SuaveG – The Gentle Path

Chinese mythology, folktales, and literature

non-action

  • The Analects – Chapter 15.5

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    Ana

    The Master said, “Whoever ruled by non-action (wu wei) – was it not Shun? What did he actually do? He merely sat solemnly and upright on his throne facing south.”

  • Tao Te Ching: The Ancient Chinese Classic of Wisdom and Harmony

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    Rob

    Among the world’s most influential philosophical texts, the Tao Te Ching (Dao De Jing) stands out as a masterpiece of brevity and profound insight. Attributed to Laozi (Lao Tzu), a mysterious sage believed to have lived in the 6th century BCE during China’s Spring and Autumn Period, this small book of just 81 chapters…

  • The unobtainable mind

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    Ana

    Yulin Tongxiu (1614–1675CE), Dharma name Tongxiu, courtesy name Yulin, commonly known as National Master Yulin, was a renowned Chan master of the Linji (Rinzai) school during the transition period between the Ming and Qing dynasties in China. He once served as abbot of Baoren Temple in Wukang, Zhejiang Province. In 1658, he was summoned…

  • A monk of no affairs

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    Ana

    One day, Chan Master Danxia Tianran lay sprawled across the Tianjin Bridge in Luoyang City. When Governor Zheng Yuqing passed by during an official inspection, his guards demanded: “Why block the governor’s path?”

  • Eating and Sleeping with Awareness

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    Ana

    One day, Zen Master Yuanlu asked Great Pearl Huihai(Dazhu Huihai): “Venerable, do you also exert effort in practicing the Chan?”

  • The Mind-Control Spell in Journey to the West

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    Juan

    In Journey to the West, Guanyin Bodhisattva grants Tang Sanzang the ‌Tightening Curse‌ (Tight-Fillet Spell) and its accompanying ‌golden fillet‌ to subdue Sun Wukong.

  • Dao De Jing – Chapter 57

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    Ana

    Chapter 57 critiques overly interventionist governance and advocates wu wei (non-action) as the ideal political philosophy. Laozi argues that excessive laws, regulations, and control paradoxically create societal chaos, while simplicity, humility, and restraint from rulers foster natural harmony and prosperity.

  • Dao De Jing – Chapter 51

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    Ana

    Chapter 51 of the Dao De Jing (Tao Te Ching) elucidates the roles of Dao and De (Virtue) in the creation, nourishment, and evolution of all things, while emphasizing the principle of natural non-action (Wu Wei).

  • Dao De Jing – Chapter 48

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    Ana

    He who devotes himself to learning (seeks) from day to day to increase (his knowledge); he who devotes himself to the Dao (seeks) from day to day to diminish (his doing).He diminishes it and again diminishes it, till he arrives at doing nothing (on purpose). Having arrived at this point of non-action, there is…