environment.harvard.edu/religi...daoism/

The hermeneutical principle on which Daoist religious practice rests, however, is that of the mutual interpenetration of all dimensions of being, with the body as the most important field for the interaction of cosmic forces. Properly visualized within the body, gods dwell in their palaces, the constellations of the heavens are made manifest, and a pure and refined Qi comes to flow. From this mysterious energy the embryonic immortal body is generated and the adept is eventually reborn as a celestial immortal.

This biospiritual practice is dependent upon traditional Chinese medical theory that views the body as a complex system of interacting energy circuits. Illness, broadly speaking, is symptomatic of some defect of circulation, perhaps a blockage or a seepage or an excess. Religion therefore is not the denial or the overcoming of physical existence, but its gradual refinement to an infinitesimal point.