坐忘論 — by Sima Chengzhen (司馬承禎, 647–735 CE)
The Treatise on Sitting in Oblivion (Zuowang Lun, 坐忘論) is the foundational text of Daoist meditation practice. Written by Sima Chengzhen (司馬承禎, 647–735 CE), the twelfth patriarch of the Shangqing (Supreme Clarity) school of Daoism, it presents a systematic seven-stage path of inner cultivation: from faith and reverence, through the progressive simplification of worldly entanglement, to the final merging of body and spirit with the Way. Sima Chengzhen served as spiritual advisor to three Tang dynasty emperors (Ruizong, Xuanzong, and the Empress Wu Zetian's court) and was one of the most influential Daoists of the medieval period.
The concept of "sitting in oblivion" (坐忘, zuowang) originates in the Zhuangzi, where Yan Hui describes it to Confucius: "Let fall the limbs and body, dismiss hearing and sight, depart from form, discard knowing, and become one with the Great Thoroughfare." Sima Chengzhen transforms this single passage into a complete contemplative system, drawing on Laozi's Daodejing, the Zhuangzi, the Scripture of Western Ascent, and Buddhist meditation theory (止觀, zhiguan — "stopping and observation") while remaining distinctly Daoist in orientation. The seven stages — Faith and Reverence (敬信), Severing Connections (斷緣), Collecting the Heart-Mind (收心), Simplifying Affairs (簡事), True Observation (真觀), Supreme Stability (泰定), and Attaining the Way (得道) — form a graduated path from the chaos of ordinary consciousness to divine union.
The text is preserved in the Zhengtong Daozang (正統道藏, the Orthodox Daoist Canon of 1444) and in Zhang Junfang's Yunji Qiqian (雲笈七籤, "Seven Cloudy Satchel," 1019 CE). It has been translated into English by Livia Kohn (1987, 2010) and Wu Jyh Cherng (2014), but no freely available English translation has existed until now. This is a Good Works Translation from Classical Chinese, sourced from the Chinese Text Project transcription of the Zhengtong Daozang text (DZ 1036).
What people prize most is life;
what life prizes most is the Way.
A person with the Way is like a fish with water.
A fish in a dried rut still hopes for a measure of water,
but the weak and wandering among common people have no mind to seek the Way.
They hate the suffering of birth and death,
yet delight in the deeds that bind them to birth and death.
They honor the name of virtue,
yet slight the practice of virtue.
Consider this inversion — what could be more extreme?
In exhaustion, one thinks of ease;
in confusion, one thinks of returning.
Each moment is precious as jade;
shame and sighing deepen together.
Therefore I have respectfully searched the scriptures
for teachings that accord with the methods of the heart-mind,
and outlined them in seven stages
as steps for cultivating the Way.
The Pivot and Wings are appended.
I. Faith and Reverence — 敬信
Faith is the root of the Way;
reverence is the stem of virtue.
When the root is deep, the Way may grow long;
when the stem is secure, virtue may flourish.
Yet consider: the jade that He of Bian presented shone with the luster of linked cities, and he lost both his feet for it. Wu Zixu spoke of protecting the state, and was put to death. When outward forms command attention, the threads of the heart-mind become tangled; when principle and affairs sprout, feeling and thought grow careless. How much more so when the ultimate Way transcends all color and flavor, and our true nature is veiled by everything we desire? To hear the faint and subtle and believe from afar, to listen to what has no form and not be confused — how rare this is!
If a person hears the teaching of sitting in oblivion and believes it is essential to cultivating the Way — reveres it, honors it, decides without doubt — and then adds diligent practice, attaining the Way is certain.
Therefore the Zhuangzi says: "Let fall the limbs and body, dismiss hearing and sight, depart from form, discard knowing, and become one with the Great Thoroughfare — this is called sitting in oblivion."
One who sits in oblivion — what does one not forget? Inwardly, one is not aware of one's own body. Outwardly, one does not know the universe. Merged with the Way in unity, the ten thousand concerns all fall away.
The Zhuangzi says: "One with the Great Thoroughfare" — the words are simple, but the meaning is deep. The confused hear it and do not believe. They carry a treasure while searching for a treasure — what is to be done with them?
The Classic says: "When faith is insufficient, there will be disbelief." This means: when faith in the Way falls short, the calamity of disbelief descends — how then can one hope to reach the Way?
II. Severing Connections — 斷緣
"Severing connections" means severing the ties to worldly affairs and purposeful action.
When you abandon affairs, the body is not wearied.
When you do nothing, the heart-mind finds its own peace.
Day by day, tranquility and simplicity increase;
day by day, the dust of entanglement grows thin.
The farther your traces from the common world,
the nearer your heart-mind draws to the Way.
What sage or spirit did not begin from this?
The Classic says: "Block its openings, shut its doors — to the end of life, no toil."
Some display their virtue and expose their talents, seeking others to sustain them. Some send ceremonial inquiries and condolences to maintain social obligations. Some feign seclusion while secretly hoping for advancement. Some invite others with wine and food, expecting favors in return. These are all schemes of the cunning heart-mind, fishing for temporal profit. Since they do not accord with the Way, they deeply obstruct true practice. All such things should be cut off.
The Classic says: "Open its openings, meddle in its affairs — to the end of life, no salvation."
If I simply do not initiate, the other will not respond.
Even if the other initiates, I will not respond.
Old ties gradually break;
new ties are not formed.
When relationships of favor and circumstance
drift apart of their own accord,
one becomes free and at ease —
only then can one cultivate the Way.
The Zhuangzi says: "Neither welcoming nor escorting — have no feelings for mingling with the world." And again: "Do not be a storehouse of schemes. Do not bear the burden of affairs. Do not presume to be the master of knowledge."
If there are affairs that truly cannot be abandoned, attend to them when necessary — but do not let them give rise to attachment that binds the heart-mind and becomes a burden.
III. Collecting the Heart-Mind — 收心
The heart-mind is the master of the body, the commander of the hundred spirits. In stillness it gives birth to wisdom; in motion it falls into confusion. Delighted by the illusions around it, it insists they are real. Content within the realm of purposeful action, who awakens to the emptiness and falsehood of it all? That the heart-mind's awareness is turned upside down comes entirely from where it has taken up residence.
To choose your neighbor before you settle is already to change your conduct; to choose your companions before you befriend is already to gain a benefit. How much more so when the body departs the realm of birth and death and the heart-mind dwells within the ultimate Way — can you not release the one? Can you not attain the other?
Therefore, at the beginning of studying the Way, you must sit in peace and collect the heart-mind. Leave all conditions behind and dwell in having-nothing. Through dwelling in having-nothing, attached to not a single thing, you naturally enter the empty and formless. Then the heart-mind merges with the Way.
The Classic says: "Within the ultimate Way, there is nothing at all in stillness. The spirit's function is without fixed direction; the substance of the heart-mind is the same."
Trace the substance of the heart-mind to its origin: the Way is its root. But because the heart-mind's spirit has been stained and veiled, deepening gradually over a long drifting exile, it has become separated from the Way.
To purify and remove the heart-mind's defilements,
and open the spirit to its original nature —
this is called "cultivating the Way."
When the drifting ceases
and one merges in darkness with the Way,
resting within the Way —
this is called "returning to the root."
To guard the root without departing —
this is called "stillness and stability."
When stillness and stability persist,
illness dissolves and life is restored.
Restored and then sustained,
you naturally come to know the Constant.
To know is to leave nothing unilluminated.
The Constant is to leave nothing subject to change or destruction.
Departure from birth and death —
this truly comes from here.
Therefore the Way's method of settling the heart-mind prizes having no attachment.
The Classic says: "All things flourish and teem, each returning to its root. Returning to the root is called stillness. Stillness is called returning to life. Returning to life is called the Constant. Knowing the Constant is called illumination."
