourself and find your own meaning. The text is plain enough, even if the concepts are tricky. Assuming you're reading translations, my suggestion would be to read at least two translations of each since the authors will inevitably insert some of their own interpretations. (Which is simply unavoidable.)
Daoism Explained: From the Dream of the Butterfly to the Fishnet Allegory, Hans-Georg Moeller
I’m far from an expert on this, as I myself have only recently encountered the concept (thanks to RFB’s previous Daoism introduction video), but I would second the recommendation of reading the Dao de Jing. I have read a couple translations, as well as the Tao of Pooh, and found the concepts enlightening.
If you have a Bible handy you can start right away: turn to the book of Ecclesiastes
MY PRAISE FOR YOUR RESEARCH AND UNDERSTANDING AND 'TEACHING STYLE' DRAW ME IN
Excellent video. Your coverage of the topic was outstanding. And I am so glad you included a mention of Ben Hoff. I have read and reread The Tao of Pooh dozens of times since the late 90's. I highly recommend it.
"Perfection of character is to live each day as if it were your last; without frenzy, without apathy, without pretence" - Marcus Aurelius
"The secret of genius is to carry the spirit of the child into old age; which means never losing your enthusiasm" - Aldous Huxley
"The harder we try with conscious will do to something, the less we shall succeed... Proficiency and results come only to those who have learned the paradoxical arts of doing and not doing, or combining relaxation with activity" - Aldous Huxley.
"Who is my master? He who decides what I do or do not like" - Epictetus
"Be water" - Bruce Lee
"Desire is making a contract with yourself to be unhappy until you get what you want" - Naval Ravikant.
What you think about this?
A man that swims against the current is not in synch with the Tao
A man who let himself get carried by the current is not in synch with the Tao
A man who swims with current is in synch with the Tao
So well struck! Thank you for presenting this topic
I got it. I got the perfect example to explain the concept of wuwei and general taoist ideas -- watch the movie, "Everything Everywhere all at Once."
That movie, is like a textbook of Tao.
Action without action feels like something that resonates with mindful presence. To focus too much on the future or the past detracts from the experience of the now.
Please do a video on Rastafarianism. There's not alot of intro-level info from an academic lens available, and I'd live for more ppl to learn abt it!
Think I might look more into this!
One way to look at Wuwei is to look at it as a meditation on cutting and the use of blades. Combat and battle and the refined use of edged weaponry may even have been the origin of Daoist thought. It is also a bit of an embrace of what is sometimes called lateral thinking. Let me explain.
The metaphor of the rock and the river will be a useful one to start with, since it connects directly to your video and to the act of cutting. Take the water and a rock or another way to say it might be water and the bed of a river, since the river bed is cut by the running water as well. The water cuts through continuous application of friction. This is in fact how all cutting happens, through the continuous application of friction.
Now you can cut in a diffuse manner, like how a river might cut or you can can in a precise manner, like how you might cut a tomato with a knife.
In fact, if you would like to participate in this meditation you really can't do better than breaking out your favorite kitchen knife and some thick skinned vegetables, like tomatoes. I am not kidding but you do not have to to at least get to concept.
Back to my point. Just like with the river idea, where the moment the water stops flowing the cutting stops happening, if you stop dragging the edge of a blade against the thing you want to cut, the cutting does not happen.
To be more specific and to give an example that applies to a kitchen knife and tomato, try cutting a tomato without any sawing motion at all. You might make some kind of cut but it will be messy, crude and maybe even somewhat dangerous because you might need to apply so much force that it might become difficult to control the blade on something as slippery as a tomato.
Now, in contrast, instead of applying direct pressure try applying no pressure by simply allow the weight of the blade to apply all of the pressure and make a sawing motion with the knife instead. You will see that the knife will readily, "bite," into the tomato and cut right through it with little pressure at all. You will also start to find that things like edge quality and alignment matter more than kinetic speed or force.
These seemingly contradictory concepts are part of Daoism's tradition of educational paradoxes. Another paradox exists in the concept of an edge itself.
You see, as dangerous as the edge of a blade is, the edge is also the weakest part of a blade. You would never try to strike with a sword, as if it were a baseball bat. This is why edge very edge parries were never desired. You needed to protect your edge from damage or else it will no longer cut.
Now, interestingly enough, the mind is often also represented this way and is treated like a sharp tool that is as useful as it is dangerous. A mind should also not be used as if it were a baseball bat.
This is in many ways the kit and the kaboodle of my argument but a lot emerges from this core concept.
For instance, this is why Taoist philosophy and taoism martial arts, such as tai chi are so linked. Taichi's movements are great for maintaining edge contact with something you are trying to cut. In fact, back to the water metaphor, in general it is not the water that is doing the cutting vs the stone. Instead it is the small bits of sand a rock that the water carries and throws against the larger stone, that wear the stone down, just like how a water just uses garnet grit to do the actual cutting. So Tai chi is a way to move yourself like the water and the sword you may or may not choose to hold in your hand, is your grit.
