Wu-wei is what happens without being made to happen by a definite intention, without a plan, without an ulterior motive - the way one does the things one doesn’t have to try to do, what one is doing without noticing it, without conscious motive. So in a way the idea of wu-wei implies a global reconsideration of the very premise of your question - the status and desirability of striving as such, or having any definite conscious ideals guide our lives, any definite conscious ethical guide. How does this concept relate to what we, as human beings, should strive for, and how is that term related to an ethical life?
Yancy: In Taoism, there is the concept of “wu-wei” (“doing nothing”).
In the “Zhuangzi,” even the definiteness of “source” is too fixed to fully accommodate the scope of universal reversal and transformation we have instead a celebration of openness to the raucous universal process of change, the transformation of all things into each other. In all these forms of Taoism, there is a stress on “return to the source,” and a contrarian tendency to push in the opposite direction of the usual values and processes, focusing on the reversal and union of apparent opposites. The philosophical Taoism of the “Tao Te Ching” seeks to remain connected to this “mother of the world,” the formless Tao (meaning “Way” or “Course”), that is seemingly the opposite of all we value, but is actually the source of all we value, as manure is to flowers, as the emptiness of a womb is to the fullness of life. Many forms of cultivation, visualization and ritual are developed, with deities both inside and outside one’s own body, to reconnect and integrate with the primal energy in its many forms. Some forms of religious Taoism seek immortal vitality through a reconnection with this source of life, the inexhaustible energy that gave us birth. This can make it difficult to say what the attitude of Taoism is on any given topic. Is that correct?īrook Ziporyn: “Taoism” (or “Daoism”) is a blanket term for the philosophy of certain classical texts, mainly from Lao-tzu’s “Tao Te Ching” and the “Zhuangzi” (also known in English as “Chuang-tzu”), but also for a number of religious traditions that adopt some of these texts while also producing many other texts, ideas and practices. But for those who haven’t, can you give us some basics? For example, my understanding is that Taoism can be described as both a religious system and a philosophical system. Some may have had a basic exposure to Taoist thought - perhaps encountering translations of the “Tao Te Ching” or Chinese medicine or martial arts or even just popular references to the concept of yin and yang. George Yancy: For many Westerners, Taoism is somewhat familiar.
All previous interviews in this series can be found here. He is also the author of several books, including “The Penumbra Unbound: The Neo-Taoist Philosophy of Guo Xiang” and “Zhuangzi: The Complete Writings," as well as two works on Tiantai Buddhism. Professor Ziporyn has distinguished himself as a scholar and translator of some of the most complex philosophical texts and concepts of the Chinese religious traditions. Today, my conversation is with Brook Ziporyn, the Mircea Eliade professor of Chinese religion, philosophy and comparative thought at the University of Chicago Divinity School. This is the fifth in a series of interviews with religious scholars exploring how the major faith traditions deal with death.