The Tao of Ethics: Part One, Wu Wei

Post Date:January 27, 2010

It is not correct to imply that there is an “ethics” of “chi.” Quite simply, chi is chi; it is energy that is neither good nor bad; it simply is.  Chi can stagnate, which Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) conceptualizes as the root of illness and disease.  That is, if chi does not flow properly, a blockage occurs that creates an imbalance in the body, and illness occurs.  Similarly, if there is an excess of chi, the body’s harmony is disrupted as well.  But to say that Chi has an ethical component is like saying that electricity is inherently good or bad.  It is only our perception that creates that judgment.
    Nevertheless, Chi does play a vital role in ethical conduct, and impacts the Taoist principles of Wu Wei (non-doing) and Te (virtue).   My claim that there is a connection between Chi, wu wei, te, and ethics raised that hackles of one editor who had requested that I write an essay on the relationship between T’ai Chi and spiritual practice.  Needless to say, the essay (Two Mountains—the Spiritual Legacy of T’ai Chi Chuan) did not appear in his magazine, although it can be read at CloudWater Zendo’s website under “Internal Arts” practices:  www.cloudwater.org/index.php/internal-arts. 
    The editor’s main objective was largely in response to my assertion that wu wei (literally, non-doing) must embody ethics.  In brief, wu wei is acting wholly in accord with or natural to a particular situation—a knowing when to act and when not to act.  Some people misread this “non-doing” as doing nothing whatsoever and parallels apathy.   In my essay I draw upon a passage from the famous sinologist Holmes Welch in order to chart the bridge between wu wei and ethics.   The quote that I used comes from Welch’s Taoism: the Parting of the Way, wherein he makes an explicit connection between ethics and wu-wei:

Wu wei does not mean to avoid all action, but rather all hostile, aggressive
action  . . .  It is because of this law [of aggression] that the Taoist practices Wu Wei.  He sees spreading around him the vicious circles of lying, hatred, and violence.  His aim is not merely to avoid starting new circles, but to interrupt those that have already been started (33). 

The individual of the Tao is obligated to not only understand the dynamics of virtue (i.e., not lying, not being violent, not embodying hatred) but to perpetuate virtue through proper action, which is the heart of wu wei.  Sometimes a student of the Tao must interrupt the circles of hatred, violence, and lying—acting with what Holmes Welch calls “regrettable necessity,” which directly implies that there is an ethical imperative—a redirecting of energy—when the situation is not in keeping with the natural harmony of the Tao.
    The individual must not disrupt the natural order and flow of things, and to act wholly in accord with the moment requires that that action is not driven by the individual’s ego, desires, and emotions.  Consequently, abiding by the principle of wu wei necessitates a clear comprehension of ones “essence” and intentionality.  The goal is to discontinue disruptive patterns that are extensions of ones Ego—the desires of the self.  To remain within the Tao is to be beyond desire and ego, and to remain in alignment with virtue (te) and energy (chi). 
    Passages from various ancient Taoist texts emphasize this inextricable weaving of ethics and wu-wei as well.  For example, the famous Ancestor Lu writes,

Real constancy should respond to people:
 In responding to people, it is essential not to get confused.
When you don’t get confused, your nature is naturally stable;
 When your nature is stable, energy naturally returns.
 
The individual must not act from a place of uncertainty, but rather be aligned with the “essential”—the Tao—which requires a clear understanding of ones intentions and to keep within ones natural “essence.”   If intentions are clear and virtuous, then one can respond with wu wei, which stabilizes “nature” and generates “energy” or chi.  Moreover, such energy feeds back into to the system and might be imagined as a flow chart wherein:

    Energy →situation → outcome [and then] outcome → energy

The energy going into a situation affects the outcome, and the outcome is the manifestation of the energy.  [Part Two:  “The Tao of Ethics:  Chi” addresses this relationship of energy and ethics in much greater detail.]

    Wu wei is responding—not ignoring or being apathetic.  It is the responsibility of responding.    As Chang San-Feng, the famous Taoist Monk and the person often attributed with creating T’ai Chi, writes:

If you do not respond to people, then you are empty and silent, an open absence, when they come to you, you ought to respond, then let the thing pass when it’s past.  Be clear, upright, and magnanimous, and you won’t be confused.  Your true nature will then be clear and serene, while your original spirit will solidify and crystallize. 

The individual has a responsibility to respond without attachment to outcomes—“letting things pass when its past”—to do what needs to be done without concern for reward, honor, or even punishment.  What powers ones response is being “clear, upright, and magnanimous,” and wu wei rests upon these virtuous principles.    Wu wei emerges out of ones ethics and virtue, which Taoism calls “Te.”  More, those virtuous qualities both generate and are the manifestation of ones equanimity and the marks of original spirit.  Only with such virtue at the core, can a person truly actualize wu wei.  Only when the individual is aligned with such virtues can that person encounter his or her original spirit and truly be on the path and be at one with the Tao.

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