What is the Fasting of the Mindin Taoism? 什么是心斋

It refers to a method of spiritual cultivation aimed at purifying the mind.

This concept originates from Zhuangzi·In the Human World: "If you can unify your will, do not listen with your ears, but listen with your mind; do not listen with your mind, but listen with your vital Qi. Hearing stops at the ear, the mind stops at its correspondence with things. Vital energy is empty and receptive to all things. Only the Dao gathers in emptiness—and emptiness is the Mind Fasting." This practice centers on emptiness, starting with listening to one's breath, and focuses on unifying the cosmic vital energy with the Dao to attain a state of nothingness and self-forgetfulness. Taoism adopted this theory and developed it into a higher level of static meditation practice, known as the "Zhuangzi Xinzhai Method" or "Zhuangzi Listening-Breath Method".

What is the Fasting of the Mindin Taoism?

According to the summary by modern scholar Chen Yingning in Questions and Answers on Static Meditation Therapy, the specific steps of practicing Xinzhai are as follows: concentrate your thoughts and eliminate distractions; focus on listening to the breath of inhalation and exhalation—since nasal breath is silent, do not listen with the ears, but with your mind; as the practice deepens, your thoughts merge into one, and you no longer need to consciously focus on listening; instead, listen passively, letting it be. After your thoughts converge into one, stop listening and gradually enter a state of chaos, where the perception of the mind ceases to function; finally, unconsciously step into the realm of nothingness—and this is Xinzhai. Taoism attaches great importance to Xinzhai in its cultivation practices, regarding it as the highest level of fasting methods.

Volume 37 of Yunji Qiqian (The Taoist Canon) states in "On Various Fasting Methods" that there are roughly three types of fasting methods described in scriptures: first, offering fasting, which accumulates virtue and expiates misdeeds; second, dietary fasting, which harmonizes the spirit and preserves lifespan—this is also called "ritual fasting" and is practiced by ordinary people; third, Xinzhai (Mind Fasting), the highest level of fasting. It involves cleansing the mind, abandoning desires and passions; purifying the spirit, getting rid of filth and burdens; and disciplining wisdom, cutting off idle thoughts. A mind free from worries and musings means devoting oneself wholeheartedly to the Dao; free from cravings and desires means finding joy in the Dao; free from filth and burdens means unifying with the Dao. Having no dualistic thoughts and devoting the will to unity lies at the core of Xinzhai.