Editing Soul (section)

===Taoism===
In [[Taoism]], the idea of the "soul" is not a single, unchanging entity like in many Western traditions. Instead, it is seen as a dynamic balance of energies. Two key parts are the [[hun and po|''hun'' and ''po'']]. The ''hun'' is the "ethereal soul", linked to light, spiritual awareness, and the mind. It is considered yang ('active, upward energy') and is said to depart the body after death. The ''po'' is the "corporeal soul", tied to the body, instincts, and physical senses. It is yin ('passive, earthly energy') and stays with the body after death, dissolving back into the earth over time.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Robinet |first=Isabelle |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9e7wzgEACAAJ |title=Taoism: Growth of a Religion |date=2022 |publisher=Stanford University Press |isbn=978-0-8047-6494-0 |language=en}}</ref>

There is significant scholarly debate about the [[Taoism|Taoist]] understanding of [[death]].<ref name=EoB>{{citation|title= Encyclopedia of Bioethics|page=2467|author=Warren T. Reich|year=1995|publisher=Simon & Schuster Macmillan |isbn=978-0-02-897355-5|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bmaoP_Azp-4C}}</ref>  The process of death itself is described as ''[[Shijie (Daoism)|shijie]]'' or "release from the corpse", but what happens after is described variously as [[Spiritual transformation|transformation]], [[immortality]] or ascension of the soul to [[Tian|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.<ref name=eoT>{{citation|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=t8h8myrpxAUC&pg=PA896|title=The encyclopedia of Taoism|chapter=shijie|author=Russell Kirkland|publisher=Routledge|year=2008|isbn=978-0-7007-1200-7}}</ref>

Taoist texts such as the [[Zhuangzi (book)|Zhuangzi]] suggest the soul is not separate from the natural world but part of the flow of the Tao (the universal principle). One passage states, "Heaven and earth were born at the same time I was, and the ten thousand things are one with me."<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Complete Works of Chuang Tzu translated by Burton Watson, Terebess Asia Online (TAO) |url=https://terebess.hu/english/chuangtzu.html#2 |access-date=2025-04-15 |website=terebess.hu}}</ref> Similarly, the ''[[Tao Te Ching|Daodejing]]'' teaches that harmony with the Tao dissolves rigid boundaries between self and cosmos: "Returning to one's roots is known as stillness. This is what is meant by returning to one's destiny."<ref>{{Cite web |title=Chapter-16-Commentary |url=https://www.centertao.org/essays/tao-te-ching/dc-lau/chapter-16-commentary/ |access-date=2025-04-15 |website=www.centertao.org}}</ref>