Taoism pursues "cultivating both life and nature". What exactly is it? It can also be used by ordinary people.

  In Taoist thought, there is a famous technical term called "cultivating both life and nature", which belongs to the cultivation theory and practice method of Taoist "internal alchemy cultivation technique" and is also one of the important signs that distinguishes Taoism from Confucianism and Buddhism. Taoists usually cultivate their moral character through this method.
What is "cultivating both life and nature"?

  To sum it up in one sentence, it means: comprehensively cultivating the body and mind to reach the supreme and perfect state of body and spirit.
What is considered a perfect state? According to Taoism, it is to reach the great realm of "harmony between man and nature", allowing oneself to sublimate into a part of nature and integrating the heavenly way with the self.
 

In the eyes of Taoists, everything in the world does not exist independently. The universe and people are connected by qi. People communicate with all things in the universe through their own essence, qi, and spirit. As the saying goes, "Heaven and earth are born together with me, and all things are one with me." I am not an independent "me". A single action of "me" can affect anything other than "me".

  From a secular perspective, the specific meanings of "nature" and "life" in "cultivating both life and nature" can actually be seen from their character formation methods.
 

"Nature" is a pictophonetic character. In oracle bone inscriptions, it is written by combining two single characters, "heart" and "life". Later, as Chinese characters were continuously simplified, the "heart" on the left became a "vertical heart radical", and the writing method was fixed from then on.
 

The "Explanation of Characters" explains the character "nature" as follows: The yang qi of people is those who are naturally kind. It is composed of the radical "heart" and the phonetic component "life". The radical "life" is added with a vertical heart radical to represent the natural germination or innate desires of human beings.

  Taoist philosophy borrows the original meaning of the character "nature" and supplements it, specifically referring to abstract things such as people's temperament, disposition, character, thought, consciousness, spirit, and will.
 

The character "life" in the "Explanation of Characters" is a borrowed character. Its writing in oracle bone inscriptions is the same as the character "order". Its original meaning refers to issuing orders and instructions, expressing abstract things. Later, it evolved the meaning of "great destiny, heavenly destiny", that is, the order issued by heaven to human beings. Later, the meaning of "fate" is derived from "heavenly destiny", and then the meanings of life, lifespan, body, flesh, and matter are derived.

  Taoist philosophy borrows the extended meaning of the character "life" and specifically refers to a person's visible life form.
 

"cultivating both life and nature" means cultivating both internally and externally, unifying self-cultivation and nourishing nature, completing the dual cultivation of body and essence, qi, and spirit. One is active and one is still. "Activity" cultivates the body, and "stillness" nourishes the spirit. For a living being, "with qi, one is a person; without qi, one is a corpse." Therefore, the body cannot be without qi, and qi cannot be separated from the body. When qi is sufficient, the spirit is prosperous. When the spirit is prosperous, essence is sufficient. Refining essence into qi, and so on, is the great realm of the Tao.
 

Many people have a prejudice against Taoist thought, thinking that Taoists are people who are detached from the world, unrestrained, and like floating clouds and wild cranes. In fact, this is not the case.
In Taoist philosophy, there are similar sayings to "cultivating both life and nature" such as "cultivating the Tao and nourishing virtue, internal cultivation and external practice". That is to say, in terms of the view of life, Taoism follows both being in the world and being detached from the world.
Nourishing virtue and external cultivation is the shaping and cultivation of moral character. Internal cultivation is the tempering and sublimation of the mind.
It is not enough to pay attention to personal "nourishing virtue" and "internal cultivation". Only by making it play its due role can the meaning of cultivating the Tao be completed.
 

Specifically, people who cultivate the Tao should always maintain a kind heart and put their kindness into practical actions. Only in this way can they accumulate virtue. According to Taoism, one can "become an immortal by accumulating virtue".
 

In the process of doing good deeds, one must let go of one's utilitarianism and obsession and do it in a state of no intention and no greed, just like "water benefits all things without contending". Do not seek any return. When doing good deeds becomes a habit and is done every day, then unknowingly, one's internal and external cultivation will progress every day, and one truly achieves the purpose of cultivation.
 

Taoism's view on "life" is completely opposite to some ideological doctrines.
Some ideological doctrines believe that a person's lifespan and premature death are determined by heaven. Life and death are determined by fate, and wealth and honor are in the hands of heaven. Taoism's view on this issue is very insightful. The ancient book "Xisheng Jing" says, "My life is in my own hands, not in the hands of heaven."
Taoism emphasizes that as long as one persists in cultivation and says no to the passive thought of resigning to fate, conforming to nature, and using one's wisdom to grasp the laws of nature from it, one will eventually reach a great realm.
 

The biggest difference, or the greatest advantage, between Taoist thought and other religious thoughts lies in that Taoism "rejoices in life and despises death". It believes that life is rare. It is not easy for a person to come into the world. Being alive is a happy thing, and death brings pain. In life, one should do one's best to pursue the joy and meaning of living. Therefore, one should grasp life well, keep the body and mind healthy, strive to live out one's natural lifespan, and regard immortality as the highest ideal and goal in life.
"If I don't transcend this body in this life, when will I transcend it?"
 

Precisely because of this, we will see that in history, many people will spare no effort to pursue immortality. There are Taoists, ordinary people, and emperors and generals, such as Qin Shi Huang, Han Wu Di, Tang Tai Zong, Tang Xuan Zong, Song Hui Zong, Ming Shi Zong, Yong Zheng, and so on. Because the temptation of being alive is so great, wasting life is a kind of original sin.
If we connect "cultivating both life and nature" with real life, we can find that it has very important guiding significance for real life and has far exceeded the scope of Taoist philosophy. In fields such as traditional Chinese medicine, health care, nourishing life, and sports, it is playing an increasingly important role and has become an inseparable part of traditional culture.

  For individuals, "cultivating both life and nature" is an important mark for promoting personal mental and physical maturity. Truly mature people not only have a healthy body but also have full essence, qi, and spirit, broad-mindedness, and can contain all things. They are very mature in terms of character, thought, and temperament. They can be indifferent to praise or blame towards all things, be able to pick up and put down. In the face of unfavorable environments, they will not forcefully try to change but will actively adapt and seek a kind of tranquility in this process.