IB Philosophy 10.10.1 the Nature of the Tao Key Definitions

(literally ‘the Way’) the central concept of the Tao Te Ching and refers to the ultimate, underlying principle of reality that gives rise to all things, sustains them, and to which they return; it is characterised by its ineffability, formlessness, and its paradoxical nature as both the source of all being and beyond all categories of description. Ineffability in this context means that the Tao cannot be adequately captured in language, concepts, or rational definitions, because any attempt to name or describe it necessarily limits and distorts what is by nature unlimited and unconditioned.

Wu (non-being or nothingness) is the aspect of the Tao that precedes and gives rise to you (being or existence), representing the generative emptiness from which all particular things emerge and to which they ultimately return.

(literally ‘non-action’) the central ethical concept of the Tao Te Ching, referring not to passivity but to a mode of acting that is effortless, spontaneous, and aligned with the natural flow of the Tao, achieving results without force or the imposition of artificial will. Ziran (literally ‘self-so’ or ‘naturalness’) is the quality of spontaneous self-becoming that characterises both the Tao and the person who practises wu wei, acting from authentic nature rather than from social convention or calculated self-interest.