What is the Taoist view of life?

Taoism inherits and develops the thoughts of "essence", "vital energy" and "spirit" of Laozi and Zhuangzi, and introduces them into the Taoist philosophical system of life.

Taoism believes that life is a composite of three elements: "essence", "vital energy" and "spirit". "Essence" is the material basis of the body, "spirit" refers to the mind and consciousness, and "vital energy" is the flow of life energy, serving as the link between "essence" and "spirit".

The early Taoist scripture "The Taiping Jing" states: "The three kinds of vital energy combine into one, which is the root of the spirit. One is essence, one is spirit, and one is vital energy. These three share the same position, and they originate from the vital energy of heaven, earth and man. The spirit is received from heaven, the essence is received from the earth, and the vital energy is received from the harmonious middle. They assist each other to govern."

Taoism links the "Tao" with life. Thus, it takes human life as the highest and ultimate object of care, strongly advocates the idea of attaining longevity and becoming an immortal, and takes this idea as the core of its religious doctrine.

Taoism believes that "essence", "vital energy" and "spirit" are all caused by the principle of "The Tao begets one, one begets two, two begets three, and three begets all things". All things in heaven and earth are born from the "Tao". Therefore, in the Taoist philosophy of life, life is the embodiment of the cosmic origin, the "Tao", and it can even be said that life and the "Tao" are one and the same.

Since life originates from the "Tao", it can be said that the individual life reflects the universal "Tao". Therefore, the pursuit of a long life is also a process of attaining the Tao. As Sima Chengzhen said: "What people value most is life, and what life values most is the Tao. For people, having the Tao is like a fish having water."