If you fix the heart-mind and hold it in emptiness, this is still "having a place" — it is not "having no place." Wherever there is a fixed place, the heart-mind is made to labor. Since this does not accord with principle, it becomes a sickness.
Simply let the heart-mind not attach to things
and yet not be set in motion —
this is the true foundation of correct stability.
Use this as your stability, and the heart-mind and vital breath harmonize. Over time, you grow lighter and more buoyant — this is the proof. From this evidence, true and false can be known.
If all thoughts that arise are extinguished without distinguishing right from wrong, then you permanently sever awareness and knowing and enter blind stability.
If you let the heart-mind go wherever it pleases without any restraint, then you are no different from an ordinary person.
If you merely cut off good and evil, leaving the heart-mind with no direction, drifting carelessly and waiting for stability to come on its own — you are merely deceiving yourself.
If you go about doing everything, claiming the heart-mind is unstained by any of it — the words sound excellent, but the practice is utterly wrong. Those who are true students should especially guard against this.
The correct method is this: calm disorder without extinguishing illumination; hold to stillness without clinging to emptiness. Practice this constantly, and you will naturally attain true seeing.
If some matter arises, or if there is doubt about an essential teaching, then let thinking proceed so the matter may be resolved and the doubt dispelled — this too is a true root of arising wisdom. But once resolved, stop. You must not continue thinking — thinking uses the intellect to harm tranquility, like a branch injuring the root. Though you may show off a moment's cleverness, you will ruin the work of ten thousand ages.
If perverse and disordered thoughts arise, dismiss them the moment you notice them. If you hear words of praise or blame, news of good or evil — sweep them all away. Do not receive them in the heart-mind. To receive them is to fill the heart-mind; when the heart-mind is full, the Way has no place to dwell. All that you hear and see — treat as if unheard and unseen. Then right and wrong, good and evil, do not enter the heart-mind.
When the heart-mind does not receive from outside, this is called "emptying the heart-mind."
When the heart-mind does not chase after outside things, this is called "settling the heart-mind."
When the heart-mind is settled and empty, the Way comes to dwell of its own accord.
The Classic says: "If a person can empty the heart-mind and practice non-action, without desiring the Way, the Way comes of its own accord."
When the heart-mind within has nothing to attach to, conduct without has nothing to pursue. Without contention, without defilement — praise and blame cannot arise. Without cleverness, without stupidity — gain and harm find no way in. In truth, follow the middle as the Constant. In expedience, ebb and flow with the times. Simply avoid all entanglements — this is its wisdom.
But if, without occasion or necessity, you force yourself to think and act, calling yourself "unattached" — this is never true learning. Why? The method of the heart-mind is like the eye: a speck of dust enters the eye and the eye is not at peace. A small matter enters the heart-mind and the heart-mind is thrown into turmoil. Once there is the sickness of turmoil, it is difficult to enter the gate of stability.
Therefore the essential requirement of cultivating the Way is urgently to remove sickness. If sickness is not removed, stability can never be attained. It is like good land where thorns have not been cleared — though you sow seeds, the fine shoots will not flourish. Love, views, thought, and reflection are the thorns of the heart-mind. If they are not cut away, stability and wisdom cannot grow.
Some dwell in wealth and power; some are learned in scripture and history. Their words are kind and modest; their conduct is greedy and cruel. Their eloquence suffices to disguise their wrongs; their power suffices to intimidate others. They claim credit for success; they blame others for failure. This sickness is the deepest — though they study, it avails nothing. And why? Because they consider themselves right.
Now, the heart-mind has long depended on outer conditions and is not accustomed to standing alone. Suddenly having nothing to lean on, it can hardly find peace. Even if it achieves peace briefly, it scatters again. Follow each arising, restrain each arising — insist that it not move. Over a long time of gentle taming, it naturally finds its ease.
Whether day or night — walking, standing, sitting, or lying down, even in the midst of handling affairs — you must always deliberately settle it.
When the heart-mind achieves stability, you must then nurture it. Do not provoke or disturb it. Even a small measure of stability is enough to bring you joy. Gradually, as it becomes tame and familiar, only greater clarity and distance remain. What you loved all your life you will come to find tawdry and small. How much more so when stability gives birth to wisdom, and you see deeply into truth and falsehood!
Consider: oxen and horses are domestic animals, yet if let loose without being gathered in, they still grow wild and refuse the harness. Hawks and falcons are wild birds, yet when tethered by people and kept on the hand all day, they naturally become tame. How much more so the heart-mind — if let run free without restraint, it only grows rougher and more scattered. How could it perceive the subtle?
The Classic says: "Though you have jade discs filling the arm and teams of four horses, it is better to sit and advance in this Way."
Now, the wondrous use of this method lies in practice, not in words. Practice it, and these words prove true. Do not practice it, and these words seem empty.
What people today esteem in learning is the difficult, while they despise the easy. If you discourse on the essentials of the method by expansively describing the empty and formless, what thought and reflection can never reach, what practice and application can never ascend to — then they gasp "inconceivable!" and bow in admiration.
But when "faithful words are not beautiful," and you point directly at the matter, speaking plainly so the hearer understands and the words can be practiced — this is truly inconceivable, and yet people dismiss it as shallow and slight, and refuse to believe.
The Classic says: "My words are very easy to understand, very easy to practice — yet under heaven none can understand them, none can practice them. It is because they do not understand that they do not know me."
There are also those who say "fire does not heat" and "a lamp does not illuminate darkness," and call this a profound teaching. But fire functions by heating; a lamp's work is to illuminate darkness. These people hold forth that fire does not heat, yet never once go without fire. They insist lamps do not illuminate darkness, yet burn them through the night. Their words and actions contradict each other — there is truly nothing to be gained from this. These are merely words that demolish form, and yet people take them for deep and mysterious profundity. Even Huizi's expansive arguments were dismissed by Zhuangzi as unworthy. Those who swallow things whole — who can set them straight? Those of genuine learning will not linger here.
Someone objects: "One who embodies the Great Way is in the midst of things yet the heart-mind is unstained; dwelling in motion yet the spirit is untroubled; there is nothing one does not do, no time one is not at rest. But you alone flee from affairs to seek peace, leave motion to seek stability. You labor at restraining and controlling — so you have two heart-minds, one for motion and one for stillness. You are stuck in fixed abiding — so you develop two sicknesses, one of grasping and one of rejecting. You have not even noticed your own clinging, yet you call this a step on the Way. How mistaken!"
I reply: To encompass all things is what is called "Great." To pervade all things is what is called "the Way." To be in the midst of things yet unstained, to dwell in affairs yet untroubled — truly great, truly wondrous!
Yet I would say your discernment is not yet clear. Why? You see only the brilliance of embroidered silk, but do not know the raw thread from which it was first drawn. You hear the crane soaring to the heavens, but do not recognize that it first needed grain. A tree that blocks out the sun rose from the tiniest sprout; a spirit condensed to supreme sagehood was built from accumulated practice.
Now you merely recite the sage's virtue without understanding how the sage came to be virtuous. This is like seeing an egg and demanding a rooster's crow — seeing an arrow in flight and demanding roast owl. How hasty!
Therefore the Classic says: "Mysterious virtue — so deep, so far! It goes against the grain of all things. Only afterward does it arrive at the Great Accord."
IV. Simplifying Affairs — 簡事
In human life, one must engage with affairs and things. Affairs and things are called "the ten thousand," but they are not all entrusted to a single person. The bird nests on a single branch, leaving the rest of the forest behind; the beast drinks until its belly is full, without grudging the vast river.
Seek outwardly among things;
know inwardly about yourself.
Know that life has its portion,
and do not pursue what is not allotted.
