Taoism, China’s ancient and mysterious indigenous philosophy, like much that is traditional in the Chinese world, is little understood in the West. The word Tao; most commonly translated as ‘The Way’, although the original pictograph can also mean ‘Teaching’, is an elusive concept to come to grips with. Tao is the First Principle, that which gives rise to all appearances and phenomena and to which all things eventually return. To follow the Tao requires an enlightened understanding of the primordial source of all being. Since all things return to the Tao, to follow or live in the manner of this principle is to follow the natural order of the universe; a being at one with the Cosmos. The essence of Nature is seen as being one of never ending transformation that requires no action on the part of man. So we come to the concept of wu-wei or non-action. In…