Taoism

 Concepts within Taoism

The One

The One is the essence of Tao, the essential energy of life, the possession of which enables things and beings to be truly themselves and in accord with the Tao.
Taoist texts sometimes refer to the Tao as the mother and the One as the son.

Wu and Yu

Wu and Yu are non-being and being, or not-having and having. Wu also implies inexhaustibility or limitlessness. Some writers suggest that Wu can be directly experienced by human beings.

Te

Te is usually translated as virtue, but this translation uses some Confucian ideas and can be confusing.
Another way of looking at te is an awareness of the Tao together with the capabilities that enable a person to follow the Tao.
Professor Victor Mair suggests that a better translation is integrity. He writes:

Tzu Jan

Tzu Jan is usually translated naturalness or spontaneity, but this is rather misleading.
One writer suggests using the phrase 'that which is naturally so', meaning the condition that something will be in if it is permitted to exist and develop naturally and without interference or conflict.
The Taoist ideal is to fulfil that which is naturally so, and the way to do this is Wu Wei.

Wu Wei

The method of following the Tao is called Wu Wei. This can be translated as uncontrived action or natural non-intervention.
Wu Wei is sometimes translated as non-action, but this wrongly implies that nothing at all gets done. The Tao Te Ching says: