Wu Wei, Taoism in action

'Wu wei' is one of the most important concept in Taoism. Literally it means 'without doing, causing or making'. We could loosely call it as 'Going with the Flow'. It is like the flow of water that works around the obstacles rather than fight against it. It is sensitive to the natural rhythm of things. 

The concept of Wu wei is explained in the following story from Chuang-tse

At the Gorge of Lu, the great waterfall plunges for thousands of feet, its spray visible for miles. In the

churning waters below, no living creature can be seen.

One day, K'ung Fu-tse (Confucius) was standing at a distance from the pool's edge, when he saw an old man being tossed about in the turbulent water. He called to his disciples, and together they ran to rescue the victim. But by the time they reached the water, the old man had climbed out onto the bank and was walking along, singing to himself.

K'ung Fu-tse hurried up to him. "You would have to be a ghost to survive that," he said, "but you seem to be a man, instead. What secret power do you have?"

"Nothing special," the old man replied. "I began to learn while very young, and grew up practicing it

Now I am certain of success. I go down with the water and come up with the water. I follow it and

forget myself. I survive because I don't struggle against the water's superior power. That's all."

When we learn to work with our own Inner Nature, and with the natural laws operating around us, we reach the level of Wu Wei. Then we work with the natural order of things and operate on the principle of minimal effort. Since the natural world follows that principle, it does not make mistakes.