Chapter 20 - Wu Wei
"Today my prince we are going to talk about Wu Wei or as some would call it the Action of non-action. Wu Wei is a simple state of being in which your actions are quite effortless and are aligned to flow of the elemental cycles in nature. It is about going with the flow; so that without even trying, you are able to respond to whatever situations you find yourself in.
"Lao Tzu through the Tao Te Ching introduced us to his ideal of the enlightened leader, who, by embodying the principles of Wu Wei, is able to rule in a way that creates happiness and prosperity for his country's inhabitants. That is one of the reasons your father the Emperor sent you to me, so that one day when you are the Emperor that you can be an enlightened leader."
"But what of you sage, you understand these teachings and yet you are not a leader but have chosen to live in the forest?"
"That is a good question, but there is more than one way to practice Wu Wei. Because of who you chose to be born to you chose life one way and I chose another. I have chosen to withdraw from society to live the life of a hermit, wandering through the meadows and forests, meditating and learning the ways of nature so that I can have deeper understanding of the Tao.
"Lao Tzu called the practice of Wu Wei as the highest form of Virtue. It is a practice that is not premeditated, but arises spontaneously. In verse 38 of the Tao Te Ching he tells us:
'The highest virtue is to act without a sense of self
The highest kindness is to give without a condition
The highest justice is to see without a preference'
'When Tao is lost one must learn the rules of Virtue
When virtue is lost, the rules of Kindness
When kindness is lost, the rules of Justice
When justice is lost, the rules of Conduct'
(Translated by Jonathan Star)
"As you find your alignment with the Tao, with the rhythms of the elements inside and outside of yourself, your actions will quite naturally be of the highest benefit of all concerned. You will have become the embodiment of Wu Wei, the Action of non-action, as well as Wu Nien, the Thought of non-thought and Wu Hsin, the Mind of non-mind. You will have realized your place in the universe and your connection to the Tao. Knowing this connection, you will offer thoughts, words and actions that do no harm, do not infringe on others and that are spontaneously virtuous."
The young man now understood why the Emperor had made a peace pact with the people's of the north. His father was wiser than he ever gave him credit for. He had listened to the dissenters within the court, who had said he was weak to give into them, but of course none of them had the courage to say these things within earshot of the Emperor.
The young man understood that the Emperor had used to concept of Wu Wei in dealing with his problems. The young prince went deep within himself to see what was the next steep that he should take. In his mind's he saw himself hugging his father, something he had not done of late, now that he was young man. It was something that he would remedy when he arrived back at the palace.
The sage smiled to himself. His own practice of Wu Wei had not only led to the teaching of the Emperor, the Empress and their son, it had also led to a better life for many thousands of people. He gave thanks to the Tao before hugging the young man and sending him back to the palace.
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