From: Paul Turner (paul@turnerbc.co.uk)
Date: Tue Aug 02 2005 - 10:12:04 BST
Scott, MSH,
>Scott:
>If we actually did do nothing, things would not stay just the way they are.
>That is the message of the Tao Te Ching. The road to hell is paved with
>good
>intentions, etc.
>Scott:
>The problem is that you do not seem to realize that you are part of the
>problem. As am I, and as are we all. But -- or so I flatter myself in so
>thinking -- to recognize that one is part of the problem is the first step
>in ceasing to be so.
>
>msh 08-01-05:
>Ok. Then what's the second step?
>
>See, this is the kind of one-hand-clapping nonsense that leads to the
>religion of do nothing and things will get better. I guess it works
>great if you're in the boot with the iron heel, or if the heel comes
>down in someone else's neighborhood. Now, imagine yourself beneath
>the heel, then lecture us about what we should do.
Paul: As I understand it, Mark, Scott has misinterpreted the term - wu wei
- or at least, hasn't elaborated on what he means by do-nothing. The Taoist
wu wei principle refers to behaviour motivated by a sense of oneself as
connected to everything else i.e. not motivated by a sense of fundamental
separateness or by the selfish ego. It is operating with a sense of dharma,
which, of course, is what Pirsig identifies with Quality in ZMM. When one
is working with Quality instead of against it, activity can seem effortless,
which is what wu-wei is perhaps better translated as meaning. It is nothing
to do with apathy or mere passivity.
Regards
Paul
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