The doctrines and teachings of Taoism form an organic whole. Fundamentally, the teachings and rules of Taoism cannot be easily distinguished from the text. The spiritual essence of the doctrines and teachings is to teach people what to believe in, what the highest level of belief is, what kind of cultivation rules to follow, how to restrain and regulate behavior, and ultimately to make cultivation and belief conform to the requirements of the doctrines and teachings, and not deviate from the purpose of the doctrines. “Yun zhi qi zhong - the original meaning of Taoism” once said: “Teaching is to use language, reason and meaning to tell.” Regarding the difference between doctrine and teaching, Mr. Chen Yingning said in his book: Every religion must have a belief, and there must be a reason for belief. Using language and words to explain this reason so that people can understand and easily get started is what religious people call "doctrine"; teaching is based on religious classics and is presented concisely and generally in a few words or sentences as a guideline for believers' daily thoughts and actions. It can fit all “doctrines” and there is no obvious conflict. Mr. Chen Yingning's distinction will help us understand the doctrines and teachings. From the perspective of Taoist history, the doctrines as the main essence of Taoism remain unchanged, but the doctrinal ideas are constantly enriched and developed with the development of society, because the purpose of religious enlightenment is to save people, and saving people requires teachings that are tailored to people and the times. It is necessary to continuously enrich and develop the doctrinal ideas without violating the doctrines, and play a positive role in social development.

道教的教理教义，是一个有机的整体，从根本上说，不好从文字上给予分别。教理教义的精神本质，就是教导人们信仰什么，信仰的最高境界是什么，遵循怎样一个修行的法则，行为如何约束和规范，最终使修行和信仰符合教理教义的要求，不偏离教义宗旨。《云笈七签·道教本始部》中曾说：“教者，告也，有言有理有义。”对教理教义的分别，陈撄宁先生在其著述中说：凡是一种宗教，必有一种信仰，有信仰必有所以信仰之理由，用语言文字来说明这个理由，使人们能够了解而容易入门者，这就是宗教家所谓“教理”；某一种宗教，根据本教中经典著作，扼要的并概括的提出几个字句或几句话作为信徒们平日思想和行动的准则，而且对于全部“教理”都可以契合，不显然发生抵触者，这就是宗教家所谓“教义”。陈撄宁先生的这一分别，将有利于帮助我们理解教理教义。从道教历史的角度来观察，教理作为道教的宗本要义是不变的，教义思想随社会的发展，却是在不断丰富和发展的，因为宗教教化的目的是度人，度人就要因人因时而设教，是需要在不违背教理的情况下，对教义思想不断丰富和发展，并在社会发展中发挥积极作用。