“Fasting of the mind” (xinzhai 心齋) in Zhuangzi names a discipline of emptying the heart-mind of its usual clutter—fixed ideas, judgments, desires, and ego-centered intentions—so that it becomes clear, still, and receptive. It is not a matter of dietary abstinence, but of releasing rigid categories, preformed opinions, and attachment to particular perspectives. When the mind is no longer driven by gain and loss, right and wrong, or the urge to control outcomes, it begins to resemble an empty vessel, a clear mirror, or still water that can reflect things as they are without distortion. This inner emptiness is not a void of numbness, but a spacious clarity in which agitation and internal chatter subside.

Such fasting entails a shift from grasping through the senses and discursive thought to a more intuitive, unforced awareness. Instead of relying on excessive deliberation and planning, the mind rests in a state of quiet openness, allowing meanings and situations to present themselves without being forced into preconceived patterns. In this condition, one no longer clings to knowledge as a possession, nor to moral or intellectual schemes as fixed guides. The heart-mind becomes capable of “listening with the spirit,” a mode of awareness that is not confined by constant discrimination and analysis.

From this emptied and receptive state, action takes on the character of wu wei, or effortless action. Responses arise naturally and appropriately from the situation itself, rather than from a will that is trying to impose its own agenda. Because the mind is not bound by rigid roles or conditioned patterns of thinking, there is a genuine spontaneity and freedom in how one moves through the world. Alignment with the Dao is then not a matter of deliberate striving, but of allowing the larger flow of things to work through one’s words and deeds. In this way, fasting of the mind serves as a spiritual discipline that opens the possibility of clarity, ease, and a more authentic way of being.