Taoism and Death

Taoism And Death

There is significant scholarly debate about the Taoist understanding of death. The process of death itself is described as shijie or "release from the corpse", but what happens after is described variously as transformation, immortality or ascension to heaven. For example, the Yellow Emperor was said to have ascended directly to heaven in plain sight, while the thaumaturge Ye Fashan was said to have transformed into a sword and then into a column of smoke which rose to heaven.

Religious Taoism holds that the body is filled with spirits and monsters, and prescribes a number of rituals that must be performed so that these spirits are able to guard the body. When the spirits leave the body then there is nothing to protect it from illness so it weakens and dies. Taoism is also known for people believing that there is eternal life. In Taoism when one dies if they need to be contacted it is done so through meditation by an alchemist. In Taoism death is seen as just another phase in life, something that must happen and that we must all accept. People believe if they do what they have to do and are supposed to do then when they die they will be granted immortality.