Wu Wei

sculptor

sculptor

Valued Senior Member
(not sure if this is the best place for this-----but)
Wu Wei
roughly doing without intent
When I was a boy and began hunting for meat
I found that as I walked stealthily through the wood looking for something to kill
The wood was silent
After giving up on finding a target
The dog, Fritz, and I were headed home lightheartedly with the rifle empty and
had assumed a rather casual attitude
I then noticed that the wood was alive with the sounds of animals talking and scampering about
It seemed that the prey could sense attitude
and
I sought to change mine
To be able to hunt without intent
---just be ready to take the shot when it presented itself--without over concentrating on the event
---see the target---raise he rifle into the line of sight---and squeeze the trigger
and have meat to take home
and it worked
again
and again
we ate a lot of rabbit and some birds

Wu Wei
Doing without intent
(relaxed in your confidence)
(perhaps, operating on a somewhat unconscious level)
(shutting off the internal dialogue and just enjoying the stroll through the beauty of the wood)
(but ready---without intending to be ready)

Wu Wei

(go for it!)
 
Yeah, I agree that's a thing. I like getting birds to eat seeds from my hand. If you watch the birds they won't come. If you ignore them and look in another direction they will eventually eat from your hand. After they trust you you can look at most of them without scaring them while they are eating. Deer around my area are the same, if you look at them they get very nervous and will run, if you ignore them and walk at an oblique angle you can get quite close to them.
 
So, could this also be described as ''effortless doing?''

When it comes to adversity though, could we apply this principle as well in terms of allowing the situation to simply happen (without struggling to change it) and learning how to adapt?

I see ''Wu Wei'' as not becoming passive in one's life, while at the same time does it mean to ''take the path of least resistance''?
 
Perhaps it may be the opposite of Wu LI as described by Gary Zukov in his book;
The Dancing Wu Li Masters"
 
The human is the best being capable to pretetend to be harmless.
There is no chalenge to catch or kill other animals that are not aware that there could be some "deviant" being capable to hide his intensions.
I have observed some cats doing the same.
They stay here near their prey, doing some fur cleaning, as if they do not notice their prey.
And in a matter of seconds they jump to them. Killing them for sure.
IA versus consiousness...
 
This thread stirred in me the desire to buy a book on ''trying not to try.'' Some of it is a bit dry - the differences between Taoism and Confucianism from a historical perspective, but overall, it's pretty interesting so far.
 
Maybe you should wait until you don't have a desire to buy the book, and then buy it.;)
 
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