What is the unity of shape and spirit?
In Daoism, the human body is referred to as the physical form while the spirit is the Primordial Spirit, and the Yang spirit also belongs to the Primordial Spirit.
Daoism advocates that shape and spirit are inseparable, and they must be combined in some way.
Generally speaking, there are two forms of the unity of shape and spirit.
One is when the shape and spirit unite and the form is still visible, which can be called unity of shape and spirit in reality.
The other is when the shape and spirit unite and become formless and invisible, which can be called unity of shape and spirit in void.
The unity of shape and spirit in void is known as feathering into an immortal, where the Primordial Spirit becomes immortal, and the entire person transcends beyond the Three Realms, no longer within the Five Elements.
For example, Liu Haichan, one of the Five North Patriarchs of the Quanzhen Sect, is an example of feathering into an immortal.
