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Chapter 1 Introduction ------1 Copyright Warning Use of this thesis/dissertation/project is for the purpose of private study or scholarly research only. Users must comply with the Copyright Ordinance. Anyone who consults this thesis/dissertation/project is understood to recognise that its copyright rests with its author and that no part of it may be reproduced without the author’s prior written consent. CITY UNIVERSITY OF HONG KONG 香港城市大學 CHINESE TRADITIONAL SECTS IN MODERN SOCIETY: A CASE STUDY OF YIGUAN DAO 當代社會中的中國傳統教派：一貫道研究 Submitted to Department of Applied Social Studies 應用社會科學系 in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy 哲學博士學位 by Yunfeng Lu 盧云峰 January 2005 二零零五年一月 i ABSTRACT This study extends the religious economy model to analyzing the operation of Yiguan Dao, a modern successor of Chinese traditional sects. At the individual level, this thesis proposes that the reasons for people’s conversion to Yiguan Dao are a complex of individual rationality, missionary efforts and state suppression. This study also finds that religious experiences, which are deeply personal phenomena, are also influenced by competition in the religious markets. At the group level, this research reveals that Yiguan Dao tried its best to fight against schismatic tendencies, update its theological explanations, and reform its organizational structure to make the sect more theology- centered and more organizationally stabilized, after the sect gained its legal status in 1987. On the macro level, this research analyzes the Chinese religious markets in which Yiguan Dao is located, arguing that Chinese sects bridge, and at the same time are shaped by, the popular religion and the three religions, namely Confucianism, Buddhism, and Taoism. Thus, this in-depth study of Yiguan Dao illuminates important aspects of Chinese sects in the modern society. ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I have been helped and encouraged by many people during the course of my research. The first and most recognition must go to my supervisor, Dr. Graeme Lang, for his guidance, patience and encouragement. He has sustained my interest in sociology of religion and has enhanced my academic insights over the years of my apprenticeship in Hong Kong. This thesis’s intellectual debt to him is self-evident. I also would like to thank the members of my supervision panel members: Dr. Vivienne Wee and Dr. Xiaodong Yue, for their enthusiastic encouragement and continuous support on my research. When I stayed in Taiwan in 2002, I had the good fortune to meet and consult many knowledgeable and generous scholars, including Dr. Yang Hongren, Dr. Wang Jianchuan, Prof. Chen Zhirou, Prof. Song Guangyu, Prof. Qu Haiyuan, Prof. Lin Meirong, Prof. Lin Benxuan, Prof. Ding Renjie, and Prof. Zhang Xun. I am also indebted to Mr. Xiao Jiazheng, Miss Liu Yijun, Miss Zhong Yunyin, Miss Lv Qiuluan, Mr. Lin Jinsheng, Mr. Guo Mingyi and Mr. Li Yuzhu. Without their active cooperation and kindly help, I would have been unable to gather enough data to write this thesis. The field work, on the basis of which this thesis is produced, was conducted when I was being financially supported by City University of Hong Kong to work as a visiting student of Institute of Sociology, Academia Sinica, Taiwan. Special thanks go to the two institutes. Finally, I would like to thank my parents, and especially my wife, Weiwei. Without her love and support, this thesis would not be completed. iii LIST OF TABLES Table 1.1 Temples I Visited during my Fieldwork ----------------------------------------13 Table 3.1 A comparison between Yiguan Dao’s announcement and the state’s charges ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------62 Table 4.1 Religious Switching on Taiwan (1) ---------------------------------------------- 91 Table 4.2 Religious Switching on Taiwan (2) ---------------------------------------------- 91 Table 4.3 Research courses in Fayi Lingyin (in 1992) --------------------------------------94 Table 4.4 the contents of Ming-de Course --------------------------------------------------- 96 Table 4.5 The contents of Xin-min course ----------------------------------------------------97 Table 4.6 Contents of Zhi-shan course --------------------------------------------------------98 Table 4.7 Contents of Xuan-de course--------------------------------------------------------- 99 Table 4.8 Contents of the course for classic studies (1) ------------------------------------100 Table 4.9 Contents of the course for classic studies (2) ------------------------------------101 Table 4.10: Religious meeting in Fayi Lingyin --------------------------------------------- 102 Table 5.1 A partial list of “Heterodox” groups of Yiguan Dao ---------------------------144 