Within Taoist thought, death is generally understood as a natural transformation within the ceaseless flow of the Tao rather than a final extinction or a moral reckoning. Life and death are seen as alternating phases in the same cosmic process, comparable to the changing of seasons or water shifting from liquid to vapor. The physical form dissolves and returns to its constituent elements, while what animates it continues in another mode of existence. Fear of death is regarded as arising from attachment and a failure to perceive this broader pattern, whereas the sage meets death with equanimity, even a kind of quiet humor, recognizing it as harmonious with the Way.

Regarding what follows death, classical Taoist texts tend to remain reticent about detailed descriptions of an afterlife, directing attention instead to living in accord with the Tao here and now. Over time, however, religious Taoism developed more elaborate visions of postmortem existence, including multiple heavens, underworld realms, and spiritual bureaucracies in which merits and faults are recorded and balanced. Some traditions speak of realms of purification or judgment, others of the continued circulation and transformation of qi in subtler states. Yet across these variations, the central concern is not a single, fixed destination but the ongoing adjustment of beings within the larger cosmic order.

The Taoist discourse on immortality is similarly layered, ranging from philosophical reflection to esoteric practice and mythic imagery. On one level, “immortality” can signify a spiritual or psychological freedom from the fear of death, attained by aligning so fully with the Tao that the narrow sense of a separate self dissolves into the timeless process that underlies all change. On another level, many religious schools describe methods for greatly extending life and refining the body–mind through the cultivation of qi, including meditation, regulated breathing, diet, moral discipline, and both external and internal alchemy. In these traditions, the ideal of the *xian*, or “immortal,” evokes a being whose refined vitality transcends ordinary decay and may dwell in more rarefied realms. Tales of immortals, whether taken literally or symbolically, serve to illustrate the possibility of a life so attuned to the Tao that the usual boundaries between life and death lose their sting.