The sinologist and religious scholar Livia Kohn presents various Daoist texts in this study, authored by the 12th patriarch of the Shàngqíng school, Sima Chengzhen (647-735). The central text, the Zuowanglun ("Treatise on Sitting in Forgetfulness"), offers a detailed analysis of different stages of meditative practice as it was exercised within the framework of Daoist self-cultivation. The various forms of meditation applied are explained. The technique of "sitting in forgetfulness" (zuowang) integrates numerous early influences, including fundamental ways of thinking from the Daode jing ("Classic of the Way and Virtue") and ecstatic visions from the Zhuángzi ("Book of Master Zhuáng"). Regarding the methods, "sitting in forgetfulness" includes Han dynasty Yangsheng exercises, body contemplation, and visions.