Know that affairs have their proper place,
and do not undertake what is not fitting.
To undertake what is not fitting injures your wisdom and strength. To pursue what exceeds your portion ruins your body and spirit. If the body itself is not at peace, how can it approach the Way?
Therefore, those who cultivate the Way should simply reduce and simplify affairs and things. Know what is essential and what is idle. Weigh what is heavy and what is light. Know what to keep and what to release. What is not essential and not weighty — all should be cut off.
Consider: people eat wine and meat, wear silk and brocade, hold rank and title, possess gold and jade. These are all excess indulgences of desire, not the good medicine of nourishing life. Everyone chases them, bringing their own ruin. Reflect on this in stillness — what deeper confusion is there?
The Zhuangzi says: "Those who comprehend the true nature of life do not pursue what life does not require." What life does not require is anything beyond one's portion. Coarse food and simple clothing are enough to sustain body and life — do they really require wine and meat, silk and brocade, before life can be whole?
Therefore, whatever is not essential to life should be removed. Whatever exceeds what life requires should also be let go.
Wealth has a harmful energy — to accumulate it injures a person. Even a little is a burden; how much more so when there is a great deal! To fire the Marquis of Sui's pearl at a sparrow a thousand feet up — even this would make people laugh. How much more so to turn your back on virtue, neglect your life, and chase the non-essential toward self-destruction!
Compare reputation with virtue: reputation is borrowed and cheap; virtue is real and precious. If you can know what is precious and what is cheap, you will know what to keep and what to release. Do not let reputation harm the body. Do not let position alter your purpose.
The Zhuangzi says: "To pursue reputation and lose yourself — that is no true person."
The Scripture of Western Ascent says: "Embrace the Origin, guard the One, and you cross over to become an immortal. But if you cannot guard them, you merely sit in a seat of worldly glory."
If you do not discern and simplify, but undertake every affair that comes, the heart-mind is wearied, wisdom is dimmed, and the work of cultivating the Way is neglected.
If someone can handle affairs in ease, dwell among things without burden — that person has already attained realization. But if one has not truly attained it and merely claims to be unburdened — this is self-deception.
V. True Observation — 真觀
True observation is the foresight of the wise, the keen perception of the capable. It investigates the fortune and misfortune that may come, examines the auspicious and inauspicious in motion and stillness, sees what lies before the moment of action, and adapts accordingly. It guards the feet with deep care and quietly labors to preserve the whole of life. From beginning to end, conduct leaves no entanglement — when principle does not depart from this, it is called true observation.
Yet a single meal, a single nap — both are sources of gain or harm. A single act, a single word — either can become the root of fortune or disaster. Though you try to be clever about grasping the branches, it is better to be cautious at the root. To observe the root and know the branches does not come from the anxious and competitive heart-mind.
Therefore: collect the heart-mind, simplify affairs, and day by day reduce purposeful action. When the body is still and the heart-mind at ease, only then can you observe the subtle.
The Classic says: "In constant emptiness, one may observe its subtlety."
Yet the body that cultivates the Way must depend on clothing and food. There are affairs that cannot be abandoned, things that cannot be discarded. Receive them with an open breast; face them with clear eyes. Do not let them become an obstruction that breeds anxiety. If affairs make you agitated, the sickness of the heart-mind is already stirring — what kind of settled heart-mind is that?
Clothing and food are the boat and raft of human life. To cross the sea requires a boat and raft. When the crossing is complete, of course you do not keep them. Why would you discard the boat before the crossing is done?
Clothing and food are illusory — truly not worth striving for. But to depart from illusion, you need clothing and food. Though you engage in the business of seeking them, do not give rise to a heart-mind of gain and loss. Then, whether there are affairs or not, the heart-mind is always at ease.
Seek alongside others without sharing their greed;
gain alongside others without sharing their hoarding.
Without greed, there is no anxiety;
without hoarding, there is no loss.
Your traces may always resemble those of others,
but your heart-mind is always different from the common.
This is truly the essential principle of practice —
give your strength to it.
Although you have already simplified and reduced, there are sicknesses difficult to remove. For these, observe them according to the method.
If the sickness of attachment to beauty is heavy, observe that all attraction to beauty arises entirely from imagination. If imagination does not arise, the business of beauty never occurs. Know that the image of beauty is empty on the outside; the heart-mind of beauty is false within. When the imagining heart-mind itself is empty, who remains as the master of beauty?
The Classic says: "Beauty is nothing but imagination. When imagination is entirely empty, how can beauty exist?"
Consider further: an alluring and beautiful appearance is more dangerous than a fox-spirit. A fox-spirit bewitches a person and causes revulsion and illness. Though the body may be endangered, one does not fall into the lower realms — for revulsion itself becomes the way to depart from wrong desire forever. But an alluring appearance enchants a person and causes love and clinging. Even when it leads to ruin, the attachment only deepens. Because of wrong thoughts, after death one falls into the lower realms and is born in the hells.
Therefore the Classic says: "Those who give rise to desire for each other as husband and wife in this life — after death, they cannot both attain rebirth in the human realm. Why? Because of wrong thoughts."
Further observe: if beauty were truly and inherently beautiful, why do fish dive deep at the sight, and birds fly high? The immortals look upon it as filth; the wise liken it to an axe. A single life — go seven days without food and death arrives. Go a hundred years without beauty, and you are spared an early end. From this you know: beauty is not essential to body or heart-mind. It is the enemy of your nature and life. Why cling to it and bring your own destruction?
If you see another person doing wrong and your heart-mind gives rise to aversion, this is like seeing someone harm themselves and then stretching out your own neck to receive the blade. The other person acts wrongly of their own accord, uninvited. Why should I take on their wrong and make it my own sickness?
Furthermore: if seeing someone do wrong should arouse dislike, then seeing someone do good should also arouse dislike. Why? Because both equally obstruct the Way.
If you are poor, observe carefully: who made me poor? Heaven and earth are impartial — they cover and sustain without favoritism. If I am poor and suffering, it is not heaven and earth's doing. Parents give birth to children hoping they will be rich and honored. If I am poor and lowly, it is not my parents' doing. Other people and spirits can barely save themselves — what power have they to inflict poverty on me?
Searching forward and backward, poverty comes from nowhere external. Then know: it is my karma. Then know: it is the decree of heaven. Karma was created by me; destiny was bestowed by heaven. Karma and destiny follow form and voice like shadows and echoes. They cannot be escaped; they cannot be resented. Only the wise person accepts them with skill, delighting in heaven and knowing destiny — therefore there is no grief. How can poverty be a hardship?
The Zhuangzi says: "Karma enters and cannot be turned away." This is one's own karma. Therefore, when poverty and illness enter, they cannot be halted.
The Classic says: "Heaven and earth cannot alter their course; yin and yang cannot reverse their karma." From this, know that it is true destiny — not some fabricated thing. What is there to resent?
Furthermore: like a brave warrior who meets bandits without fear, who swings the sword before him and scatters every last one — when a single feat of valor is established, honor and reward last a lifetime. Now poverty and illness trouble my body: these are the bandits. I have a correct heart-mind: this is the brave warrior. To observe with wisdom: this is to swing the sword. When troubles dissolve: this is victory. To abide in constant joy: this is the honor and reward.
If something painful presses upon you and you do not use this observation but give rise to grief and burden instead, you are like a person who meets bandits but wins no merit — who abandons armor, deserts the company, and flees to punishment. To leave joy and enter suffering — what pity should be spent?
If you suffer illness, observe thus: this illness exists because I have a body. If I had no body, illness would have nothing to attach to. The Classic says: "When I have no body, what trouble could I have?"
