Zuowang
Glossary: zuowang 坐忘, 'sitting in oblivion' — translation options and why the term resists a single rendering.
Zuowang (坐忘, zuòwàng) — “sitting in oblivion.” The Daoist contemplative ideal from Zhuangzi ch. 6: dropping the body, senses, and knowledge to merge with the Great Thoroughfare; later the name of Sima Chengzhen’s seven-stage Tang method.
Translation note: “oblivion” captures the forgetting of self and world; “forgetfulness” is closer to the word’s everyday sense but risks sounding like absent-mindedness. Render with the Chinese and pinyin on first use; never translate as “trance” (which imports a Western category) or “mindfulness” (which imports a different practice).
See the full concept page and the practice page.
Sources
- Zhuangzi ch. 6; Kohn, Sitting in Oblivion (2010)