The “Fasting of the Heart” (Xinzhai 心斋): Zhuangzi, Daoism and Its Transformative Healing Power in Contemporary Psychotherapy

Abstract

This article investigates a form of psychotherapy rooted in the Daoist notion of xinzhai, “fasting of the heart” in the Zhuangzi. Xinzhai is described as a meditative practice that “empties” the heart ( xin 心) so that it becomes responsive to the world, but is not affected by it. Also known as the “mirror-heart,” this state is characteristic of the Daoist sage. The xinzhai therapy is practiced together with Jung’s Active Imagination and Bosnak’s Embodied Imagination. In this hybrid therapy, the therapist’s “empty heart” aids in developing a non-judgmental openness in the client, allowing free flow of vital energy ( qi 气) that may lead to the dissolution of object-subject boundaries and inner transformation ( wuhua 物化). The article critically assesses both the merits and pitfalls of such Daoism-based hybridized therapies. It argues that therapies based on ancient spiritual self-cultivation, and more generally, the psychologization of Daoism and the hybridized use of the heart ( xin) and the psyche in the context of a far-reaching pragmatic governmental approach to ancient wisdom may dilute the spiritual depths of Zhuangzi’s teachings.