Taoism – an ancient Chinese philosophical tradition – which means “The Way” or “The Path”
Ursula K. LeGuin, the author of A Wizard of Earthsea, wove two of the main principles of Taoism into her tale:
1) a theory of inactivity – one acts only when absolutely necessary, known as Wu Wei
2) the relativity of opposites – the belief that opposites are interdependent, and their interdependence results in equilibrium. Such as
light – dark
temptation – resistance
yin – yang
Opposites are already united; they cannot be opposites otherwise. Nor can they be a unity, and be themselves. They are the alternating imprint of one another, no presence without absence, no absence without presence, no day without night, no good without evil, and so forth.
“The Way” some ideas
1. Lao-tse taught that the more man interfered with the natural balance produced and governed by universal laws, the further harmony recedes into the distance.
2. Uncarved Block – perceiving everything in a clear and unbiased way – like a block of wood that has not been carved into any shape. “To attain knowledge, add things every day. To attain Wisdom, remove things every day.” The surest way to become Tense, Awkward, Confused is to develop a mind that tries too hard – that thinks too much. “I think, therefore I am Confused.”
3. True Man does not value knowledge for the sake of knowledge
4. Things are as they are – inner nature cannot be fooled – we are who we are – the way of Self-Reliance
5. Wu Wei “without doing, causing, making” -- “without meddlesome, combative, egotistical effort – no going against the nature of things. Flow over and around – be sensitive to the natural rhythms of things. Know when to act and when not to act. The mind of Wu Wei “flows like water, reflects like a mirror, and responds like an echo.” (intuition)
6. Relax and appreciate what is around you.
7. Believe in the power within you and use it.
8. From caring comes courage and wisdom.
Another of LeGuin’s ideas with application to Earthsea
“A very important part of understanding a culture is learning its language. Anthropologists hold that every culture’s reality is at least to some degree created by their language; among other things a language shows what a culture thinks is important enough to name. Innuit Eskimos have 30 different word for snow, for example.