Media Recommendation
“Humorous, simple, and profound, Do Nothing and Do Everything demonstrates the convincing usefulness of Taoism in contemporary society. Both an erudite writer and a philosophical illustrator, Qiguang Zhao has built three bridges in one stroke: the first between the ancient and the modern, the second between the East and the West, and the third between words and pictures. Once you open this book, you will be drawn across these bridges to a relaxing, comforting, and inspiring wonderland, where you will rest in nothing and fly in everything.”
—Kang Liu, Professor of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies, DukeUniversity
“He may talk about doing nothing, but Qiguang Zhao seems to do everything, as he deftly weaves various strands of Eastern and Western wisdom. The result is a gem, worthy of interest to those inclined to think outside our ethnocentric boxes.”
—James F. Fisher, Professor of Anthropology Royal Thimphu College, Bhutan
Profound and practical wisdom springs to life in this insightful account of the ancient and ever-present Taoist teachings. Qiguang Zhao’s gift as a storyteller combines with his deep understanding of Taoist principles to make this book enjoyable and instructive.
—Judith Blackstone, author of The Enlightenment Process
Table of Contents
CHAPTER 1 A Manifesto of Modern Taoism
CHAPTER2 Many Thinkers, One Tao
CHAPTER 3 Take It Easy and Take Care
CHAPTER 4 Take It Easy, but Take It
CHAPTER 5 Wu Wei
CHAPTER 6 Wu Bu Wei
CHAPTER 7 The Universe and Us
CHAPTER 8 Reversing
CHAPTER 9 Naming
CHAPTER 10 Emptiness
CHAPTER 11 Water
CHAPTER 12 Calm.Down
CHAPTER 13 Serenity and Health
CHAPTER 14 Eating
CHAPTER 15 Sleeping
CHAPTER 16 Do Nothing, Only Breathe
CHAPTER 17 Learning
CHAPTER 18 Justice
CHAPTER 19 Work and Leisure
CHAPTER 20 Fame and Fortune
CHAPTER 21 Beauty
CHAPTER 22 Love
CHAPTER 23 The Intercourse between Yin and Yang
CHAPTER 24 Ambition
CHAPTER 25 Flying
CHAPTER25 Do Nothing in this World
CHAPTER 27 Walking
CHAPTER28 Tai Chi Boxing, Doing Nothing
CHAPTER29 Tai Chi Sword, Doing Everything
CHAPTER 30 Happiness
CHAPTER 31 No Regrets
CHAPTER 32 Longevity
CHAPTER 33 Life & Death
APPENDIX A When the Red Guards Knock
APPENDIX B In Memory of Hal Zi, Who Died for Beauty
APPENDIX C Student Contributions
Sample Pages Preview
Modern man's response to stress is just like the caveman's.His pancreas cranks out a lot of insulin, his blood pressurerises very high, and his blood sugar shoots up to prepare for anaction that he ultimately cannot take. He cannot fight or fly; hecannot kick his boss or jump out the window. Instead, he usuallyresponds by becoming frustrated, angry, and maybe depressed.
Most of our problems do not merit the full fight-or-flightresponse. The high blood pressure to heighten physical alertnessis not as necessary in modern life as it was in prehistoric times.If your mind continually feels "stressed out," your body maymaintain an abnormally high level of responsiveness, creatingan artificially induced state of high blood pressure. Modern lifeneeds a third mode, beyond the first one (fight) and the secondone (flight). This third mode is nonaction. Instead of punishingourselves for others' mistakes, we should do nothing. That is, weshould either ignore the situation, because we cannot control it,or do everything by following the course of nature.
Instead of worrying, modern man can walk out of hiscramped office, watch the flowers grow, hear the birds sing, gazeat the stars shining. He can do everything as nature does, becausehe is in this world for only a short visit. He does not have tosolve the problems of his immediate surroundings, a limitedenvironment that temporarily constrains him, just as he cannotsolve the problems of the explosion of stars or the disappearanceof a black hole. Yet he can fly with the stars, float with the clouds,and swim with the fish. If you cannot defeat the universe, you canjoin the universe. This is doing everything while doing nothing.
