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  • Essay / The concept of Wei-wu-wei “Being by not being” Teaching of Lao Tzu

    One of the most important teachings of Lao Tzu is Wei-Wu-Wei; it is the concept of non-action and non-effort. Many interpretations of this teaching arise from different perspectives, one of which is to do nothing, or as little as possible. This means eliminating all probabilities of interfering with the flow of life. Human interference can become common as humans constantly feel the need to take control of everyday circumstances. Noninterference can become especially difficult because of a human's varied desires and expectations for their future. Wei-Wu-Wei becomes a challenge because a human is naturally an explorer; he's not known for taking things naturally. A human has a natural need to plan everything down to the minute, making Wei-Wu-Wei an experience of the opposite. Following this concept of human interference, one of the ideas of Wei-Wu-Wei is to know when efforts reach a dead end. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essay An elaborate example would be thinking that there are certain things that cannot be accomplished by putting in maximum effort; this idea doesn't go well with writing essays or finishing a project, but it contributes to concepts such as happiness and appreciation. There are cases where happiness seeks a human being, and not the other way around. You might think that a human should pursue happiness, but the more we try to find happiness, the more unnatural it becomes. Pursuing happiness is not the way to fully achieve it; let things make you happy, let the sight of colorful flowers bring a smile to your eyes, let the smell of freshly baked cookies warm your heart. Let the flow of things follow its natural state. Wei-Wu-Wei is the idea of ​​natural action; it's the idea of ​​knowing that what happens in your life is supposed to happen that way. Contrary to popular belief, Lao Tzu speaks of life as a pre-planned event. It talks about the misfortunes, obstacles and mistakes we encounter and how life is a novel already written before we are born. It makes life easier and guilt-free; it makes humans believe that they can't do anything that will affect anything that happens in their lives. It makes people believe that life is a continuous stream and that whatever happens, happens. Lao Tzu talks about the cause why humans act abnormally: consciousness; through consciousness we become aware of what is happening in our lives. We are aware of our mistakes and this, in turn, leads to an overdose of effort to reverse those actions that were wrong. The root cause of unnatural action is self-consciousness. Therefore, Lao Tzu then speaks of the elimination of consciousness to prevent humans from acting contrary to what their life should be. Wei-Wu-Wei also introduces a life without struggle; it presents life as something that cannot be fought against because it has presets that cannot be changed. It is common to try to go back and fight against the mistakes made to avoid monumental effects. It is a difficult act to row a boat against the current of a river; that’s the whole concept of Wei-Wu-Wei. Our life has a natural flow that we must follow only through a stable mental structure devoid of conscious action. We act with respect for spontaneity, without any guide provided before what we do. Our mind becomes one with the flow of life; we lose track of what's happening.