1 Introduction

Dao is not a religion, it’s a belief sent by God to help us. (Taiwanese Yiguandao activist speaking to South African neophytes, Cape Town, November 2017)

When I first started my research about the Yiguandao religious movement 一貫道 (“Way of Pervading Unity,” emic transcription: I-Kuan Tao), questions of believing and faith were rarely raised during the conversations I had with Dao followers, and they were also barely touched by the existing scholarship. Rather, issues related to the “Dao” (i.e., the one universal and eternal cosmic truth), individual cultivation, and moral conduct were the “hot” topics to be discussed and expounded by Yiguandao activists as well as in the literature. However, after I began to dig deeper into the vast corpus of Yiguandao writings that consists of patriarchal genealogies, ritual handbooks, brochures, moral tractates, and a great number of spirit revelations, it appeared that “belief” plays a crucial role in its discourses about moral cultivation, proper conduct, and religious practice. Thus, belief is not only considered the very foundation of human thinking and behaving, but it is also associated with civility, morality, and salvation. Furthermore, the modern world as supposedly lacking this form of belief is regarded as materialistic, without purpose, and simply lost.

In this chapter, I seek to trace the patterns and topics in Yiguandao discourses about belief/faith from early twentieth-century China to contemporary Taiwan and beyond. The Yiguandao religious movement came into being in late nineteenth-century Shandong Province and it exhibits an innovative synthesis of the Three Teachings (Confucianism, Buddhism, and Daoism), sectarian traditions, and popular religious influences. In addition, Yiguandao teachings proclaim to include Christianity and Islam in what is perceived of as the unity of the Five Teachings.¹ I shall begin my investigation by exploring discourses and practices related to belief/faith in the late imperial period milieu of popular sects, from which Yiguandao emerged. This is to demonstrate that Ming and Qing sectarian writings already exhibit a relatively explicit semantic binary of belief-salvation and disbelief-doom, and that these codes inform the discussion in Yiguandao and other sectarian groups to this day. In Section 3, I shall reconstruct the basic topics and patterns in the early phase of Yiguandao’s development from a regional religious tradition to a nationwide movement by the end of the 1940s. I argue that all major themes about belief were already fundamentally raised and discussed during this period. In this third section I will deal with the period after 1949, when Yiguandao was banned in the People’s Republic of China but was able to establish itself as a major religious tradition in Taiwan. I show that the already existing discourse about belief has been both continued and enriched since the 1950s. In the fourth part, I shall outline a counter-discourse that appears to have emerged particularly in recent decades. This new line of reasoning builds on the internal distinction made between Dao and religion, according to which the Dao as the universal truth is to be separated from religious belief, i.e., the incomplete interpretations of this truth by humans. Finally, I will summarize and contextualize my findings in the conclusion.

Throughout the chapter, I maintain an open approach to the topic by contextualizing and interpreting the terminology for each case. This is to assure that no a priori understanding of the Chinese terms will affect the analysis. Thus, Yiguandao materials not only employ a variety of terms including xin 信, xinxin 信心, and xinyang 信仰 in a positive sense, or mixin 迷信 and xiexin 邪信 in a negative. But also, the meanings of the Chinese term xin such as (1) trustworthiness, (2) belief and faith, and even (3) letter are often very much entangled in the discussions. Because Yiguandao discourses about belief are thus profoundly influenced by various intellectual, religious, political, and scientific debates, this specific case also highlights the interaction between various fields of knowledge (including religious groups and traditions, but also political, philosophical, and even scientific fields).

2 The Late Imperial Connection: Ming-Qing Sectarian Accounts on “Believing”

Browsing through the late imperial religious landscape shows that matters related to belief/faith were an important concern for popular sectarians during the Ming and Qing dynasties. This is significant insofar as Yiguandao emerged from this religious milieu, and from the “Way of Former Heaven” (Xiantiandao 先天道), in particular—a sectarian tradition I shall explore below. When talking about “popular sectarianism,” I refer to voluntary religious congregations that came into being and were maintained outside officially recognized and/or state-sanctioned religious organizations and tended to produce novel syntheses of religious symbols, beliefs, and practices for which the imperial state and the established religious traditions of Confucianism, Buddhism, and Daoism discredited them.²

Because the scope of this contribution is limited, I will confine myself to some brief comments. To start with, I shall discuss the “Non-Action Sect” (Wuweijiao 無為教), a popular Buddhist tradition that emerged in late sixteenth-century southeastern China from the “cult of the book” related to Patriarch Luo’s Five Books in Six Volumes (Wubu liuce 五部六冊), which are widely regarded as one of the most influential nonmonastic Buddhist writings of the late imperial period.³ The Five Books, which are venerated by followers to this day, already appreciate belief as an important requirement for religious cultivation. For instance, the Patriarch’s purported autobiography dates the beginning of his religious journey to an incident when his ears caught the phrase “if you want to trust and accept [something], you have to pick it up and examine it on your own” that was recited by Buddhist monks during a funerary ritual next door.⁴ This sentence stems from the Ritual Amplification of the Diamond Sūtra—a popular Song period exposition of the original text—and it appears to render belief as something that is gained from empirical observation and critical evaluation. Other sections of the corpus appreciate the “faithful heart” (xinxin 信心) not only as a requirement to attain salvation but also as the distinguishing feature between pious practitioners and those who are doomed to stay within the cycle of rebirths. For instance, the “Holy Patriarch of the Ultimateless” (Wuji Shengzu 無極聖祖—a figure similar to, or an early alias of, the “Eternal Venerable Mother” (Wusheng Laomu 無生老母), who was worshipped by many popular sects, including Yiguandao) is said to have “given birth to heaven and earth, he regulates them, and provides for mankind. The sentient beings of the world are the poor children: You have been admonished to return home, but you lack faith.”⁵ Likewise, another section claims that “only with the faithful heart am I able to return home and repay [the Holy Patriarch’s grace]. With the faithful mind and by returning home I repay the grace and love [of my parent]. Countless eons have misled and deluded me. Only now am I recognizing my most intimate parent,” i.e., the Holy Patriarch.⁶ Consequently, Book 4 of the corpus is entitled Precious Scroll about the Realization of Self-Reliance without Cultivation, Which Rectifies [One’s] Faith and Dispels Doubts (Zhengxin chuyi wuxiu zheng zizai baojuan 正信除疑無修證自在寶卷).

