Laughing Lotus 🪷

Did you know?

+ Be reliable + Avoid drama + Help other people win + Take care of your body + Take care of your mind + Live below your means + Treat your job as if it matters + Take care of your relationships Simple but not easy.

🪷

SIT AND FORGET Zhuāngzǐ mentions a method called to “sit and forget,” zuòwàng 座忘. He uses this term in a parable about Yán Huí, 顏回 (c. 521–481 BCE; a student of Confucius) and Zhòng Ní, 仲尼 (courtesy name for Confucius). In this parable, Yán reports that he has “forgotten benevolence (rén 仁) and righteousness (yì 義).” He adds that he has “forgotten ceremony (lǐ 禮) and music (lè 樂).” Finally he says, “I sit and forget!” (Zhuāngzǐ, “Dàzōngshī,” 9) To sit can be a vital respite to be withdraw, rest, and calm yourself. When you sit straight, you bodily express balance. No need to worry about equilibrium. You go straight to it. The other part is forgetting. But does that mean we want to completely wipe out all our thoughts? That happens to people after an accident or botched anesthesia and nobody is rushing to trade places with anyone like that. So think of it as meaning to forget our troubles. Maybe not forever, but at least during meditation. It’s a way of wiping your slate clean. Even that image implies an overly active approach. Just sit, and your troubles will precipitate out of you. When you’re done, you’ll find that your view has cleared Meditating won’t inoculate you permanently from trouble. But it will make you better able to face them. Sit and forget so you can act with your full presence. ______ Woodcut illustration of the practice known as 'Putting the miraculous elixir on the tripod' from Xingming guizhi (Pointers on Spiritual Nature and Bodily Life) by Yi Zhenren, a Daoist text on internal alchemy published in 1615 (3rd year of the Wanli reign period of Ming dynasty). The Wellcome Collection, London