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  • From: Lawrence London <lfljvenaura@gmail.com>
  • To: permaculture <permaculture@lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [permaculture] Wu Wei, Taoism
  • Date: Mon, 3 Apr 2017 00:09:25 -0400

On Sun, Apr 2, 2017 at 2:24 PM, Lawrence London <lfljvenaura@gmail.com>
wrote:

> Wu wei (無爲) is a concept in Taoism sometimes translated as non-action or
> non-doing. It means aligning with the wisdom of Nature, not taking action
> based on self-centric thinking. Some problems are best solved simply by
> staying calm and allowing life to take its natural course.


http://www.iep.utm.edu/mozi/
Mozi (Mo-tzu, c. 400s—300s B.C.E.)

moziMo Di (Mo Ti), better known as Mozi (Mo-tzu) or "Master Mo," was a
Chinese thinker active from the late 5th to the early 4th centuries B.C.E.
He is best remembered for being the first major intellectual rival to
Confucius and his followers. Mozi's teaching is summed up in ten theses
extensively argued for in the text that bears his name, although he himself
is unlikely to have been its author. The most famous of these theses is the
injunction that one ought to be concerned for the welfare of people in a
spirit of "impartial concern" (jian'ai) that does not make distinctions
between self and other, associates and strangers, a doctrine often
described more simplistically as "universal love." Mozi founded a
quasi-religious and paramilitary community that, apart from propagating the
ten theses, lent aid to small states under threat from military aggressors
with their expertise in counter-siege technology. Along with the
Confucians, the Mohists were one of the two most prominent schools of
thought during the Warring States period (403-221 B.C.E.), although
contemporary sources such as the Hanfeizi and the Zhuangzi indicate that
the Mohists had divided into rival sects by this time. While Mohist
communities probably did not survive into the Qin dynasty (221-206 B.C.E.),
Mohist ideas exerted a decisive influence upon the thinkers of early China.
Between the late 4th and late 3rd centuries B.C.E., later Mohists wrote the
earliest extant Chinese treatise on logic, as well as works on geometry,
optics and mechanics. Mohist logic appears to have influenced the
argumentative techniques of early Chinese thinkers, while Mohist visions of
meritocracy and the public good helped to shape the political philosophies
and policy decisions of both the Qin and Han (202 B.C.E.-220 C.E.) imperial
regimes. In these ways, Mohist ideas survived well into the early imperial
era, albeit by being absorbed into other Chinese philosophical traditions.



--
Lawrence F. London, Jr.
lfljvenaura@gmail.com
https://sites.google.com/site/avantgeared




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