摘要
A close reading of Daodejing and the poetry of John of the Cross shows that despite their differences in framework, the spiritual disciplines of wu-wei and nada have much in common. They both counsel a path of detachment founded on a child-like trust and affection for the goodness of God/Dao. Their similarities are concretely manifested in the personalities of the mystic and the sage, who are characterized above all by the virtues of childlike simplicity and feminine receptivity. Juxtaposed together, the spiritual disciplines of wu-wei and nada point to a common sapiential approach to life and theology.