As a result, starting with cinnabar elixirs and mystical techniques designed to ensure immortality, Taoism in due course assimilated the spiritual exercises of Zen Buddhism and Neo-Confucianism. As it transformed itself into a widespread popular belief it thus became an integral part of the lives of the common folk.
於是，道家的生命探求從服食丹藥、修煉內丹，到後來與佛教禪宗的心性修行、儒家淑世的倫理道德結合，日漸通俗化、融入百姓生活。