Tao Te Ching — Lao Tzu

'The Way' — the nameless source and pattern that everything flows from and follows.

The real Tao can't be captured in words — naming it shrinks the whole into just one labelled thing.

A name cuts one thing off from the rest, but the Tao is the undivided whole every named thing is cut from.

Neither — it's the current, not an object on it; the natural Way things go, empty and prior to named things.

An old Chinese phrase for 'everything' — all of which the Tao gives rise to, like a spring giving rise to a river.

Words can aim your attention at the Tao but aren't the Tao itself — don't mistake the label for the thing.

Words divide the world into boxes ('hot' vs 'cold'); the Tao is what holds the world together before we chop it up.

Some things can be shown or lived but not fully stated — naming that gap is a top-band move.

'Non-action' — acting in harmony with the natural flow instead of forcing against it.

No — it's effortless, well-timed action that works WITH the grain of things, not passivity.

A small, well-timed move along the natural grain does the work that straining and forcing never could.

Water yields and flows round obstacles, yet wears down stone over time — soft outlasts hard.

Bending and giving way isn't weakness; it quietly outlasts rigid force (the reed survives the storm, the stiff tree snaps).

It fights the natural grain, wasting energy and stirring up resistance — like yanking a knot tighter.

Wu wei is dropping needless force (wise), not giving up or laziness (idle) — a distinction that scores.

If the Tao is the Way things naturally go, wu wei is simply going WITH that Way rather than fighting it.

'Self-so' — being naturally what you are, of your own accord, without forcing or pretending.

An image of natural simplicity — a self whole and full of possibility before ambition chisels it into a fixed shape.

Carve it into something clever and you gain one shape but lose the whole — the deep simplicity the Way prizes.

Fewer desires, less chasing — loosening the grip of endless wanting and settling back into the natural Way.

Real wealth is contentment, not endless getting — the person who knows they have enough is already rich.

No — it's the quality of being unforced, doing what you do of your own accord, not scenery.

No — it targets restless craving that's never satisfied, not every purpose; a quieter life can still act.

One idea seen three ways: be natural (ziran), stay whole (uncarved block), want less (return to simplicity).

The wise person who lives by the Tao and, as ruler, governs least — wu wei applied to a whole society.

The finest leader rules so lightly that things run smoothly and people say 'we did it ourselves'.

Worst = feared and hated; better = loved and praised; best = barely noticed, ruling by example.

Endless laws, taxes and meddling stir up the very resistance and disorder they then try to crack down on.

The sage lives out the Tao, wu wei and simplicity in one life — trusting the Way, not forcing, leading by barely leading.

Famine, invasion or injustice may need firm action light rule won't provide — so 'least' works as a default, not an absolute.

Open book, one hour: (a) Explain a concept [10] + (b) Evaluate a claim [15].

Weighing the claim — arguing for and against and reaching a reasoned view, anchored in the text.