, to have reached the deeper life. The desire for
             immortality sharply contrasts Buddhist values; the Buddhist appreciates impermanence
             above all else. The after life for a Taoist is to be in harmony with the universe, to have
             achieved Tao (Watts, 1957). To understand the relationship between life, and the Taoism
             concept of life and death, the origin of the word Tao must be understood. The Chinese
             character for Tao is a combination of two characters that represent the words head and
             foot. The character for foot represents the idea of a person's direction or path. The
             character for head represents the idea of conscious choice. The character for head also
             suggests a beginning, and foot, an ending. Thus the character for Tao also conveys the
             continuing course of the universe, the circle of heaven and earth. This is similar in
             Buddhism, where wheels and circle symbols are prevalent, representing continuity, and
             the cyclic nature of the world. Finally, the character for Tao represents the Taoist idea
             that the eternal Tao is both moving and unmoving. The head in the character means the
             beginning, the source of all things, or Tao itself, which never moves or changes; the foot
             is the movement on the path (Schipper, 1978). Taoism upholds the belief in the survival
             of the spirit after death. This is something most Buddhist practitioners either disagree
             with entirely, or simply refuse to discuss at all.
             "To have attained the human form must be always a source of joy. And then to
             undergo countless transitions, with only the infinite to look forward to, what comparable
             bliss is that! Therefore it is that the truly wise rejoice in, that which can never be lost, but
             endures always" (Watts, 1957, p90). Taoist believe birth is not a beginning, death is not
             an end. There is an existence without limit. There is continuity without a starting point.
             Applying reincarnation theory to Taoism is the belief that ...