The Way of Wuwei is the natural state. It is not the way of inaction, but of balance achieved through right action. It is a method of realizing the perfection of the moment in which we live, the rightness of the current situation even when it doesn't feel so right. Inaction is basically impossible. Humans act. Even choosing to not act is an action. What makes an action compatible with Wuwei is acceptance, going with the flow and not fighting said situation.
The thing to understand about the natural state is that it is inherently perfect as it is. This, now, right here, is as it should be. That applies to us and our individual lives as well. Of course it often doesn't seem that way in the middle of life with bills to pay, dirty diapers, illness, snowstorms, or whatever the current challenge may be. But all of these things have a purpose as well, a purpose that is for our own good and the good of the Universe as it unfolds. What is missing is not some ideal that we imagine. What is missing is acceptance and release, going with the flow.
The root word of both Karma and Kriya is action. This is crucial in reference to Wuwei which is often interpreted as no-action. Kriya is purposeful action typically taken with the intent to come into alignment with the natural state, which is synonymous with self-realization or awakening to reality. Karma is the sum effect, or result, of our actions which serves to influence our current and future states. Karma is not some mystical system of divine retribution. It is more cause and effect. So, to achieve a state of being (which in so many ways is a state of mind) that is in alignment with the natural state we are better served if our actions are consistent with this state. At the same time our attitudes should be informed with wisdom, understanding and faith in the benevolence that is inherent in things being just as they are. Thus, Wuwei is not no-action but right-action.
Ideally, the natural state doesn't require any effort to be realized. It is already all around us and within us. However, being human has its limitations and we are forever forgetting that fact. Our default is typically not to look around and realize the perfection, or to know when to act and when to let things be. We have to constantly work on that. And that is why it is called a way, or Dao. It is a path we are forever walking. We may get better but we will always need to be aware, open minded and willing to go with the flow, change with the change. As the natural state is perfect it is, like all things, forever changing.
The thing to understand about the natural state is that it is inherently perfect as it is. This, now, right here, is as it should be. That applies to us and our individual lives as well. Of course it often doesn't seem that way in the middle of life with bills to pay, dirty diapers, illness, snowstorms, or whatever the current challenge may be. But all of these things have a purpose as well, a purpose that is for our own good and the good of the Universe as it unfolds. What is missing is not some ideal that we imagine. What is missing is acceptance and release, going with the flow.
The root word of both Karma and Kriya is action. This is crucial in reference to Wuwei which is often interpreted as no-action. Kriya is purposeful action typically taken with the intent to come into alignment with the natural state, which is synonymous with self-realization or awakening to reality. Karma is the sum effect, or result, of our actions which serves to influence our current and future states. Karma is not some mystical system of divine retribution. It is more cause and effect. So, to achieve a state of being (which in so many ways is a state of mind) that is in alignment with the natural state we are better served if our actions are consistent with this state. At the same time our attitudes should be informed with wisdom, understanding and faith in the benevolence that is inherent in things being just as they are. Thus, Wuwei is not no-action but right-action.
Ideally, the natural state doesn't require any effort to be realized. It is already all around us and within us. However, being human has its limitations and we are forever forgetting that fact. Our default is typically not to look around and realize the perfection, or to know when to act and when to let things be. We have to constantly work on that. And that is why it is called a way, or Dao. It is a path we are forever walking. We may get better but we will always need to be aware, open minded and willing to go with the flow, change with the change. As the natural state is perfect it is, like all things, forever changing.
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