Do Nothing

“Ronald Reagan was the only American president to quote Lao Tzu in a state of the union address: “Govern a great nation as you would cook a small fish,” he said. That is, when you cook a small fish, you should not flip it too much or overdo it. He was promoting the conservative ideology of the free market as an engine of economic progress, but he also revealed this basic idea in his approach to world affairs…

The Soviet Union collapsed under its own weight. President Reagan’s magic, his wisdom, and his power were Wu Wei, or doing nothing. Reagan did nothing to destroy the Soviet Union. He just left the fish alone and let it cook itself. The Soviet Union fell because of its own internal faults.

When we say he did nothing, we are not discrediting him. Quite the contrary, America should be grateful to this president. If he had done something, such as invade that country, the Soviet Union would have lasted a few more decades at least. Both Napoleon and Hitler found that they could not defeat Russia by invading it; in fact, their attacks only made it stronger. The power of American presidents is limited domestically because of the constitutional division of powers, but as commanders in chief, presidents are almost unlimited decision makers in international affairs. If they want to leave a presidential legacy, or if they want to test the clout of the military, aggressiveness can be very attractive. The tragedy of the leaders of the great powers is that they do not know how to stand and do nothing…

We are often put in an unfavorable condition or circumstance. However, unfavorable circumstances can also give us opportunities. In addition, the world is more complex than we understand, and we do not really know what a situation means for us. When we are unsure, the best strategy is to accept the situation and go with the flow. Lao Tzu said, “Misfortune is the root of good fortune; good fortune gives birth to misfortune.” When an unfavorable situation arises, we must first (Wu Wei): accept and understand its possible potential, and gracefully turn the tables. If it works, we are happy. If it does not work, we at least have avoided doubling our misfortune by going in a wrong direction…

In this world, life is eating everyone up. People are pressed to act, sometimes irrationally. Let us set aside a serenity into which the world cannot intrude. There is an ancient Wu Wei that we carry in our hearts. Sometimes we are trapped in a corner and forced to make decisions. We often assume that if we do not decide, our little world will fall apart. As a matter of fact, the two decisions may be both right and wrong. We only find out what was right after the decision is made and the consequences have unfolded. So it is better not to worry, but to be at peace…

Doing nothing is hard work. Keeping the status quo is as difficult as creating change. Being still requires effort. Taoism is not a passive philosophy; it advocates adventures, as long as you enjoy the adventure for itself and do not focus on the aim.”

~ Qiguang Zhao, Do Nothing & Do Everything: An Illustrated New Taoism
Well-known on Chinese TV, Qiguang Zhao was Burton and Lily Levin Professor of Chinese and Chair of Asian Languages & Literature at Carleton College, USA. He died of a heart attack in 2015, while in Florida. He was 67 years old. Qiguang was a favorite professor of many students, teaching a popular spring course on the "Taoist Way of Health and Longevity," which included leading Tai Chi on the Bald Spot. He often taught using "huajing," drawing lively cartoons that illustrated his points. Qiguang loved watching students grow in understanding of themselves and the world through experiencing another culture. But his knowledge and intelligence, kindness and generosity, and willingness to think with them about the big questions of life, were as much a factor in students' growth and learning.