/lit/ - Literature

>>23383369
>We are more attracted to the practice of spiritual cultivation than to what the practice is supposed to reveal. We are not willing to accept the ultimate defeat humbly, as Benoit puts it. As a result, we continue to exhibit gross spiritual pride toward our so-called attainments. This attitude can be directed toward practice of any kind. This psychological tendency is known as eating the menu. In Effortless Living I am not interested in discussing the contents of the menu with you, even though we may trace over them to better understand the meal. This book is concerned with taking you beyond the menu to finally taste the ineffable mystery of Lao-tzu’s sublime dinner.

>In order to taste the delicious meal Lao-tzu provided for humanity, we need to understand the core tenet of almost all Chinese philosophical systems. This foundational pillar of Chinese philosophy is found within the classics of Eastern thought, notably the Tao Te Ching, the Analects of Confucius, the Chuang-tzu, attributed to Chuang-tzu, and even the Indian text the Bhagavad Gita.

>The core pillar of these classics, in China especially, is believed to originate from Lao-tzu, and it is his essential teaching that is veiled within the mystery of the Chinese word wu-wei (無為: Wade-Giles wu-wei, Pinyin wu-wei) (see figure I.1), which is the core of Chinese philosophy and a predominant principle in Eastern thought. This word is shrouded in misinterpretation. The main confusion arises from the Confucian translation of wei-wu-wei, which literally means “doing nondoing.” This interpretation is built on Confucius’s philosophy of trying to install the eternal Tao and its virtue into our character as if it were some external agency. This is the completely opposite perspective to Lao-tzu’s teaching of naturalness. Translated into English, wu-wei means “nondoing,” “nonaction,” or “effortless action.” These translations are literally correct and lead us to the intuitive and ultimate psychological experience of wu-wei. This effortless psychological experience means “not forcing” or “allowing,” a state of “intelligent spontaneity.”