Tao Te Ching Verse 37: Doing Nothing

The Tao Te Ching for Everyday Living

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Tao Te Ching Verse 37
Translated by Lin Yutang
The Tao never does,
Yet through it everything is done.
If leaders could keep the Tao,
the world would of its own accord be reformed.
When reformed and rising to action,
Let it be restrained by the Nameless pristine simplicity.
The Nameless pristine simplicity
Is stripped of desire (for contention).
By stripping of desire quiescence is achieved,
And the world arrives at peace of its own accord.
Photo by Devin Kleu on Unsplash
Practicing Doing Nothing

How does one practice doing nothing? Well, by actually doing nothing. It’s that simple. In conversations with people along my journey, the subject of simplicity comes up from time to time. As I’ve walked my path, I have found that each time I do something I’m supposed to do or practice something I’m supposed to practice, it gets easier to walk on it. It’s the total opposite of what I would’ve thought starting out. I thought I’d have to achieve this state or that state by working hard. On the contrary, I have found that I have arrived at each ‘milestone’ of awakening by simply letting go of the way I see the world. Doing nothing.

To lose weight, we abstain from eating as much.

To stop smoking, we abstain from ingesting tobacco or other methods.

To get up earlier each day, we abstain from sleeping so long.

To accomplish things, we abstain from our internal resistance to not do them by letting go of that resistance.

For me, doing nothing, even yes, practicing doing nothing has been what has gotten me comfortable with abstention. So I thought I’d list a couple ways you can practice doing nothing, things that I have found work for me:

1. Mindful breathing
2. Observing things other than my thoughts. For instance, observing the sounds around me, near and far.
3. Observing my thoughts as if they were a bunch of monkeys swinging around in the forest of my mind. Then, allowing them to swing wildly.
4. Something called Jappa meditation. It is the simple repetition of a mantra using beads, and you can get them anywhere - even the dollar store, as one of my friends pointed out. Mantras that I use are ‘Now, Aum, Still, Peace, Listen.’ One word kind of stuff.
5. Sitting. Sometimes sitting on the couch for an hour with just yourself - no books, no phone, no nothing - brings clarity and peace of mind.
6. Yogic meditations, such as Pranayama, Kriya, Kundalini, and Tantra.

I have found that practicing one or more of these things - and here’s the key - on a regular, consistent basis - helps me to remember that I don’t always need to take action when I am interacting with the rest of the world. It can help me remain in a place where I see desires of mine popping up, and I can abstain from acting on those desires more often.