Pu - one of the main principles of Taoism

[Mike]

Wiki lists them as Tao, Te, Wu-wei, and Pu.

As always these are untranslateable ... (and often wrongly translatable - I had a long chat recently with an authority about Te which is generally translated as power/virtue - but isn't).  I can see (after 35 years reading about it off and on and 20++ off and on practicing Chinese Phsyical-Martial Arts) that its best siddled up upon ... via experience and absorbtion.  The Chinese mentality is so different from the Indo-European - I can only think of perhaps Native North American (some long-ago relationship there I assume) as having some connections - eg reading about books on the Hopi one of the points that was made was "you cant learn this from a book".

Anyway notwithstanding this Pu I wasnt so familiar with (as a term) ... for sure as anyone with TCMA bacground will know that the author here is wrong about "a passive state of receptiveness" ... passive only in the sense that a Japanese Swordsman standing motionless with a raised sword is passive  ... nevertheless I think this is a useful guide ... the state of mind as per para 2 here cant be something "just for chinese people" or "just for taoists" [which is the mistake academic trnslations seem to make - it has to be "very chinese" - but actually chinese [taoists] are very simple, very practical at heart]

Pu

Pu (simplified Chinese: 朴; traditional Chinese: 樸; pinyin: pǔ, pú; Wade-Giles: p'u; lit. "uncut wood") is translated "uncarved block", "unhewn log", or "simplicity". It is a metaphor for the state of wu wei (無爲) and the principle of jian (儉).[32] It represents a passive state of receptiveness. Pu is a symbol for a state of pure potential and perception without prejudice. In this state, Taoists believe everything is seen as it is, without preconceptions or illusion.[33]

Pu is usually seen as keeping oneself in the primordial state of tao.[34] It is believed to be the true nature of the mind, unburdened by knowledge or experiences.[35] In the state of pu, there is no right or wrong, beautiful or ugly. There is only pure experience, or awareness, free from learned labels and definitions. It is this state of being that is the goal of following wu wei.

Actually to quibble further I would say get Pu then wu-wei follows and you start to know what it is ... you cant "do" wu-wei as by defintion you will be doing a concept

[Barry]

Interestingly, talking to someone today who came up with rather western formula of Performance = potential minus interference.
But I think there are cross-overs here.

Rather than a passive state of receptiveness its more like an exquisite aliveness - without anything interfering with perception or response.

[Mike]

Cool ... as you say similar ideas, different languages ... been noticing recently how many "languages" there are within English and how less and less is shared reference point (postmodernism again).  Of course as ibid one needs to speak to folks in their own micro-language ... nice sunny day