The Three Kingdoms Period saw the rise of the Xuanxue (Mysterious Learning or Deep Wisdom) tradition, which focused on philosophical inquiry and integrated Confucian teachings with Taoist thought. The movement included scholars like Wang Bi (226–249), He Yan (d. 249), Xiang Xiu (223?–300), Guo Xiang (d. 312), and Pei Wei (267–300). [62] Another later influential figure was the 4th century alchemist Ge Hong, who wrote a key Taoist work on inner cultivation, the Baopuzi ( Master Embracing Simplicity). [63] Becoming an immortal through the power of yin-yang and heaven, but also specifically Taoist interpretations of the Tao, was sometimes thought of as possible in Chinese folk religion, [196] and Taoist thoughts on immortality were sometimes drawn from Confucian views on heaven and its status as an afterlife that permeates the mortal world as well. Cāntóng qì ( Kinship of the Three)—one of the earliest sources on Daoist internal alchemy (neidan). Further information: School of Naturalists, Qi, and Taoism and death Zhou Dunyi's (1017–1073 CE) cosmological Taijitu diagram. The red circle is the formless Wuji which gives birth to "the two" – yin and yang (i.e. taiji).

Yinfu jing ( Scripture on the Inner Talisman), a 6th century CE text that was adopted by Quanzen school as one of their key scriptures. [310] The Baopuzi neipian ( Inner Chapters of Master Embracing Simplicity) a work attributed to Ge Hong, also known as Baopu ( Master who embraces simplicity). This text is a major source for Shangqing Daoism and its inner-cultivation practices. [306] Apophatic or quietistic meditation, which was the main method of classical Daoism and can be found in classic texts like the Zhuangzi, where it is termed "fasting the heartmind" (xinzhai). [264] This practice is also variously termed "embracing the one" (baoyi), "guarding the one" (shouyi), "quiet sitting" (jingzuo), and "sitting forgetfulness" ( zuowang). [265] According to Louis Komjathy, this type of meditation "emphasizes emptiness and stillness; it is contentless, non-conceptual, and non-dualistic. One simply empties the heart-mind of all emotional and intellectual content." [265] The texts of classical Daoism state that this meditation leads to the dissolution of the self and any sense of separate dualistic identity. [266] Sima Chengzhen's Zuowang lun is a key text that outlines this method. [266] The practice is also closely connected with the virtue of wuwei (inaction). [267]Some Taoists thought of the human body as a spiritual nexus with thousands of shen [177] (often 36,000), [262] gods who were likely thought of as at least somewhat mental in nature because of the word's other meaning of consciousness, that could be communed with by doing various methods to manipulate the yin and yang of the body, as well as its qi. [177] These Taoists also thought of the human body as a metaphorical existence where three " cinnabar fields" [177] that represented a higher level of reality and/or a spiritual kind of cinnabar that does not exist in normal reality. A method of meditation used by these Taoists was "visualizing light" that was thought to be qi or another kind of life energy a Taoist substituted for qi [177] or believed in the existence of instead. The light was then channeled through the three cinnabar fields, forming a "microcosmic orbit" or through the hands and feet for a "macrocosmic orbit". [177]

Daoist theology can be defined as apophatic, given its philosophical emphasis on the formlessness and unknowable nature of the Dao, and the primacy of the "Way" rather than anthropomorphic concepts of God. Nearly all the sects share this core belief. [59] Daoists also generally see all things as being animated and constituted by qi (vital air, subtle breath), which is seen as a force that circulates throughout the universe and throughout human bodies (as both air in the lungs and as a subtle breath throughout the body's meridians and organs). [222] Qi is in constant transformation between its condensed state (life) and diluted state (potential). [223] These two different states of qi are embodiments of yin and yang, [223] two complementary forces that constantly play against and with each other and where one cannot exist without the other. [224]Taoists who sought to become one of the many different types of immortals, such as xian or zhenren, wanted to "ensure complete physical and spiritual immortality". [38] Another important early Taoist movement was Taiqing (Great Clarity), which was a tradition of external alchemy (weidan) that sought immortality through the concoction of elixirs, often using toxic elements like cinnabar, lead, mercury, and realgar, as well as ritual and purificatory practices. [61] Early Taoism drew on the ideas found in the religion of the Shang dynasty and the Zhou dynasty, such as their use of divination, ancestor worship, and the idea of Heaven ( Tian) and its relationship to humanity. [5] According to modern scholars of Taoism, such as Kirkland and Livia Kohn, Taoist philosophy also developed by drawing on numerous schools of thought from the Warring States Period (4th to 3rd centuries BCE), including Mohism, Confucianism, Legalist theorists (like Shen Buhai and Han Fei, which speak of Wu wei), the School of Naturalists (from which Taoism draws its main cosmological ideas, yin and yang and the five phases), and the Chinese classics, especially the I Ching and the Lüshi Chunqiu. [4] [5] [6]

