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This file is the work of Stan Rosenthal. It has been placed here, with
his kind permission, by Bill Fear. The author has asked that no hard
copies, ie. paper copies, are made.

Stan Rosenthal may be contacted at 44 High street, St. Davids,

Pembrokeshire, Dyfed, Wales, UK. Bill Fear may be contacted at 29
Blackweir Terrace, Cathays, Cardiff, South Glamorgan, Wales, UK. email
fear@thor.cf.ac.uk. Please use email as first method of contact, if
possible. Messages can be sent to Stan Rosenthal via the above email
address - they will be forwarded on in person by myself.

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WU WEI-'EFFORTLESS EFFORT' OR 'ACTIONLESS ACTION'

Of all the 'gates' there may be in a person's life, 'wu wei'

('effortless effort' or 'actionless action') is often one of the most
difficult to pass through, and of all the Taoist teachings, it is one of
the most difficult to understand, and to apply. In fact we cannot apply
it, but can only learn to 'allow it to apply itself'. The analogy of
water is sometimes used to describe wu wei, as illustrated by
Ishida.....

"When water running down the side of a mountain is blocked by a stone in

its path, it builds up behind that stone, filling and conforming to the
space available. When that space is filled, the water washes over or
around the stone. The water does not contrive to do this, nor to
continue in its downward direction; in fact, by filling the space behind
the stone, it may even 'flow upwards in order to flow down'. It does
not contrive; it is incapable of contriving, and nor does nature
contrive on behalf of water. Although, or perhaps because water is the
most adaptive of all the elements, it possesses wu wei in the greatest
abundence, and in acting without motive, acts with wu wei.

All of this is to say that water responds to its enviroment, and to act
with wu wei, this is all we need to do. Whilst developing an
understanding of wu wei may be difficult, acting with wu wei is
simplicity or naturalness itself, but in order to act in this way we
must remove that which stands in its way. In life there are many such
barriers, but the most usual are probably ego (to do what we want, and
to have others conform to what we want) and 'conditioning' (to behave in
a manner in which we have been 'trained' to behave, usually as a result
of upbringing). To overcome these barriers we must 'let go' of the ego,
and of our 'conditioned selves', for it is only then that we can act
with wu wei, which is to perceive and accept situations as they are, and
respond to them in harmony with them.

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