Next, observe the heart-mind — it too has no true master. Search within and without: no one can be found to receive suffering. All reckoning and thought arise from the deluded heart-mind. Dry the body to ashes and extinguish the heart-mind, and the ten thousand sicknesses all vanish.
If you dread death, consider: my body is the dwelling of the spirit. The body is now old and sick, its strength diminished — like a house crumbling, no longer fit to inhabit. You must leave and seek peace elsewhere. When the body dies and the spirit departs, it is just the same.
If you cling to life and dread death, resisting transformation, then consciousness and spirit become disordered and lose their proper course. At the moment of taking on a new birth and receiving vital breath, you will not attract the clear and excellent but will mostly encounter the turbid and degraded. The deep stupidity and meanness of the lowest grade of people — this is truly its cause.
If, when alive, one is not overly pleased, and in facing death, one does not resist — first, the principle of life and death is equalized; second, the karma of the next life is well formed.
If you crave and love the ten thousand conditions, each love is a sickness. A single limb is sick, and the whole body finds no peace. How much more when the heart-mind has ten thousand sicknesses — how could the body hope for long life?
All love and aversion are falsely born. If false accumulation is not removed, it obstructs seeing the Way. Therefore you must release all desires and dwell in having-nothing. Slowly the murky water clears to its source. Then look back at what you once loved — disgust arises naturally.
If you observe conditions with a heart-mind merged in conditions, you will never in your life perceive what is wrong. But if you observe conditions with a heart-mind that has departed from conditions, only then can you truly see right and wrong. It is like a sober person who can observe the drunken person's wrongs — but if you yourself are drunk, you do not notice your own.
The Classic says: "I originally abandoned the worldly and departed from the world." And again: "Ears and eyes, sound and color — these leave guilt in you. Nose and mouth, fragrance and flavor — these are your enemies." The Old Master was disgusted by the world and abandoned the worldly — he alone saw clearly. If fragrance and flavor are enemies, then those who swim in the current of desire — how would they know that the fish-seller's stall is foul?
VI. Supreme Stability — 泰定
Stability is the farthest shore beyond the worldly,
the first foundation of arriving at the Way,
the completed work of practicing stillness,
the final accomplishment of maintaining peace.
The body is like withered wood;
the heart-mind is like dead ash.
Without response, without seeking —
stillness and silence at their utmost.
The heart-mind has no intention toward stability,
yet there is nothing it does not stabilize.
Therefore this is called Supreme Stability.
The Zhuangzi says: "When the dwelling is supremely stable, the heavenly light shines forth." The dwelling is the heart-mind. The heavenly light is the arising of wisdom. The heart-mind is the dwelling-vessel of the Way. When emptiness and stillness reach their utmost, the Way takes up residence and wisdom is born. Wisdom emerges from one's original nature — it has not come into being just now. Therefore it is called the "heavenly light."
But because craving and attachment have brought turbidity and disorder, confusion has prevailed. Wash and scrub, soften and straighten, and return to pure stillness. The original, true spirit-awareness gradually brightens of itself — this is not some new and different wisdom produced just now.
Once wisdom is born, treasure it and keep it within. Do not let excessive knowing damage stability.
It is not the arising of wisdom that is difficult —
but wisdom that remains unused: that is difficult.
Since ancient times, those who forgot the body have been many;
those who forgot the name have been few.
Wisdom that remains unused is the forgetting of the name.
Under heaven, few attain it —
therefore it is called difficult.
The noble who are not proud, the wealthy who are not extravagant — because they commit no worldly fault, they keep their wealth and nobility long. The stable who do not move, the wise who do not use their wisdom — because they commit no fault against the Way, they deeply realize the True Constant.
The Zhuangzi says: "Knowing the Way is easy; not speaking of it is hard. To know and not speak — this is the way of heaven. To know and speak — this is the way of men. The ancients were of heaven and not of men."
Wisdom can know the Way, but it is not the attaining of the Way. When people realize the benefit of wisdom, they do not yet know the benefit of attaining the Way. They use wisdom to illuminate ultimate principles, they unleash eloquence to move the feelings of others, they rouse the heart-mind and chase after affairs, growing by contact with every kind — calling themselves "at rest in the midst of motion." But how would they know whether the one who is "at rest" is truly resting in readiness? These words are all far from Supreme Stability.
Though wisdom surpasses the crowd, it only takes one farther from the Way. The original aim was to hunt a deer, but you caught a rabbit and came home. What you gained is too small — because your vision was too narrow.
The Zhuangzi says: "The ancients who governed by the Way used tranquility to nurture wisdom. Wisdom arose, but they did not use it for wisdom's sake — this is called 'using wisdom to nurture tranquility.' Wisdom and tranquility nurture each other, and harmony and principle emerge from their nature."
Tranquility and wisdom — these are stability and discernment. Harmony and principle — these are Way and virtue. When you have wisdom but do not use it, resting in tranquility, and over long ages this accumulates — Way and virtue naturally form.
Now, this stability is attained through practice. Perhaps through observing that gain conceals harm, one fears disaster and the heart-mind subsides. Through renouncing, cleansing, and purifying, through accumulated practice until the heart-mind is seasoned — all converge on stability, all seem natural.
Shattering thunder splits the mountain, and there is no alarm.
White blades cross before the face, and there is no fear.
Reputation and gain are seen as a crack of light through a wall.
Birth and death are known as a bursting abscess.
Therefore know: "When purpose is focused and undivided, the spirit crystallizes." The empty subtlety of the heart-mind is beyond all conception.
The heart-mind as a thing: its substance is not existence; its function is not non-existence. Without racing, it is fast. Without being summoned, it arrives. In anger, a stone swallows an arrow. In resentment, frost falls in midsummer. Let loose toward evil, the nine dark hells are not far. Accumulate good, and the three pure heavens — how distant are they?
Coming and going in a flash —
neither motion nor stillness can name it.
Sometimes possible, sometimes not —
neither yarrow stalks nor turtle shells can fathom it.
To tame and guide it:
is this not harder than bridling deer and horses?
The Most High Old Master, in his constant goodness, works to ferry all people. He ascended the Spirit Terrace and expounded the marvelous teaching. He summarized the causes and effects of the Three Vehicles and laid open the naturalness of the ten thousand things. Gradually — through the daily diminishing of purposeful action. Suddenly — through the realization of returning to non-learning.
The simile: drawing the bow and chiseling the arrow.
The method: blunting the sharp and untangling the knot.
Practice it with constancy;
let habit become nature.
Dismiss hearing, let fall the body —
sit utterly in oblivion.
Do not move from stillness;
let the subtlest illumination enter.
Those who wander different roads will never understand in a lifetime. But those who travel this Way may look forward to beholding the subtle. Small effort, great result — essential! Wondrous!
VII. Attaining the Way — 得道
The Way is a spirit-strange thing —
numinous, possessed of nature,
empty, without form.
It cannot be tracked by welcoming or following;
its shadow and echo cannot be seized.
Not knowing why it is so, yet it is so.
It gives life without exhaustion —
this is called the Way.
The supreme sages attained it in antiquity.
The marvelous method has been transmitted to the present.
Examine its name, investigate its principle —
it is entirely real.
The highest person believes purely, overcomes the self, and practices diligently. Empty the heart-mind, let the valley-spirit in — only the Way comes to gather.
The Way has a deep power: slowly it transforms body and spirit. The body follows the Way and opens; it merges with the spirit into one. This is called the Spirit Person.
The spirit's nature is empty and all-pervading;
its substance admits no change or destruction.
The body, now one with the Way,
knows no birth and no death.
Hidden, the body becomes like the spirit.
Manifest, the spirit becomes like vital breath.
Therefore one treads water and fire without harm,
faces sun and moon and casts no shadow.
Existence and dissolution rest with oneself;
going out and coming in are unobstructed.
