From the Fundamentals of Philosophical Taoism to the Inner Alchemy of Religious Taoism

The communion of the Tao and life 生道合- is a fundamental piece that Taoists must observe when developing their theory of the Tao. Taoist inner alchemy was just the concrete manifestation of the communion of the Tao and life. This chapter focuses on relationship between the theory of communion of the Tao and life and Taoist inner alchemy. The link between the realization of the Tao and longevity was the basis of philosophical Taoism's theories. Taoist philosophers had a particular point of view in regard to the human body. They took it as a biological coherent entity and analyzed it with three basic elements: jing , qi , and shen . These three elements became two basic notions for philosophical Taoism and Taoist inner alchemy. Keywords:human body; inner alchemy; jing ; longevity; qi ; Tao; Taoism