Lao Tzu - The Art of Not Trying

this episode of after skool  was written by Einzelgänger those who stand on tiptoes do not stand firmly  those who rush ahead don't get very far those who try to outshine others dim their own light  Taoists have long observed that humans often act in counterproductive ways we frequently Force  things only to discover that our efforts backfire we try to improve the world world but then we  observe that altering the Natural Way causes many new problems often the more we strive for  something the more we seem to drift away from it we may wish to impress someone we're attracted  to but for some reason the more we try the less we succeed or we're about to deliver a speech we  have rehearsed over a 100 times and even though we know it inside out we utterly blow it in such  cases our knowledge and abilities aren't the problem. we know sufficient. we have practiced  enough to perform the problem arrives when we get in our own way it's the mind that tries  too hard to control the situation to analyze and intellectualize that salts are game.

A curious  Taoist Sage, Lao Tzu was aware of the human Quirk of getting so lost in their intellectual presence  that they forget the natural way and so they force and strive swimming against the stream sometimes  ending up further away from their goals than when they started so what if we stopped trying so  hard and found a different more effortless way of getting things done this video explores loud  sir and the Art of not trying loud sir is the most well-known Taoist Sage although there's no proof  that he ever lived if he did it should have been somewhere around the fifth and sixth Century  BC which makes him a contemporary of Confucius nevertheless the legendary Chinese philosopher  wrote a masterpiece called Tao Te Ching which many consider the primary Taoist scripture the Tao  Te Ching is a mysterious piece of art not only is there no consensus on when exactly it was written  but the existence of its author remains disputed nevertheless one thing is sure the profundity  of this work has left its mark on Humanity to this day it's also worth noting that the Tao  Te Ching ranks among the most translated words in world literature Lao Tzu seem to have  written this text as a manual for a ruler for a significant part it's about governing people  and being a good leader mainly by letting people govern themselves it discusses themes like trust  and oppression moderation and excess and humility and pride qualities that make or break you as  a ruler but also as a human Lao Tzu speaks of the value of trusting instead of trying to control  everyone and everything taking the lower position instead of trying to dominate and being flexible  instead of rigid in short poetic phrases he makes his message clear he wrote for example those who  are stiff and rigid are the Disciples of death those who are soft and yielding are the Disciples  of Life the rigid and stiff will be broken the soft and yielding will overcome end quote yet at  the heart of his teachings lies a pivotal concept the mysterious all-encompassing Force called  da the essence of Taoist philosophy is living in harmony with the Tao also called the way.  So, what is the Tao? Lao Tzu clarifies that we cannot know the Tao at least not intellectually  our understanding of it only goes as far as the limitations of our perception the true nature  of the da remains a mystery moreover according to Lao Tzu the da speak of isn't the real da hence  the famous opening of his work goes like this the da that can be described is not the Eternal  Tao the name that can be spoken is not the Eternal name end quote so if the true da always  eludes us what can we actually know about it the Taoist philosophers emphasize over and over again  that true Tao is an overarching Force beyond our comprehension which the senses cannot perceive. 

The Tao drives everything and governs the universe it's behind all we perceive doing its work never  rushing always getting things done it's a force of immense depth we can't control it we can only  move with it or against it. Living in harmony with the Tao is the ultimate goal of a Taoist sage. but  how does he pull this off?

Lao Tzu doesn’t provide a practical guide on living in agreement with  the Tao. However, his lyrical writings contain many clues that point to achieving stillness of  mind, being receptive instead of controlling, and a curious concept known as ‘nonaction’  or ‘effortless action. ’ The latter is quite paradoxical, as ‘not acting’ and ‘not doing’  imply passivity.

But from a Taoist viewpoint, that’s not the case at all. According  to Lao Tzu, for those who practice ‘not doing,’ everything falls into place. So, how can we achieve something by ‘not doing?

’ How can we act effortlessly and still get  everything done? The answer: Wu-Wei. The Chinese concept of Wu-Wei or not doing is central  to Taoism it can be translated as non-action effortless action or the paradoxical action of  non-action.