The body began as dregs and sediment,
yet reaches the empty and marvelous.
How much more so the numinous wisdom —
ever deeper, ever more far-reaching!
The Scripture of the Living Spirits says: "When body and spirit are unified, that is the true body." The Scripture of Western Ascent says: "When form and spirit merge, one may endure."
Yet the Way of the empty and formless has degrees of depth. The deep encompasses even the body; the shallow reaches only the heart-mind.
Those it encompasses in the body — these are Spirit Persons.
Those it reaches in the heart-mind — they gain only the awakening of wisdom, but the body is not spared from death.
Why? Wisdom is a function of the heart-mind. When the function is used excessively, the heart-mind grows weary. At first, gaining a little wisdom, one is delighted and speaks much. Spirit and vital breath leak and dissipate; there is no numinous moisture to sustain the body's light. Thus one comes to an early end. The Way is therefore difficult to complete.
The Classic speaks of "liberation from the corpse" — this is what it means.
Therefore the great person conceals the light and hides the radiance, waiting for total fulfillment. Crystallizing the spirit, treasuring the vital breath, studying the Way with no heart-mind — when the spirit merges with the Way, this is called attaining the Way.
The Classic says: "One who is the same as the Way — the Way also attains them."
And again: "Why did the ancients prize this Way above all? Was it not said: 'Seek, and you shall find; have guilt, and you shall be freed'?"
The mountain that holds jade — even its grass and trees do not wither.
The person who harbors the Way — even the body is forever preserved.
Sustained by this nourishment over the long ages, the quality of the body transforms into spirit. Refine the form until it enters the subtle; merge with the Way in oneness.
Scatter the one body into the ten thousand methods;
blend the ten thousand methods into the one body.
Wisdom illuminates without boundary;
form transcends without limit.
Encompass form and emptiness for its function;
contain creation and transformation for its work.
True response, without fixed direction —
this is nothing other than Way and Virtue.
The Scripture of Western Ascent says: "To share the heart-mind of heaven, without knowledge; to share the body of the Way, without substance — only then is the Way of heaven at its height." This describes one who has realized the ultimate.
And again: "When the spirit does not leave the body, one endures as long as the Way."
When the body is one with the Way, there is no time it does not exist.
When the heart-mind is one with the Way, there is no teaching it does not penetrate.
When the ear is one with the Way, there is no sound it does not hear.
When the eye is one with the Way, there is no sight it does not see.
The six roots piercing through — this is entirely due to this.
Those of the common current in recent times, whose insight does not reach far, hear only of the Way that discards the body and do not comprehend the wonder of the Way realized within the body. Without shame for their own inadequacy, they imitate others' errors. They are like the summer insect that does not believe in ice and frost, like the vinegar-fly that denies the existence of heaven and earth. Their folly cannot be matched — how could they be taught?
The Pivot and Wings of Sitting in Oblivion — 坐忘樞翼
If you wish to cultivate the Way and attain the true, first remove all crooked and deviant conduct. Sever all outward affairs completely, so nothing disturbs the heart-mind. Then sit upright and observe inwardly with correct awareness: whenever a single thought arises, immediately eliminate it. Follow each arising, restrain each arising — insist upon peace and stillness.
Next: even if there is no specific craving or attachment, extinguish all floating and disordered thoughts as well. Practice diligently, day and night, without a moment's lapse.
Extinguish only the moving heart-mind, not the illuminating heart-mind.
Merge only the empty heart-mind, not the occupied heart-mind.
Do not depend on a single thing,
yet let the heart-mind always abide.
This method is profound and marvelous; its benefits are immeasurably deep. Unless one has had connections with the Way in former lives and possesses undivided faith, one cannot trust and honor it. Even if you can recite its words, you must still discern the true from the false.
Why? Sound and color darken the heart-mind; flattery and falsehood confuse the ear. Self-regard and ego have become nature itself — the sickness is deep. The heart-mind is separated from the Way; principle is difficult to awaken to.
If your heart-mind returns to the ultimate Way and deep faith and admiration arise, first receive the three precepts. Practice them from beginning to end, and you will attain the true Way.
The three precepts are:
First — simplify connections.
Second — have no desire.
Third — still the heart-mind.
Practice these three precepts diligently and without retreat, and — without any heart-mind seeking the Way — the Way comes of its own accord.
The Classic says: "If a person can empty the heart-mind and practice non-action, without desiring the Way, the Way comes of its own accord." From this, the simplicity and essentiality of the method is truly worthy of faith! Truly worthy of honor!
Yet the ordinary heart-mind's restless competitiveness has been with it for a very long time. To still the heart-mind according to the precepts is extremely difficult. Sometimes you try to still it and cannot. Sometimes you achieve it briefly and then lose it again. Departure and retention wage war; the whole body breaks into sweat.
Over long persistence, with gentleness and flexibility, it finally becomes seasoned. Do not abandon the work of a lifetime because you cannot tame it in a moment.
Once you achieve a little stillness, then in walking, standing, sitting, and lying down — in the midst of affairs, in noisy and crowded places — you must always deliberately settle it. Whether there are affairs or not, always be as if without a heart-mind. Whether in stillness or noise, let your purpose be one.
If you bind the heart-mind too tightly, tightness itself becomes a sickness — the sign is vital breath erupting into madness and confusion. If the heart-mind does not move, you must still release and let it be.
Find the middle between tension and slack; constantly adjust. Restrain without clinging; release without scattering. Dwell in noise without aversion; engage with affairs without vexation — this is true stability.
Do not seek more affairs because engaging with affairs causes no vexation.
Do not seek out noise because dwelling in noise causes no disturbance.
Take having-no-affairs as true stability.
Take having-affairs as the trace of response.
Be like a water-mirror: when things come, their forms appear.
Skillful means and expedient methods can only bring you into stability. Whether wisdom arises quickly or slowly is not up to the person. Do not urgently seek wisdom within stability. To seek wisdom damages stability; to damage stability is to have no wisdom.
Stability does not seek wisdom,
yet wisdom arises of itself —
this is true wisdom.
Wisdom that is not used —
genuine knowing that appears foolish —
further nourishes stability and wisdom.
The twin beauties are without limit.
If thoughts and imagination arise within stability, there will be many false responses. The hundred spirits and strange beings will appear in accord with the heart-mind — true persons, the Old Master, divine marvels and wonders. These are their signs.
Only this: above the stabilized heart-mind, let there be nothing covering it — open and clear. Below the stabilized heart-mind, let there be nothing supporting it — vast and groundless.
Old karma is extinguished forever;
new karma is never created.
Nothing entangles;
completely freed from the dust-net.
Practice this for a long time,
and you will naturally attain the Way.
One who attains the Way: the heart-mind passes through five stages; the body manifests seven signs.
The five stages of the heart-mind:
First — much motion, little stillness.
Second — motion and stillness in equal measure.
Third — much stillness, little motion.
Fourth — still when there are no affairs; when affairs arise, motion returns.
Fifth — the heart-mind merges with the Way; touched, yet unmoved.
When the heart-mind reaches this ground, one begins to find peace and joy. Guilt and defilement are extinguished entirely. There is no further affliction.
The seven signs of the body:
First — action follows the seasons; the countenance is harmonious and cheerful.
Second — chronic illness entirely vanishes; body and heart-mind grow light and refreshed.
Third — what was lost and cut short is filled and restored; one returns to the origin, life renewed.
Fourth — life extends for thousands of years: this is called the Immortal.
Fifth — form is refined into vital breath: this is called the True Person.
Sixth — vital breath is refined into spirit: this is called the Spirit Person.
Seventh — spirit is refined and merges with the Way: this is called the Ultimate Person.
With each successive sign, the power of discernment grows brighter. Only when the ultimate Way is fully realized is wisdom complete.