Many of these principals probably originated in India and there is an interesting Sikh martial artist who teaches traditional Indian and Sikh martial arts and he has spoken about how the teachings are shiva especially, are hidden martial texts. In may ways I believe that daoism was informed by these traditions coming from the Indian subcontinent.
If you want to check out the Sikh teacher I was talking about, his name is Nidar Singh Nihang and his youtube channel is named Sanatan Shastarvidiya. He has many lecture and video all over youtube and has some interesting scholarly conversations and is not just another youtube martial artist.
Any how, I've rambled enough but I'd like to leave you with one that thought.
Taoism is somewhere between the old saying, strike when the iron is hot and the tradition of Japanese blacksmiths, where by they start their fires by making a piece of iron redhot through repeated striking. =)
I know it's a touchy subject but would you do a video on the authenticity of the Book of Mormon or how likely it is to be set in the Americas? Love to hear what a learned person has to say about this.
He covered part of this in the lost tribes of Israel video
Excellent 👍 It took me time to figure it because we take so many identities through out our lives, but it's like everyone is actually naturally born a Daoist. If we are all just natural then we would all be Daoist without labeling ourselves our Daoist👌
When everybody is a Daoist, no one is.
Lao Tzu taught us that life is like a river running into eternity... the destination is not important...the path we choose to get there is
in Buddhism we are often told that emptiness is form... and form is emptiness. another conundrum possibly... or very clear description of what is and what to look for when you get there...
movement without moving is... indeed, like a tree anchored to a rock, but able to bend with the wind...
Taoism is probably the oldest philosophy we find in the World today... it's roots are in the I Ching with its 64 hexagrams.. and 10,000 interpretations.. the philosophy is best in the original Chinese... but you can find the latest Chinese translation by a man who cares... someone once said... seek and ye shall find
so it is
Action without resistance. In particular, behavior that conforms to the laws of nature.
Taoism is already completed, so artificial efforts toward perfection are reluctant. The Tao of the Taoist is to just flow with the flow, without trying to stop the flowing water or making meaningless efforts to make it flow quickly.
The important thing here is not to question the purpose of the flow. At the time Taoism was established, many ideologies were obsessed with goals and tools.
Because of this, it caused a war for the people, the purpose, and mobilized the people, the means, for harsh labor.
Therefore, in order to prevent such irrationality from occurring, he preached that the best politics is to understand people as constituents of nature that live on their own and let each other live the way they want to live instead of hastily seeing them as objects or tools.
You should check out the legalist philosopher Han Feizi's political interpretation of the Dao De Ching. Very interesting
Many Blessings for the topics you share in such a wonderful teaching method.🌞🌞🌈🌈🌟🌟💜💜😀😀
This represents my way of life and thinking to a frightening degree. In my opinion, just do the bare minimum and life will lead you to a place where you don't have to spend so much effort keeping your standard of living. Of course you can set the bar high for what is the bare minimum, and you definitely should raise it as high as you can, but only as much as you're not straining yourself keeping up with preconceived notions and standards. Just do the best that you can do without having to do your best.
Hey! I enjoyed the video, and made me rise some reflections: The Daodejing suggests many times that Wuwei is an effective way to solve certain complex affairs, such as the political or familiar, so inherently the most superficial "doing nothing" interpretation should't be discarded? - Besides this, even though it is also suggested that Wuwei can be considered as "prevention" in many situations, it is also shown related to a specific state of mind, or state of consciousness, which is not following the stream of the discursive mind or responding from it, same with the emotions or instincts (po soul), but from a different state of consciousness called "pre heaven spirit" in Daoist tradition. So, as for most people the image of "flowing naturally" can only appeal to sources of action coming from mind, emotion or instinct, expressions like "flow" or "carefree" can not actually communicate the intended meaning, as they immediately get linked to pleasing one's desires, right? even though in the very first chapter it is adverted that only the "constant absence of desires let us see this wonder". So what can we use to express a point of view that requires not using our commonsense or even anything from within us touched by our self-identity? This is why Daoist philosophy led to Daoist practice as the only way to understanding. But, if there's a need to describe how ideal action is shaped, it can be related to what is "good", just like water is considered to be "good" in chapter 8: non-violent, generous, humble, doing fitting the appropriate place and time, compassive, sincere, organized, skilled and "deep in the heart", quite close to Confucian thought. Thanks a lot! :)
The irony of Pooh in China isn't lost on me.
Serendipity or fate?
It's at least 3 layers of irony because Xi Jinping certainly does NOT embody the values espoused by wuwei.
yessss please more more eastern religions and history!! i need it ALL for breakfast!!!
Very nice, concise explanation.
I wish someone would do something as simple yet so rich in explanation as this but for nihilism
You're talking about existentialism
To me, wuwei seems very similar to stoicism, especially when reading Marcus Aurelius' Meditations:
2-9. Always remember the following: what the nature of the Whole is; what my own nature; the relation of this nature to that; what kind of part it is of what kind of Whole; and that no man can hinder your saying and doing at all times what is in accordance with that Nature whereof you are a part.
