Tao Te Ching, Chapter 37

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‘Not doing’.  This idea is perhaps at the very centre of Taoist thought.  Many people have adopted it as their guiding motto.  And yet it is so perplexing!  What does it mean?

It doesn’t mean passivity or inaction, a couch-potato philosophy.  It has more to do with our attitude and motivation, actually.  It means not striving to accomplish things, and not desiring to achieve a result.  It means being content with the way things are, rather than remoulding them to your liking.

The Tao never does anything,
yet through it all things are done.

The Tao Te Ching tries to assure us that if we all followed this philosophy, the world wouldn’t come apart at the seams!

If powerful men and women
could center themselves in it,
the whole world would be transformed
by itself, in its natural rhythms.
People would be content
with their simple, everyday lives,
in harmony, and free of desire.

When there is no desire,
all things are at peace.

What do you think?  Could we all do more by doing less?  When I look at the legacy of western imperialism and the industrial revolution, I am tempted to say yes.

But perhaps you are dubious.  Global ‘not-doing’ is pretty far-fetched, anyway.  Still, we can experiment in our own daily lives.  Find something that you are used to holding onto tightly:  maybe a person or a situation; an experience from the past; or a desire for the future.  Let it go.  See what happens.