If someone studies stability for a long time, yet body and heart-mind show none of the five stages or seven signs — then their brief life and impure substance will merely dissolve into emptiness when their color fades. To call yourself wise and awakened, and to claim you have attained the Way — examined against coherent principle, this is simply not so. It may be called a profound error.
Colophon
The Zuowang Lun (坐忘論, "Treatise on Sitting in Oblivion") is the foundational text of Daoist meditation practice, written by Sima Chengzhen (司馬承禎, 647–735 CE), the twelfth patriarch of the Shangqing (Supreme Clarity) school of Daoism. It presents a systematic seven-stage path of contemplative cultivation that has shaped Daoist practice for over thirteen centuries. The text synthesizes the Zhuangzi's concept of zuowang ("sitting in oblivion") with the Daodejing's teachings on emptiness and non-action, the Scripture of Western Ascent's cultivation theology, and elements of Buddhist concentration-and-observation (止觀) methodology — all within a distinctly Daoist framework of transforming both spirit and body through union with the Way.
Good Works Translation from Classical Chinese by the New Tianmu Anglican Church, 2026. Translated from the Zhengtong Daozang (正統道藏, Orthodox Daoist Canon, 1444 CE) text as transcribed by the Chinese Text Project (ctext.org, DZ 1036). Livia Kohn's translations (1987, 2010) and Wu Jyh Cherng's translation (2014) were not consulted; this translation is independently derived from the Classical Chinese.
🌲
Source Text: 坐忘論
Classical Chinese source text from the Zhengtong Daozang (正統道藏, Orthodox Daoist Canon, 1444 CE), as transcribed by the Chinese Text Project (ctext.org). Presented here for reference, study, and verification alongside the English translation above.
司馬承禎子微撰
夫人之所貴者生，生之所貴者道。人之有道，若魚之有水。涸轍之魚，猶希斗水；弱喪之俗無情造道。惡生死之苦，樂生死之業。重道德之名，輕道德之行。審惟倒置，何甚如之。窮而思通，迷而思復，寸陰如璧，愧歎交深，是以恭尋經旨，而與心法相應者，略成七條，以為修道階次。樞翼附焉。
敬信第一
夫信者，道之根；敬者，德之蒂。根深則道可長，蒂固則德可茂。然則璧耀連城之彩，卞和致刖；言開保國之效，伍子從誅。斯乃形器著而心緒迷，理事萌而情思忽。況至道超於色味，真性隔於可欲，而能聞希微以懸信，聽罔象而不惑者哉。如人聞坐忘之言，信是修道之要，敬仰尊重，決定無疑者，加之勤行，得道必矣。故《莊》云：隳支體，黜聰明，離形去智，同於大通，是謂坐忘。夫坐忘者，何所不忘哉！內不覺其一身，外不知乎宇宙，與道冥一，萬慮皆遺。《莊》云：同於大通，此則言淺而意深。惑者聞而不信，懷寶求寶，其如之何。《經》云：信不足焉，有不信。謂信道之心不足，乃有不信之禍及之，何道之可望乎！
斷緣第二
斷緣者，斷有為俗事之緣也。棄事則形不勞，無為則心自安。恬簡日就，塵累日薄，迹彌遠俗，心彌近道。至聖至神，孰不由此乎？《經》云：塞其兌，閉其門，終身不勤。或顯德露能，求人保己；或遺問慶弔，以事往還；或假隱逸，情希升進；或酒食邀致，以望後恩。斯乃巧蘊機心，以干時利，既非順道，深妨正業。凡此類例，皆應絕之。《經》云：開其兌，濟其事，終身不救。我但不唱，彼自不和；彼雖有唱，我不和之。舊綠漸斷，新綠莫結，醴交勢合，自致日踈，無事安閑，方可修道。《莊》云：不將不迎，無為交俗之情。又云：無為謀府，無為事任，無為知主。若事有不可廢者，不得已而行之，勿遂生愛繫心為業。
收心第三
夫心者，一身之主，百神之帥。靜則生慧，動則成昏。欣迷幻境之中，唯言實是；甘宴有為之內，誰悟虛非。心識顛癡，良由所託之地。且卜鄰而居，猶從改操，擇交而友，尚能致益。況身離生死之境，心居至道之中，能不捨彼乎？安不得此乎？所以學道之初，要須安坐收心，離境住無所有；因住無所有，不著一物，自入虛無，心乃合道。《經》云：至道之中，寂無所有，神用無方，心體亦然。原其心體，以道為本，但為心神被染，蒙蔽漸深，流浪日久，遂與道隔。若淨除心垢，開識神本，名曰修道。無復流浪，與道冥合，安在道中，名曰歸根。守根不離，名曰靜定。靜定日久，病消命復，復而又續，自得知常。知則無所不明，常則無所變滅，出離生死，實由於此。是故法道安心，貴無所著。《經》云：夫物芸芸，各歸其根，歸根曰靜，靜曰復命，復命曰常，知常曰明。若執心住空，還是有所，非謂無所。凡住有所，則令心勞，既不合理，又反成病。但心不著物，又得不動，此是真定正基。用此為定，心氣調和，久益輕爽，以此為驗，則邪正可知矣。若心起皆滅，不簡是非，則永斷覺知，入於盲定。若任心所起，一無收制，則與凡夫元來不別。若唯斷善惡，心無指歸，肆意浮游，待自定者，徒自誤爾。若徧行諸事，言心無所染者，於言甚善，於行極非。真學之流，特宜誡此。