Ideas across traditions · meditation · Chinese

zuowang

Works in 1 traditions beyond Chinese attest this concept, on 1 cited pages. Translators have rendered it as “sitting in oblivion”, “sitting and forgetting”, “sitting in forgetfulness”; a link through a rendering is marked as such, because another translator chose differently.

Also under: 坐忘 · “sitting in oblivion” · “sitting and forgetting” · “sitting in forgetfulness”

1works in other traditions, with a cited page

5works in Chinese, its home tradition on the maps

0further works where only a vocabulary list or keyword names it; not shown

0judged analogues in other traditions (a different word for a neighbouring idea)

In other traditions

Ordered by the earliest work in each tradition that attests the concept. Within a tradition, works run from earliest to latest by conventional composition date.

Japanesefrom 1710 · 1 work

1710Kaibara Ekken corpus (Ekiken Zenshu)same word1 page · 2 editions
- zuowangrom form, leave knowledge behind, and become identical with the Great Thoroughfare. This is called 'sitting in oblivion'Collected Works (Ekiken Zenshu), 1910, p. 744 · flagged as a term by the translator

At home in Chinese

320 BCEZhuangzi (incl. ch.2 butterfly dream, ch.6 sitting-forgetting)same word and a translator’s rendering4 pages · 11 editions
- 坐忘 — zuò wànglf from people. Observing him embodying transformation and responding to affairs, no one can call it Sitting in OblivionZhuangzi with Guo Xiang Commentary, 1635, p. 156 · original word kept by the translator
300 BCEZhuangzisame word and a translator’s rendering4 pages · 5 editions
- 坐忘 — zuò wànglf from people. Observing him embodying transformation and responding to affairs, no one can call it Sitting in OblivionZhuangzi with Guo Xiang Commentary, 1635, p. 156 · original word kept by the translator
300 BCEZhuangzi — Fasting of the Mind (xinzhai) & Sitting in Forgetfulness (zuowang)same word and a translator’s rendering4 pages · 5 editions
- 坐忘 — zuò wànglf from people. Observing him embodying transformation and responding to affairs, no one can call it Sitting in OblivionZhuangzi with Guo Xiang Commentary, 1635, p. 156 · original word kept by the translator
300 BCEZhuangzi ch. 2 (the butterfly dream) and ch. 6same word and a translator’s rendering4 pages · 11 editions
- 坐忘 — zuò wànglf from people. Observing him embodying transformation and responding to affairs, no one can call it Sitting in OblivionZhuangzi with Guo Xiang Commentary, 1635, p. 156 · original word kept by the translator
300 CEGuo Xiang, commentary on Zhuangzi (Xuanxue)same word and a translator’s rendering3 pages · 1 edition
- 坐忘 — zuò wànglf from people. Observing him embodying transformation and responding to affairs, no one can call it Sitting in OblivionZhuangzi with Guo Xiang Commentary, 1635, p. 156 · original word kept by the translator

Evidence gate. A work is listed only where a translator marked the word as a term with a gloss, or kept the original word beside the English, on at least one page of a held edition. Vocabulary lists and keywords alone do not count: in a Greek vocabulary list ἡσυχία is the ordinary word for quiet. Up to 3 pages are shown per work, preferring those with a gloss. The vocabulary was built 2026-09-11; the graph on 2026-09-13.