Thirty-Seven - Wu Wei Redux
The connections between and among the ideas of non-action or “effortless doing,” formlessness, and the quelling of desire are very intriguing to me. In Chapter Three we were first introduced to the concepts of wu wei and wei wu wei. This action without action embodies the deep flowing strength of the Tao, like the power of water flowing over time. A drip of water is supple, a tear on a child’s cheek. But drip after drip after drip over thousands of years and behold! — The Grand Canyon!
And if the wise ruler observed this principle, returning to the formlessness of the Tao, there could be no desire. Having no desire, all things would be at peace. Desire is the result of differentiation — the application of form in the creation of the ten thousand things. One Mind, no desire.