今則息亂而不滅照，守靜而不著空，行之有常，自得真見。如有時事，或法要有疑者，且任思量，令事得濟，所疑復悟，此亦生慧正根。悟已則止，必莫有思，思則以智害恬，為子傷本。雖騁一時之俊，終虧萬代之業。若煩邪亂想，隨覺則除，若聞毀譽之名，善惡等事，皆即撥去，莫將心受。受之則心滿，心滿則道無所居。所有聞見，如不聞見，即是非善惡不入於心。心不受外，名曰虛心，心不逐外，名曰安心，心安而虛，道自來居。《經》云：人能虛心無為，非欲於道，道自歸之。內心既無所著，外行亦無所為，非爭非穢，故毀譽無從生，非智非愚，故利害無由撓。實則順中為常，權則與時消息，苟免諸累，是其智也。若非時非事，役思強為者，自云不著，終非真學。何耶？心法如眼也，纖毫入眼，跟則不安，小事關心，心必動亂，既有動病，難入定門。是故修道之要，急在除病，病若不除，終難得定。有如良田，荊棘未誅，雖下種子，嘉苗不茂。愛見思慮，是心荊棘，若不除翦，定慧不生。或身居富貴，或學備經史，言則慈儉，行則貪殘，辯足以飾非，勢足以威物，得則名己，過則尤人，此病最深，雖學無益。所以然者，為自是故。然此心猶來依境，未慣獨立，乍無所託，難以自安，縱得暫安，還復散亂。隨起隨制，務令不動，久久調熟，自得安閑。無問晝夜，行住坐臥，及應事之時，常須作意安之。若心得定，即須安養，莫有惱觸，少得定分，即堪自樂，漸漸馴狎，惟益清遠。平生所愛，已嫌蔽陋，況因定生慧，深達真假乎！且牛馬，家畜也，放縱不收，猶自生梗，不受駕馭。鷹鸇，野烏也，為人羈絆，終日在手，自然調熟。況心之放逸，縱任不收，唯益麤踈，何能觀妙。《經》云：雖有拱璧，以先駟馬，不如坐進此道。
夫法之妙用也，其在能行，不在能言，行之則斯言為當，不行則斯言如妄。又時人所學，貴難而賤易，若論法要，廣說虛無，思慮所莫能達，行用所莫能階者，則歎不可思議。而下風盡禮，如其「信言不美」，指事直說，聞則心解，言則可行者，此實不可思議，而人飜以為淺近，而輕忽不信。《經》云：吾言甚易知，甚易行，天下莫能知，莫能行。夫惟無知，是以不我知。又有言火不熱，燈不照闇，稱為妙義。夫火以熱為用，燈以照闇為功。今則盛談火不熱，未嘗一時廢火，燈不照闇，必須終夜然燈。言行相違，理實無取，此即破相之言，而人反以為深玄之妙。雖惠子宏辯，莊生以為不堪。膚受之流，誰能斷簡，至學之士，庶不留心。或曰：夫為大道者，在物而心不染，處動而神不亂，無事而不為，無時而不寂。今獨避事而取安，離動而求定，勞於控制，乃有動靜二心，滯於住守，是成取捨兩病。都未覺其外執，而謂道之階要，何其謬邪！答曰：總物而稱大，通物之謂道。在物而不染，處事而不亂，真為大矣！實為妙矣！然謂吾子之鑒有所未明，何耶？徒見貝錦之輝煥，未曉始抽之素絲，纔聞嗚鶴之沖天，詎識先資於穀食。蔽日之幹，起於毫末；神凝至聖，積習而成。今徒學語其聖德，而不知聖之所以德，可謂見卵而求時夜，見彈而求鴞炙。何其造次哉！故《經》云：玄德深矣，遠矣，與物反矣。然後乃至大順。
簡事第四
夫人之生也，必嘗於事物，事物稱萬，不獨委於一人。巢林一枝，鳥見遺於叢泊；飲河滿腹，獸不恡於洪波。外求諸物，內明諸己，知生之有分，不務分之所無。識事之有當，不任事之非當。任非當則傷於智力，務過分則弊於形神。身且不安，何能及道。是以修道之人，莫若斷簡事物，知其閑要，較量輕重，識其去取。非要非重，皆應絕之。猶人食有酒肉，衣有羅綺，身有名位，財有金玉，此並情欲之餘好，非益生之良藥，眾皆徇之，自致亡敗，靜而思之，何迷之甚。《莊》云：達生之情者，不務生之所無以為。生之所無以為者，分外物也。蔬食弊衣，足養性命，豈待酒肉羅綺，然後生全哉！是故於生無所要用者，並須去之。於生之用有餘者，亦須捨之。財有害氣，積則傷人，雖少猶累，而況多乎。以隋珠而彈千仞之雀，人猶笑之，況背道德，忽性命，而從非要以自促伐者乎！夫以名位比道德，則名位假而賤，道德真而貴。能知貴賤，應須去取，不以名害身，不以位易志。《莊》云：行名失己，非士也。《西昇經》云：抱元守一，過度神仙，子未能守，但坐榮官。若不簡擇，觸事皆為，心勞智昏，修道事闕。若處事安閑，在物無累者，自屬證成之人。若實未成，而言無累者，誠自誑耳！
真觀第五
夫真觀者，智士之先鑒，能人之善察，究儻來之禍福，詳動靜之吉凶，得見機前，因之造適，深祈衛足，竊務全生。自始至末，行無遺累，理不違此者，謂之真觀。然一餐一寢，俱為損益之源，一行一言，堪成禍福之本。雖作巧持其末，不如拙誡其本，觀本知末，又非躁競之情。是故收心簡事，日損有為，體靜心閑，方可觀妙。經云：常無，欲以觀其妙。
然修道之身，必資衣食，事有不可廢，物有不可棄者，當須虛襟而受之，明目而當之。勿以為妨，心生煩躁。若因事煩躁者，心病已動，何名安心？夫人事衣食者，我之船舫也。欲渡於海，事資船舫，渡海若訖，理自不留。因何未渡，先欲廢捨？衣食虛幻，實不足營，為出離虛幻，故求衣食。雖有營求之事，莫生得失之心。即有事無事，心常安泰，與物同求而不同貪，與物同得而不同積。不貪故無憂，不積故無失。迹每同人，心常異俗。此實行之宗要，可力為之。
前雖斷簡，病有難除者，但依法觀之。若色病重者，當觀染色都由想爾，想若不生，終無色事。當知色想外空，色心內妄，妄想心空，誰為色主？經云：色者，想爾。想悉是空，何有色也？又思妖妍美色，甚於狐魅。狐魅媚人，令人厭患，雖身致死，不入惡道，為厭患故，永離邪婬。妖艷惑人，令人愛著，乃致身死，留戀彌深，為邪念故，死墮諸趣，生地獄中。故經云：今代發心為夫妻，死後不得俱生人道。所以者何？為邪念故。又觀色若定是美，何故魚見深入，鳥見高飛，仙人觀之為穢濁，賢人喻之為刀斧？一生之命，七日不食，便至於死。百年無色，翻免夭傷。故知色者，非身心之要，適為性命之仇賊，何須繫著，自取消毀？
若見他人為惡，心生嫌惡者，猶如見人自殺，己身引頸，乘取他刀，以自害命。他自為惡不遣，我當何故引取他惡，以為己病？又見為惡者若可嫌，見為善者亦須惡。何以然耶？同障道故。
若貧者，亦審觀之，誰與我貧？天地平等，覆載無私，我今貧苦，非天地也。父母生子，欲令富貴，我今貧賤，非父母也。人及鬼神，自救無暇，何能有力將貧與我？進退尋察，無所從來，乃知我業也，乃知天命也。業由我造，命由天賦，業之與命，猶影響之逐形聲。既不可逃，又不可怨，唯有智者，善而達之，樂天知命，故不憂，何貧之可苦也。《莊》云：業入而不可舍，為自業。故貧病來入，不可舍止。經云：天地不能改其操，陰陽不能迴其業。由此言之，故真命也，非假物耳，有何怨焉？又如勇士逢賊，無所畏懼，揮劍當前，草寇皆潰，功勳一立，榮祿終身。今有貧病惱亂我身，則寇賊也；我有正心，則勇士也；用智觀察，則揮劍也；惱累消除，則戰勝也；湛然常樂，則榮祿也。凡有苦事來迫，我心不以此觀而生憂累，則如人逢賊，不立功勳，棄甲背軍，逃亡獲罪，去樂就苦，何可憫焉？
若病苦者，當觀此病由有我身，若無我身，患無所託。經云：及吾無身，吾有何患。次觀於心，亦無真宰，內外求覓，無能受者，所有計念，從妄心生。然枯形灰心，則萬病俱泯。
若惡死者，應思我身是神之舍，身今老病，氣力衰微，如屋朽壞，不堪居止，自須捨離，別處求安。身死神逝，亦復如是。若戀生惡死，拒違變化，則神識錯亂，失其正業。以此託生，受氣之際，不感清秀，多逢濁辱。蓋下愚貪鄙，實此之由。若當生不悅，順死不惡者，一為生死理齊，二為後身成業。若貪愛萬境，一愛一病。一肢有病，猶令舉體不安，況一心萬病，身欲長生，豈可得乎？凡有愛惡，皆是妄生，積妄不除，以妨見道。是故須捨諸欲，住無所有，徐清有本，然後返觀舊所愛處，自生厭薄。若以合境之心觀境，終身不覺有惡。如將離境之心觀境，方能了見是非。譬如醒人，能觀醉者為惡；如其自醉，不覺其非。經云：吾本棄俗，壓離世問。又云：耳目聲色，為子留愆。鼻口所喜，香味是怨。老君厭世，棄俗獨見，香味是怨，嗜慾之流，焉知鮑肆為臭哉！