Wu-wei is multifaceted there are different forms of non-action loud says writings  and body wu-wei he teaches softness over hard allowing over forcing and flowing along over  striving he wants us to stop trying so hard stop pushing Beyond Nature's limits and use  the da to our advantage by going along with it instead of fighting it practicing wu-wei way  aligns us with the da take for example the idea of non-intervention Lao Tzu speaks about this concept  which particularly applies to the ruler instead of ruling by trying to control and dominate our  ruler should trust and allow as many processes as possible without unnecessary intervention the  world and its people are largely self-governing if he intervenes too much he disrupts the natural  flow and things only worsen we can also see this with overly controlling managers their efforts may  stem from a desire to do well but their constant meddling is often counterproductive. Lao Tzu wrote  that great leaders lead from a place of non-action they only act when necessary they trust in the  process they let nature do its work many problems simply solve themselves Many Things fall into  place without intervening imagine how much time and energy such an attitude saves Lao Tzu wrote  do you want to rule the world and control it I don't think it can ever be done the world is a  sacred vessel and it cannot be controlled you will only make it worse if you try it may slip  through your fingers and disappear end quote non-action also shines through when Lao Tzu  talks about the futility of fixed knowledge and rigid moral code we often try to be good  based on predetermined ideas of goodness or achieve success as societal standards dictate  but what are goodness and success really can we for example speak of definitive  concepts of Good and Evil in a complex and everchanging universe trying to impose good  on a world often makes things worse Alan Watts, a fervent scholar of Taoism once pointed out  that the goody goodies of society are the biggest troublemakers their must save the world  attitude often disrupts the natural course simply because they seek to enforce artificial ideas  on what's good and evil which may not align with the nuanced realities of Life another form  of wu-wei is the idea of effortless action also called being in the zone referring to a free  flowing spontaneity during which one merges with the act. Dr Woei-Lien Chong philosopher  and sinologist explains her interpretation in a Dutch book about Taoist philosophy emphasizing  the element of emptiness or openness she describes the essence of practicing wu-wei as follows and I  quote “And so the whole practitioner is able to, from the clarity of his egoless center, observe  all relevant forces in a certain situation in their being, undistorted so that he can respond to  them flawlessly.

” end quote. From this Viewpoint wu-wei is not just about letting go going along  with the flow of nature allowing the universe to do its job it's a much bolder move for which we  need a lot of Courage we must be brave enough to escape our intellectual presence of assumptions  Concepts and categories and engage with the world as it presents itself the sage must become  what Lao Tzu called an uncarved block which is a simpler undistorted state of being as uncarved  blocks we can engage in what Dr Woei-Lien Chong describes as this ultimate receptive and  responsive way of action from a crystal clear openness in yourself one with the breathing of  the cosmos so how does this work in practice the importance of escaping our intellectual presence  is especially true for effortless action in The Flow State we tend to experience intense and  focused concentration on the present moment loss of reflective self-consciousness a merging  of action and awareness and even an altered sense of time it's like the dancer becomes the dance  the poet the poem and the singer the song in his biography retired professional basketball player  Bill Russell wrote it was almost as if we were playing in slow motion during those spells  I could almost sense how the next play would develop and where the next shot would be taken  end quote how do we reach this Flow State perhaps a better question is what stops us from reaching  it let's take a look at the word try for a moment to try means making an attempt or effort to do or  accomplish something often it involves particular mental strain a pressure behind the act we may  worry about our performances especially when we compete for a prize we may ruminate about past  failures and catastrophize what happens when we screw up sometimes we worry so much about a  specific task that we can't must the courage to start even though we have the capabilities to  complete it L's idea of returning to the uncarved block makes sense here if we release ourselves  from mental strain and the analysis paralysis that comes with it we return to a simpler less  contrived State of Mind free from intellectual burdens we become more flexible and responsive  to reality as it unfold but don't take the old sag's word for it one of the leading experts  on the flow state is Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi a psychologist and University Professor who wrote  A bestselling book named Flow.