''Wu'' () is a concept of
awareness
Awareness is the state of being conscious of something. More specifically, it is the ability to directly know and perceive, to feel, or to be cognizant of events. Another definition describes it as a state wherein a subject is aware of some in ...
,
consciousness
Consciousness, at its simplest, is sentience and awareness of internal and external existence. However, the lack of definitions has led to millennia of analyses, explanations and debates by philosophers, theologians, linguisticians, and scien ...
, or
spiritual enlightenment
Used in a religious sense, enlightenment translates several Buddhist terms and concepts, most notably '' bodhi'', '' kensho,'' and '' satori''. Related terms from Asian religions are '' kaivalya'' and ''moksha'' (liberation) in Hinduism, '' Ke ...
in the
Chinese folk religion
Chinese folk religion, also known as Chinese popular religion comprehends a range of traditional religious practices of Han Chinese, including the Chinese diaspora. Vivienne Wee described it as "an empty bowl, which can variously be filled ...
.
According to scholarly studies, many practitioners who have recently "reverted" to the Chinese traditional religion speak of an "opening of awareness" (' ) or "awakening of awareness" (' ) of the interconnectedness of reality in terms of the cosmic-moral harmony (''
bào yìng'') as it relates to ''
mìng yùn'' and ''
yuán fèn''.
This spiritual awareness, ''wu'', works as an engine that moves these themes from being mere ideas to be motivating forces in one's life:
* awareness of ''mìng yùn'' ignites responsibility towards life;
* awareness of ''yuan fen'' stirs one to respond to events rather than resigning.
Awareness is a dynamic factor and appears in two guises: first, as a realisation that arrives as a gift, often unbidden, then as a practice that the person intentionally follows.
See also
*
Chinese folk religion
Chinese folk religion, also known as Chinese popular religion comprehends a range of traditional religious practices of Han Chinese, including the Chinese diaspora. Vivienne Wee described it as "an empty bowl, which can variously be filled ...
* ''
Ming yun''
* ''
Bao ying''
* ''
Yuan fen''
* ''
Satori
is a Japanese Buddhist term for awakening, "comprehension; understanding". It is derived from the Japanese verb satoru.
In the Zen Buddhist tradition, ''satori'' refers to a deep experience of '' kenshō'', "seeing into one's true nature ...
'', a similar concept in Japanese Buddhism
References
Bibliography
* Preprint from ''The Oxford Handbook of Religious Conversion'', 2014.
{{refend
Concepts in Chinese folk religion