泰定第六
夫定者，出俗之極地，致道之初基，習靜之成功，持安之畢事。形如槁木，心若死灰，無感無求，寂泊之至。無心於定，而無所不定，故曰泰定。《莊》云：宇泰定者，發乎天光。宇則心也，天光則發慧也。心為道之器宇，虛靜至極，則道居而慧生。慧出本性，非適今有，故曰天光。但以貪愛濁亂，遂至昏迷。澡雪柔挺，復歸純靜，本真神識，稍稍自明，非謂今時別生他慧。慧既生已，寶而懷之，勿以多知而傷於定。非生慧難，慧而不用難。自古忘形者眾，忘名者寡。慧而不用，是忘名也。天下希及之，故為難。貴能不驕，富能不奢，為無俗過，故得長守富貴。定而不動，慧而不用，為無道過，故得深證真常。《莊》云：知道易，而弗言難。知而不言，所以之天；知而言之，所以之人。古之人，天而不人，慧能知道，非得道也。人知得慧之利，未知得道之益。因慧以明至理，縱辯以感物情，興心徇事，觸類而長，自云處動而常寂，焉知寂者，寂以待物乎，此語俱非泰定也。智雖出眾，彌不近道。本期逐鹿，獲兔而歸。所得太微，良由局小。《莊》云：古之治道者，以恬養智。智生而無以智為也，謂之以智養恬。智與恬交相養，而和理出其性。恬智則定慧也，和理則道德也。有智不用，而安其恬，積而久之，自成道德。然論此定，因為而得成。或因觀利而見害，懼禍而息心，捐捨滌除，積習心熟，同歸於定，咸若自然。疾雷破山而不驚，白刃交前而不懼；視名利如過隙，知生死如潰癰，故知「用志不分，乃凝於神」，心之虛妙，不可思也。
夫心之為物也，即體非有，隨用非無，不馳而速，不召而至。怒則玄石飲羽，怨則朱夏隕霜；縱惡則九幽匪遙，積善則三清何遠。忽來忽往，動寂不能名；時可時否，蓍龜莫能測，其為調御，豈鹿馬比其難乎。太上老君運常善以度人，昇靈臺而演妙，略三乘之因果，廣萬有之自然，漸之以日損有為，頓之以證歸無學，喻則張弓鑿矢，法則挫銳解紛，修之有常，習以成性，黜聰隳體，嗒然坐忘，不動於寂，幾微入照。履殊方者，了義無日；遊斯道者，觀妙可期。力少功多，要矣！妙矣！
得道第七
夫道者，神異之物，靈而有性，虛而無象。隨迎不測，影響莫求，不知所以然而然，通生無匱謂之道。至聖得之於古，妙法傳之於今，循名究理，全然有實。上士純信，克己勤行，虛心谷神，唯道來集。道有深力，徐易形神，形隨道通，與神合一，謂之神人。神性虛融，體無變滅，形與道同，故無生死。隱則形同於神，顯則神同於氣，所以蹈水火而無害，對日月而無影，存亡在己，出入無問，身為滓質，猶至虛妙，況其靈智益深益遠乎？《生神經》云：身神並一，則為真身。又《西昇經》云：形神合同，故能長久。然虛無之道，力有淺深，深則兼被於形，淺則唯及於心。被形者，神人也。及心者，但得慧覺，而身不免謝，何耶？慧是心用，用多則心勞。初得少慧，悅而多辯，神氣漏洩，無靈潤身光，遂致早終，道故難備。經云尸解，此之謂也。是故大人，含光藏輝，以期全備。凝神寶氣，學道無心，神與道合，謂之得道。經云：同於道者，道亦得之。又云：古之所以貴此道者何？不日求以得，有罪以免邪？山有玉，草木以之不彫。人懷道，形骸以之永固。資薰日久，變質同神，鍊形入微，與道冥一。散一身為萬法，混萬法為一身。智照無邊，形超靡極，總色空而為用，含造化以成功。真應無方，其惟道德。《西昇經》云：與天同心而無知，與道同身而無體，然後天道盛矣。謂證得其極者也。又云：神不出身，與道同久。且身與道同，則無時而不存；心與道同，則無法而不通。耳與道同，則無聲而不聞；眼與道同，則無色而不見。六根洞達，良由於此。近代常流，識不及遠，唯聞捨形之道，未達即身之妙，無慙己短，有效人非。其猶夏蟲不信冰霜，醢雞斷無天地，其愚不可及，何可誨焉。
坐忘樞翼
夫欲修道成真，先去邪僻之行；外事都絕，無以干心，然後端坐，內觀正覺，覺一念起，即須除滅。隨起隨制，務令安靜。其次，雖非的有貪著，浮遊亂想，亦盡滅除。晝夜勤行，須臾不替。唯滅動心，不滅照心；但冥虛心，不冥有心。不依一物而心常住，此法玄妙，利益甚深。自非夙有道緣，信心無二者，莫能信重。雖知誦讀其文，仍須辯識真偽。所以者何？聲色昏心，邪佞惑耳，人我成性，自是病深，心與道隔，理難曉悟。若有心歸至道，深生信慕，先受三戒。依戒修行，在終如始，乃得真道。其三戒者，一曰簡緣，二曰無欲，三曰靜心。勤行此三戒而無懈退者，則無心求道，而道自來。《經》云：人能虛心無為，非欲於道，道自歸之。由此言之，簡要之法，實可信哉！實可貴哉！
然則凡心躁競，其來固久，依戒息心，其事甚難。或息之而不得，暫得而還失；去留交戰，百體流汗。久久柔挺，方乃調熟。莫以暫收不得，遂廢平生之業。少得靜已，則行立坐臥之時，涉事喧闠之處，皆須作意安之。有事無事，常若無心；處靜處喧，其志唯一。若束心太急，急則成病，氣發狂癡，是其候也。心若不動，又須放任，寬急得中，常自調適，制而無著，放而不逸，處喧無惡，涉事無惱者，此真定也。不以涉事無惱，故求多事；不以處喧無動，故來就喧。以無事為真定，以有事為應迹，若水鏡之為鑑，則遇物而見形。善巧方便，唯能入定。發慧遲速，則不由人。勿於定中，急急求慧，求慧則傷定，傷定則無慧。定不求慧，而慧自生，此真慧也。慧而不用，實智若愚，益資定慧，雙美無極。若定中念想，則有多感，眾邪百魅，隨心應現，真人老君，神異詭恠，是其祥也。唯定心之上，豁然無覆，定心之下，曠然無基，舊業永消，新業不造，無所纏礙，迥脫塵網，行而久之，自然得道。
夫得道之人，心有五時，身有七候。心有五時者，一、動多靜少。二、動靜相半。三、靜多動少。四、無事則靜，事觸還動。五、心與道合，觸而不動。心至此地，始得安樂，罪垢滅盡，無復煩惱。身有七候者，一、舉動順時，容色和悅。二、夙疾普消，身心輕爽；三、填補夭傷，還元復命。四、延數千歲，名曰仙人。五、鍊形為氣，名曰真人。六、鍊氣成神，名曰神人。七、鍊神合道，名曰至人。其於鑒力，隨候益明。得至道成，慧乃圓備。雖久學定，心身無五時七候者，促齡穢質，色謝歸空，自云慧覺，復稱成道，求諸通理，實所未然，可謂謬矣。
Source Colophon
Classical Chinese source text from the Zhengtong Daozang (正統道藏, Orthodox Daoist Canon, compiled 1444 CE), catalogued as DZ 1036. Transcription accessed from the Chinese Text Project (ctext.org), a digital humanities library of pre-modern Chinese texts. The Zuowang Lun is also preserved in Zhang Junfang's Yunji Qiqian (雲笈七籤, 1019 CE) and Xu Song's Quan Tangwen (全唐文, 1819 CE). This transcription follows the Daozang edition.
🌲