The Meaning and Distinctions Between Non-Action and Purposeful Action

Xuefeng

March 10, 2011

Non-Action (Wu Wei) aligns with the way of heaven; Purposeful Action (You Wei) aligns with the way of humanity.

Non-Action means complete alignment with nature, operating according to objective laws, letting things rise and fall, bloom and wither, come and go with the seasons, wax and wane without worry or thought. As the Heart Sutra says, “No sensation, no perception, no mental formations, no consciousness; no eye, ear, nose, tongue, body, or mind; no form, sound, smell, taste, touch, or objects of mind; no realm of the eye, up to and including no realm of mind-consciousness; no ignorance and no ending of ignorance, up to and including no old age and death, and no ending of old age and death; no suffering, no cause of suffering, no cessation of suffering, and no path; no wisdom and no attainment with nothing to attain.” It means to be free from delusional dreams, to have a heart without attachment, fear, or dwelling, to be unselfish and free from desires, to accept things as they are, follow the natural flow of relationships, act in accordance with one’s nature, and seize opportunities as they arise.

Purposeful Action (You Wei) involves fully utilizing one’s intelligence, maximizing the satisfaction of desires and needs, and using one’s will to change everything around them according to their own wishes.

Non-Action is like the ocean; Purposeful Action is like the waves.

Sakyamuni Buddha said, “All sages and saints are distinguished by their practice of non-action.” Purposeful Action represents the common people, the multitude of sentient beings; Non-Action represents the sages and saints. The difference between wisdom and foolishness is measured by whether one practices Non-Action or Purposeful Action. Sages practice Non-Action, while the foolish practice Purposeful Action. Thus, the Tao Te Ching states, “Therefore, the sage deals with affairs through Non-Action and teaches without words.”

The way of the Greatest Creator is the “Non-Action, yet nothing is left undone” way. Those who follow the way of the Greatest Creator must enter a state of Non-Action. I have already explained the eight characteristics of the way of the Greatest Creator. Before the way of the Greatest Creator, all human efforts are insignificant; only by merging with the way can we attain the way and become one with it.

Why should we merge with the way? Because only by merging with the way can we achieve eternal life, become celestial beings, handle all affairs effortlessly, and attain wisdom and freedom in the vast universe. In reality, merging with the way means merging with the Greatest Creator. When this happens, the wisdom of the Greatest Creator becomes our wisdom, and we enter the Elysium World.

As long as a person has selfish desires, as long as they possess or wish to possess something, as long as their heart is attached, has desires, worries, or anxieties, they will inevitably engage in Purposeful Action and will not become a saint, celestial being, or Buddha.

As long as a person’s heart is tied to marriage, family, religion, political parties, or nations, as long as they have thoughts, family ties, property, status, or reputation, as long as they worry about food, clothing, shelter, transportation, birth, aging, illness, and death, as long as they have desires, dependencies, hopes, fears, worries, or anxieties, they are undoubtedly practitioners of Purposeful Action. All their actions and words are manifestations of Purposeful Action, not Non-Action.

The highest state of LIFE is to have nothing. Only by having nothing can one reach heaven, the free world. Having nothing allows one to possess everything; the more unselfish one is, the more they achieve their desires. The more one possesses, the more troubles they encounter, and the further they are from heaven. The more one practices Non-Action, the more they can accomplish without effort.

I established the Second Home and urge you to strive to enter it because only in the Second Home can you gradually enter a state of Non-Action. In the secular world, not only will you fail to understand Non-Action, but even if you do, you cannot reach the state of Non-Action. In the secular world, you can only practice Purposeful Action.

I have paved a smooth path to heaven for you. As long as you follow the path I have laid out for you, your future will be bright and indescribably wonderful.

Remember: “All conditioned phenomena are like a dream, an illusion, a bubble, a shadow, like dew or a flash of lightning; thus should you view them.