The Zuowanglun or Zuowang lun is a Taoist meditative text that was written by the Shangqing School patriarch Sima Chengzhen (647–735). Taoism incorporated many Buddhist practices during the Tang dynasty (618–907), and the Zuowanglun combined meditation techniques from Taoism (e.g., 坐忘 zuòwàng "sitting forgetting", and 觀 guān "observation"), Buddhism (śamatha "calm abiding", and vipaśyanā "insight") and Confucian concept (正心誠意).
Author
Sima Chengzhen (or Si-ma Ch'eng-chen) 司馬承禎 (647–735), also known as Daoyin 道隐 "Recluse of the Tao" and Baiyunzi 白雲子 "Master of the White Cloud", was a native of Henan. He was a descendant of the Jin dynasty (266–420) imperial house, and his family included many high-ranking scholar-officials. Although Sima received a traditional education in the Confucian classics, he converted to Taoism, and was ordained by the Shangqing "Highest Clarity" School in 669. Sima was promoted to Shangqing Grand Master in 684, and became a favorite of the imperial court and aristocracy. Russell Kirkland (2008:911) describes Sima Chengzhen as "perhaps the most important Taoist of Tang times."
Textual versions
There are two received Zuowanglun editions and a stone inscription on Mount Wangwu.
Received editions
The Zuowanglun text exists in two main editions. One is in Zhang Junfang's (1019) Yunji Qiqian 雲笈七籤 " Seven Cloudy Satchel" and Xu Song's (1819) Quan Tangwen 全唐文 "Complete Tang Literature". Another is in the (1444) Daozang "Taoist Canon" and (1796–1820) Daozang jiyao 道藏輯要 "Essentials of the Taoist Canon".
There are two prefaces with the text, one by the author Sima Chengzhen and another by the otherwise unknown recluse Zhenjing (真靜).
Stele inscription
A shorter Zuowanglun inscription on a stele, dated to the year 829, was placed in front of a temple dedicated to Sima Chengzhen erected in Jiyuan on Mount Wangwu, his last residence. It summarizes the key features of the text. Kohn says it "is probably an early forerunner", and translates this "Inscription on Oblivion".
Content
The Zuowanglun elucidates seven steps, involving various practices, "including Buddhist-inspired concentration, observation, and absorption", that gradually lead one from ordinary consciousness to dedao 得道 "attaining the Dao; becoming enlightened". Jingxin 敬信 "Respect and Faith" Duanyuan 斷緣 "Interception of karma" Shouxin 收心 "Restraining the Mind" Jianshi 簡事 "Detachment from Affairs" Zhenguan 真觀 "True Observation" Taiding 泰定 "Intense Concentration" Dedao 得道 "Realizing the Dao"
The Zhenjing preface explains. As the author's understanding and viewpoint are extraordinary indeed, he clarifies Dao very well. First he leads the reader to feel "respect and faith" so that his mind may be no longer in mad confusion. Then he makes him "break off his karmic conditions" and factors, "tame his mind," and "detach himself from affairs" so that he can be serene in his physical structure and illuminated within. By the next step of "perfect observation" of center and periphery, being and nonbeing, he can then step into the "stability of cosmic peace," where the qi is peaceful and the spirit stable. Thus it is called "attaining Dao."
Translations
There are English translations of the Zuowanglun by Livia Kohn, Thomas Cleary., and Wu Jyh Cherng, that originally translated to Brazilian Portuguese .
The title is translated as: Discourse on (Taoist) Meditation Seven Steps to the Tao Essay on Sitting in Oblivion Treatise on Abiding in Forgetfulness Discourse on Sitting-in-Forgetfulness On Sitting in Oblivion Discourse on Sitting and Forgetting
Kohn explains choosing "oblivion" instead of "forgetfulness". I translate wang as "oblivion" and "oblivious" rather than "forgetting" or "forgetful" because the connotation of "forget" in English is that one should remember but doesn't do so, or – if used intentionally – that one actively and intentionally does something in the mind. None of these holds true for what ancient and medieval Daoists were about. This is borne out both by the language and the writings: the word wang in Chinese consists of the character xin for "mind-heart," usually associated with conscious and emotional reactions to reality and the word wang for "obliterate" or "perish." The implication is – as indeed described in the sources – that one lets go of all kinds of intentional and reactive patterns and comes to rest in oneness with spirit and is ready to merge completely with Dao.