Wu-wei According to Confucius and Laozi and the Ideology (Essay Sample)

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Wu-wei According to Confucius and Laozi
The essay will tackle a critical analysis of wu wei as put forth by two proponents namely: Laozi and Confucius. A further analysis shall thereafter follow illuminating on the subject matter of wu wei and its application in the human life.
Wu Wei in Chinese has the meaning of "non-action" or "actionless action" CITATION Tzu63 \l 1033 (Tzu, 1963). Philosophically Wu wei is a central principle in the Chinese world and belongs to the philosophy of Daoism. Essentially, according to the principle, one has to live spontaneously in according to the natural flow of the cosmos rule referred to as the Dao. Laozi, living according to the natural flow is basically refusing to act against the rhythmic act of nature. Moreover, Laozi goes further to assert that Daoism is the genesis of human happiness and that Wu wei allows the practitioners of Daoism to live in extreme peace with one’s natural environment and to be mindful of other interconnectedness of life in general.
In a nutshell, Wu wei is in itself quite a simple concept. It basically involves acting without much desire where desire is perceived to mean the force behind people’s actions that are unnatural CITATION Liu91 \l 1033 (Liu, 1991). The natural in a strict sense is seen to complement Tao while the contrary contravenes the aspirations of Tao. From a neutral perspective, I can take Wu wei as love for tranquility, engaging in activities and disregarding much desire for some particulars. Xiaogan affirms that following wu wei can lead to natural transformation, simplicity, correctness and ultimately prosperity.
Wu wei is represented by two common images which are water and reeds. Water, in essence, flows downhill while the reeds on the other hand naturally bend when under the pressure from strong wind CITATION Sin00 \l 1033 (Singerland, 2000). The reeds, surprisingly, don’t break but regain their original form once the tension exerted by the strong wind is withdrawn. The representation by wind and water has been restated in the Tao Te Ching principle which, in a summary, states that the most submissive of all things can naturally ride a roughshod over the hardest thing in the world. From this definition everybody else can depict the significance of resorting to no action or the benefits of inaction. Embracing wu wei requires that man becomes one with nature, and or heaven and unites with Dao. In realty, this can be seen as the ultimate goal of the wu-wei framework.
Wu wei finds its application in many fields of human life for example in politics and leadership. In political leadership, for instance, Wu wei requires the government of the day be the one the does not invade its individuals or subjects CITATION Pee93 \l 1033 (Peerenboom, 1993).
Confucian, throughout his life did not constantly use the term wu wei. However, by implication, he did conform to the aspirations f the same. The Confucians understanding of wu wei remains tied to the realm of human actions as opposed to the cosmological perspectives CITATION Tzu59 \l 1033 (Tzu H. F., 1959). Anthropocentrism also conforms to wu wei, for ...