Wu Wei is not Hedonism

Wu Wei, the Daoist concept of "going with the grain, rolling with the punch, swimming with the current, trimming sails to the wind, taking the tide at its flood, and stooping to conquer"* is easily misunderstood. I guess especially by Westerners, as it originates from a very different culture. I myself feel like I certainly misunderstood this concept in some ways. It's important to note however, that with my interpretation of wu wei, which is about to follow, I do not claim that that is the right way to understand it. It's just how I personally feel about it right now and what I feel I have misunderstood previously. First, let's get an idea of what wu wei is about, so that afterwards it will be clearer what it isn't about.

*Alan Watts in Tao - The Watercourse Way

Often times in Daoism the concepts are explained in a metaphorical way, using stories. That way, if you are able to get the point of the story by yourself, you will really carry that knowledge with you because it is your own. Also, you can misunderstand a lot. There is, for example "the parable of the pine and the willow in heavy snow.."

"The pine branch, being rigid, cracks under the weight; but the willow branch yields to the weight and the snow drops off. Note, however that the willow is not limp but springy." - (Alan Watts)

Miyamoto Musashi

One could easily get the impression that this is about relaxing whenever you are confronted with anything and being somewhat passive or sluggish. Inactivity is so quickly judged as inertia or laziness that the difference is often overlooked. If we however, take a closer look at the above quote, we should notice that "the willow is not limp but springy." This does not mean inertia, it means reacting accordingly while using the least amount of force necessary to get the job done. That is pretty efficient and even sounds a little economical. Right action at the right time. Miyamoto Musashi was one of the greatest and most well-known sword masters of late 1500s Japan. He put great emphasis on the mastery of the right rhythm, for him especially in the context of fighting. Yet he also stressed how everything in life requires the right rhythm. Knowing the right rhythm, knowing when to act and how, becomes of paramount importance. Similarly, wu wei is about mastering the right timing of action so that you never expend energy unnecessarily and can achieve your goal with less effort. If a boxer throws the right punch at the wrong time it is the wrong punch, because he won't land. Hence, to someone who looks at it from the outside wu wei might appear as some form if hedonism or laziness, yet if understood and practiced properly, it is far from that. You do act, and you also act often at times and ferociously at other times. Yet only when it's time to do so. Also, let's take a look at this quote:

 "Notice that the stiffest tree is most easily cracked, while the bamboo or willow survives by bending with the wind." 

Sounds pretty familiar, right? This quote is by Bruce Lee who obviously points towards the same Daoist parable Alan Watts pointed at. Lee was a big proponent of Daoist and Buddhist ideas and among Jiddu Krishnamurti he listed Alan Watts as one of his main influences as far as philosophy goes. One only has to take a look at Lee and his impressive physique and technical ability to realize that wu wei, being a core principal of Daoism, has not much in common with inertia. 

The beauty of wu wei is at the same time what makes it so easy to misunderstand. It cannot be defined by saying that you are supposed to do this and that always and something else never, that not acting is always right or always wrong. None of this applies. The world is alive, hence always changing. Wu wei is about adapting and reacting appropriately. At certain times it may look like inertia and at another time it may look like you are in a rush. Whatever is required. I myself feel like I took wu wei to be too much of a relaxed and laid back attitude. But it isn't. You may be relaxed in one situation and be completely alert and tense in the next and both can apply to wu wei. Going back to the idea of the right rhythm and timing in anything, the song Take It As It Comes by The Doors captures this rather beautifully:

"Time to live, time to lie, time to laugh, time to die."