Ac-TAO-n through Non-ac-TAO-n (Action through Non-action)

"Tao invariably takes no action, and yet there is nothing left undone" (Tao Te Ching, 37)

Sometimes, it is right for one not to do anything for something to be expressed or done or be portrayed upon. For example, as how few people would do in a certain issue where such one is already accused to commit something wrong. Such person doesn't need to do anything, this is for what is to speak for anything if he/she is already being judged. By doing so, such one can be able to illustrate his/her innocence to such issue. Or in another case, let's say that your crush asked you out, if you're going to shut your mouth off, such silence of yours would somehow mean a "yes" (as of our popular belief: "Silence means yes"), because somehow, such silence just presupposes that such individual is timid or shy enough to tell such affirmation. Clearly, in doing nothing, actually there is an act being done; an action that requires no action at all.

In the case of Tao, as suggested by Lao Tzu, such way doesn't need any actual applications (actions for short). There is no need for the physical body of an individual to do anything for the Tao itself. But evidently, it doesn't mean that since there is no occurrence of action, there is also something (or everything) that is not acted upon, or for say, there is nothing being done. Such matters definitely requires no 'physical doing' to be done, for by non-action, it will then be acted upon. In short, there is really action through non-action. Perhaps, as suggested by Parmenides: "There is no nothing"; everything that we, people categorize, even to that of nothing will actually just end up to be something. Thus, there is really a possibilty for a non-action (nothing) to be considered as an action (something).

As a conclusion, Tao here, even though it doesn't do anything, it is able to cover up what it needs to do, and eventually end up doing everything; leaving nothing to be undone.