両忘
りょうぼう / Ryōbō
Ryōbō (両忘) Meaning
Meaning
Ryōbō means "forgetting both." It points to letting go of both sides of a pair of opposites, such as right and wrong, good and bad, or self and other. Rather than clinging to one side, you set down the habit of comparing itself, and a quiet, open freedom appears.
Origin
The phrase goes back to the ancient Chinese classic Zhuangzi, which says that rather than praising the sage-king Yao and condemning the tyrant Jie, it is better to "forget both" and merge with the Way. The Song-dynasty Confucian thinker Cheng Hao later used a similar idea, writing that instead of rejecting the outer and affirming the inner, one should forget both inner and outer. The expression was valued in Zen circles as well, and in Meiji-era Japan the Zen master Imakita Kōsen is said to have named a meditation group for laypeople the Ryōbō-kai, the "Forgetting Both Society."
How it helps with everyday worries
When a conflict at work turns into "they were wrong and I was right," the scene can replay in your head for days. Ryōbō doesn't ask you to forgive the other person, nor to blame yourself. It simply invites you to put down the measuring stick of right and wrong for a moment. Once it's set aside, what remains are plain facts: you're tired, and there is something in front of you to do today. The same goes for worrying about what others think. Praise lifts you up, criticism knocks you down. Stepping back from both, people's words start to look more like weather passing through. This isn't about forcing yourself to forget anything. It's about taking the energy you spent comparing and returning it to the one thing right in front of you, which tends to leave a little more room inside.
A small practice for today
The next time you notice yourself judging someone, or measuring yourself against them, quietly say "set both down" in your mind and take one slow breath.