Table 5.2 A partial list of Qigong organizations originating in Taiwan -----------------156 Table 5.3 A partial list of meditation group imported from India ------------------------156 Table 5.4 Island-wide Buddhist organizations registered in Ministry of Interior-------157 Table 5.5 Four influential new religions which centered on meditation -----------------157 Table 7.1 The divisions of YGD and the numbers of their Buddha halls---------------- 221 iv TABLE OF CONTENTS Abstract -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- i Acknowledgements ------------------------------------------------------------------------ ii List of Tables --------------------------------------------------------------------------------iii Chapter 1 Introduction --------------------------------------------------------------------1 1.1 The Religious Economy Model and China Study ---------------------------------- 1 1.2 A Brief Review of Previous Studies on Yiguan Dao ------------------------------- 7 1.3 Aims of the Study -----------------------------------------------------------------------11 1.4 Methodology ------------------------------------------------------------------------ ----12 1.5 Organization of the Thesis -------------------------------------------------------------16 PART I: HISTORICAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL BACKGROUND----------21 Chapter 2 Yiguan Dao on the Chinese Mainland ------------------------------------ 21 2.1 A Brief History of China’s Sectarian Movements ----------------------------------21 2.2 A History of Yiguan Dao ---------------------------------------------------------------23 2.3 The Yiguan Dao Pantheon ------------------------------------------------------------- 26 2.3.1 The Eternal Venerable Mother ---------------------------------------------------26 2.3.2 The Jigong Living Buddha ------------------------------------------------------- 31 2.3.3 Other deities -------------------------------------------------------------------------33 2.4 The YGD Theology ----------------------------------------------------------------------36 2.4.1 The YGD Cosmology --------------------------------------------------------------37 2.4.2 The YGD Eschatology ------------------------------------------------------------38 2.4.3 The YGD Salvationism -------------------------------------------------------------40 v 2.4.4 The YGD Syncretism --------------------------------------------------------------44 2.5 Rituals ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 47 2.5.1 Wang Jueyi’s Reformation ------------------------------------------------------- 47 2.5.2 Zhang Tianran’s Contributions ------------------------------------------------- 49 2.6 Organization and Missionary Activities ---------------------------------------------- 51 2.7 Discussion and Conclusion -------------------------------------------------------------55 Chapter 3 Yiguan Dao on Taiwan ---------------------------------------------------- 57 3.1 Yiguan Dao under Suppression on Taiwan --------------------------------------58 3.2 The Unintended Consequences of Religious Suppression --------------------- 65 3.2.1 Suppression Facilitating Innovations ---------------------------------------- 65 3.2.2 Suppression Increasing Religious Rewards -------------------------------- 74 3.2.3 Suppression Reducing the Risk of Religious Commodities --------------77 3.2.4 Suppression Reducing Free Riding ------------------------------ ---------- 80 3.3 The Growth of YGD under Suppression ------------------------------ ---------- 83 3.4 Discussion and Conclusion ------------------------------ --------------------------- 84 PART II: ORGANIZATIONAL INFLUENCE ON THE RELIGIOUS INDIVIDUAL ------------------------------ ---------------------------------------- 89 Chapter 4 Managing to Educate: Religious Commitment within Yiguan Dao --89 4.1 From Popular Religion to Yiguan Dao --------------------------------------------- 90 4.2 Research Courses of Yiguan Dao ------------------------------------------------------93 4.3 Dharma Assemblies of Yiguan Dao---------------------------------------------------104 4.4 The mechanism of vows ---------------------------------------------------------------109 4.4.1 Removing Bad Habits and Refining Bad Temper ------------------------------111 vi 4.4.2 Prioritizing Holy Affairs over Worldly Matter-------------------------------115 4.4.3 Leading People to Receive the Dao ---------------------------------------- 117 4.4.4 Becoming A Vegetarian -------------------------------------------------------119 4.5 Discussions and Conclusions -------------------------------------------------------120 Chapter 5 Market Forces and Religious Experiences -----------------------------125 5.1 Sociological Theory
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