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Daoism and Cct

Religious Beliefs

What do Daoists believe about the goal of human life?

Although the principal early sacred texts do not discuss prospects of life after death explicitly, the question of immortality turned into an important issue for Daoists. Archaeological evidence from well over three thousand years ago suggests that many people believed in some sort of survival after death, but that apparently meant a kind of extended earthly existence. Religious Daoism does not always make the distinction some traditions make between life here and life hereafter. Some Daoists have held views not unlike those of many Christians, believing that at death, “Life is changed, not taken away.” But many have argued that if indeed life is a seamless reality, it may be possible to go on indefinitely without crossing that great divide called death. Whatever specific imagery Daoists have used to describe the nature of human life, the underlying point is that the tradition has been keenly interested in promoting a sense of vitality and in helping adherents to develop a positive attitude toward the human condition generally.



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