3-2. Nature's processes possess a sort of grace and attraction. To take one instance, bread when it is being baked breaks open at some places; now even these cracks, which in one way contradict the promise of the baker's art, somehow catch the eye and stimulate in a special way our appetite for the food. And again figs, when fully mature, gape, and in ripe olives their very approach to decay adds a certain beauty of its own to the fruit
5-25. Make trial for yourself how the life of the good man, too, fares well, of the man pleased with what is assigned from Universal Nature and contented by his own just action and kind disposition.
Sinologist Jean François Billeter describes wu-wei as a _"state of perfect knowledge of the reality of the situation, perfect efficaciousness and the realization of a perfect economy of energy",_
{:o:O:}
It's impossible to do nothing. Thanks for sharing, this channel is dope.
It is not impossible to do nothing.
I didn't know about the Tao of Pooh, but I did come across "The Te of Piglet" the other day by the same author.
Virture of the small, as the back cover puts it.
The Wei of the Pooh.
Chuang-Tzu is a hilarious yet profound but more intellectual than anything person.
I advise people to read his book. Id say the first 1 - 7th chapters are written by him. The rest, less so.
❤
I never knew that my beliefs and philosophies I held even had a name, even the story of the fortune tellers that lost a horse resonates with me and the analogies I use.
That was exactly how I felt the first time I read the Dao de Jing
This principle reminds me a lot of what Jesus taught in the Sermon on the Mount, especially in Matthew 6:25-34. Turning the other cheek and considering the lilies of the field sounds a lot like wuwei.
5:04 ~ Harmony with the Divine Mind. Strive for nothing, attain what's needed. Align with natural flow of Universe allows you to EFFORTLESSLY LAND WHERE YOU SHOULD BE.
5:30 ~ Flow where you need to be:) Beautiful analogy.
10:59 ~ spontaneity, effortless, natural, fluid, flexible
I used to teach in China and had a student who, when I asked her why she hadn't done her homework one day, used 无为 as her excuse :p
It was interesting, though, hearing more about doaism. I'd read some of the 道德经 when I was abroad, but could only make so much progress in understanding it.
I did the same thing as a kid. My dear teacher then have me practice wuwei standing in front of the classroom in every recess and during her classes for the month😅
Take it slow, go with the flow, the moment is now...that is the Dao. 🎑
Uselessness as a strength reminds me of Jesus saying "the meek shall inherit".
Also read Paul's epistles where he says God uses the weak things of this world to humiliate the strong things, and even the things that don't exist to humiliate the things that exist.
It's funny how this concept has been interpreted for politics and government, because sounds very similar to Libertarianism/Liberalism. It's very interesting to see different people across time come to very similar conclusions through different means and starting points.
So there’s a different way to understand Daoist writing, which is that it is similar to European medieval and renaissance alchemy texts: everything is metaphorical language to hide the true meaning which is a method of Daoist “alchemy” to become a 仙人, basically an immortal. There are many Daoist texts which are very well understood to be secretive descriptions of meditation and qi gong practices from the Ming and Qing eras, but it’s not clear if earlier Daoist texts were similarly written.
6:32 Looks like people have been drawing that cool "S" for a very long time. 😂
Your videos are so great thanks
In all I've read (which isn't nearly enough) about Dao, why is Wuwei rarely if ever translated or expressed as acceptance, or to accept what things are and get on with it? The water itself never erodes the stone. It carries abrasives, particles of former stones, that it accepts as they are, and moves them around/against the stone.
It basically means, TIMELY ACTION WITHOUT EXPECTATION OF RESULTS….requiring patience n wisdom in Dao context.
Your explanations are so... wuwei 🙂
Taoism is a pretty good response to utilitarianism. I know how I would inact in that situation but I also don't. I do what I do but I don't even know why sometimes.
Love ur work. Thx for repping the Tao & Ancient China so well. Keep it coming ^_^
thanks, this helps a lot
My understanding that the Dao is a sort of the natural law of the world, similar to the concept of God ordained laws and inalienable rights in Christianity. What these laws are are never spelled out in the plain, but that they needs to felt and learned. I think this aversion to dogma arose due to the religious dogmas of shamanism in the various post-Zhou feudal realms, where superstition and ritual sacrifices impacted state policies (especial in the kingdom of Chu). I think the intention was to have a more sensible approach to spiritual needs at the time that does away with all the rituals of Shamanism and emphasis on personal cultivation. I see the same kind of "moving away from superstition" in Confucianism and Legalism, but more agnostic in their worldview.
Non-action is to have no desires. Words, thoughts, and desires are all memories. Memories are dead and from the past. Dao is the Source of Life and that it does not act, but flows and moves all objects, even your neurons creating neural patterns (thoughts, words, memories)
In a flowing stream, every drop of water remains a drop of water. Each drop of water is in essence the same. Each drop of water possesses and embodies the same principles and natural dynamics of every other drop of water. The drop becomes the stream and the stream becomes the drop.
We are all one in Christ