Observation (guan)—according to Livia Kohn, this method "encourages openness to all sorts of stimuli and leads to a sense of free-flowing awareness. It often begins with the recognition of physical sensations and subtle events in the body but may also involve paying attention to outside occurrences." [268] Guan is associated with deep listening and energetic sensitivity. [269] The term most often refers to "inner observation" (neiguan), a practice that developed through Buddhist influence (see: Vipaśyanā). [255] Neiguan entails developing introspection of one's body and mind, which includes being aware of the various parts of the body as well as the various deities residing in the body. [263] The Zhuangzi uses anecdotes, parables, and dialogues to express one of its main themes—avoiding cultural constructs and instead living in a spontaneous way aligned with the natural world. [297] [298] This way of living might be perceived as "useless" by most people who follow their own "common sense" and social and political rules, but this uselessness is actually a wiser alternative, since it is more in accord with reality. [299] Chinese classics [ edit ] Daoist deity Zhenwu with the Eight Trigrams ( bagua) from the Yijing and the Northern Dipper, surrounded by Daoist talismans. Emperor Xuanzong (r. 712–755) was also a devoted Taoist who wrote various Taoist works, and according to Livia Kohn, "had frequent meetings with senior masters, ritual specialists, Taoist poets, and official patriarchs, such as Sima Chengzhen." [81] He reorganized imperial rituals based on Taoist forms, sponsored Taoist shrines and monasteries, and introduced a separate examination system based on Taoism. [81] Another important Taoist figure of the Tang dynasty was Lu Dongbin, who is considered the founder of the jindan meditation tradition and an influential figure in the development of neidan (internal alchemy) practice. The Taoist Canon ( 道藏, Treasury of Tao) is also referred to as the Daozang. It was originally compiled during the Jin, Tang, and Song dynasties. The extant version was published during the Ming Dynasty. [313] The Ming Daozang includes almost 1,500 texts. [314] Following the example of the Buddhist Tripiṭaka, it is divided into three dong ( 洞, "caves" or "grottoes"). They are arranged from "highest" to "lowest": [315] On the other hand, traditionally minded Taoists in the West are often either ethnically Chinese or generally assume some level of sinification, especially the adoption of Chinese language and culture. This is because, for most traditional Taoists, the religion is not seen as separate from Chinese ethnicity and culture. As such, most Western convert Taoist groups are led either by Chinese teachers or by teachers who studied with Chinese teachers. [125] Some prominent Western Taoist associations include: Associacion de Taoism de España, Association Francaise Daoiste, British Daoist Association, Daoist Foundation (San Diego, California), American Taoist and Buddhist Association (New York), Ching Chung Taoist Association (San Francisco), Universal Society of the Integral Way (Ni Hua-Ching), and Sociedade Taoista do Brasil. [126]The Tao is not God and is not worshipped. Taoism does include many deities, but although these are worshipped in Taoist temples, they are part of the universe and depend, like everything, on the Tao. This role of Taoist priests reflects the definition of Taoism as a " liturgical framework for the development of local cults", in other words a scheme or structure for Chinese religion, proposed first by the scholar and Taoist initiate Kristofer Schipper in The Taoist Body (1986). [26] Taoshi are comparable to the non-Taoist ritual masters( 法師) of vernacular traditions (the so-called Faism) within Chinese religion. [26] Taking up and living by sets of ethical precepts is another important practice in Taoism. By the Tang dynasty, Daoism had created a system of lay discipleship in which one took a set of Ten precepts (Taoism). Different branches of Daoism often have differing pantheons of lesser deities, where these deities reflect different notions of cosmology. [235] Lesser deities also may be promoted or demoted for their activity. [236] Some varieties of popular Chinese religion incorporate the Jade Emperor ( Yü-Huang or Yü-Di), one of the Three Pure Ones, as the highest God. Historical Daoist figures, and people who are considered to have become immortals ( xian), are also venerated as well by both clergy and laypeople. [237] Daoist cosmology is cyclic—the universe is seen as being in constant change, with various forces and energies (qi) affecting each other in different complex patterns. [214] [215] [144] Daoist cosmology shares similar views with the School of Naturalists. [6] Daoist cosmology focuses on the impersonal transformations (zaohua) of the universe, which are spontaneous and unguided. [216]