While the distinction between belief-salvation and disbelief-doom is encoded rather implicitly in these texts, other sectarian groups such as the “Way of Former Heaven” (Xiantiandao) articulated this conviction more frankly. I will turn now to this enormously potent sectarian tradition not only because notions of believing figure prominently in its writings during the second half of the nineteenth century, but also because it is a direct forerunner of Yiguandao.⁷ During the turbulent decades of the 1830s through the 1840s, when Xiantiandao was subject to fierce government persecution, sectarian patriarchs began to spread prophecies about the imminent end of the world. In one instance, sectarian writings cite older predictions that during the years yin and mao 寅卯 (most probably referring to 1842–1843) all “wicked ones” (eren 惡人) would be completely annihilated, while only the “believers” (xinzhe 信者) would be saved.⁸ Clearly linking nonbelieving with evilness, faith becomes a qualifying feature of the chosen few who will be summoned to return to Mother’s heaven. Other early nineteenth-century Former Heaven texts also point out that Mother’s grace extends only to the “believing people” (xinren 信人).⁹ Similar sentiments were also articulated in spirit-written morality books of this period, as the discussion by Vincent Goossaert in this volume shows. On the other hand, the Realization and Origin of the Eight Characters (Bazi jueyuan 八字覺源)—a text most likely from the 1840s that is dedicated to the eight Confucian virtues (bade 八德), among which xin is number four— touches on its meaning only cursorily.¹⁰ While the characterization of xin as trustworthiness and crucial to the “Five Constants” (wuchang 五常)—a standard grouping of the most prominent Confucian virtues—is similar to a 1937 Yiguandao spirit-revelation discussed below,¹¹ notions of believing appear to be entirely absent from the discussion.

Luckily, however, other scriptures and documents elaborate on this topic. Clearly linking belief to wisdom and insight into the true nature of the cosmos, they articulate attitudes that likewise dominate later Yiguandao discourses. For instance, the probably early 1850s Precious Raft to Revert to the Origin argues that those not believing in the Dao are the stupid and misled ones—i.e., those who will not be spared in the final apocalypse.¹² The scripture also laments that without proper exploration it is difficult to believe in its teachings. Therefore, neophytes are requested to meticulously study Former Heaven books in order to distinguish true from false, to achieve a faithful heart (xinxin), and know the Dao.¹³ Consequently, unfaithfulness is considered a serious moral shortcoming that needs to be refined; furthermore, Dao cultivators are not supposed to “believe in heretic teachings and forget the True Principle,” i.e., the Dao.¹⁴ Thus, believing is clearly related to knowledge and intellectual understanding.

During the late 1860s and early 1870s, belief appears to have played an even bigger role in Xiantiandao self-understandings and its ritual practices. For instance, moral admonitions ascribed to Patriarch Lin Yimi 林依秘 (1804–1865/1873) uphold that acknowledging the truth is the true form of pious belief (xin zhi du 信之篤), and only those who cherish this Dao in their minds and deeds are true believers. On the other hand, those who are shaken in their faith in an instant do not truly believe. Accordingly, neophytes need to take an unbreakable oath in front of Buddha in order to “strengthen their faith” (jian qi xin 堅其信).¹⁵ Thus, the patriarch appears to have made the ritual confession of “not believing in heresies” an essential part of the initiation procedure, as all neophytes were required to take this oath in front of the altar.¹⁶ Yet other regulations attributed to his predecessor Peng Yifa 彭依法 (1796–1858) proclaim that firm belief is—in addition to good command of the sect’s teachings and being accustomed to a vegetarian diet—another requirement for initiation.¹⁷ This prominent role assigned to faith within sectarian ritual and teachings is truly extraordinary, and it may very well reflect Christian influence. Thus, already during the late 1860s European Christian missionaries reported about converts from the ranks of former Xiantiandao sectarians who appear to have been using the autonym “Blue Lotus Sect” (Qinglianjiao 青蓮教).¹⁸ Similarly, George Miles’s 1902 study of a Former Heaven group in Hankou (part of modern Wuhan) also relies heavily on insider knowledge that he gained from Christian converts who appeared to have previously been Xiantiandao sectarians.¹⁹ Yet, further investigations are needed in order to determine the extent to which Christian and sectarian groups in late imperial China not merely competed for a similar following but creatively exchanged, transformed, and remodeled religious ideas, symbols, and practices.

3 “The Mother of Virtues”: xin 信 in the Early Yiguandao

When first browsing influential introductory booklets that circulated widely in late 1930s Yiguandao communities, such as the 1937 catechism Answers to Doubts about the Unity Sect (Yiguandao yiwen jieda 一貫道疑問解答), references to questions of believing or occurrences of the Chinese word xin prove scarce. They appear only marginally, such as in one question that asks why only few people believe in the true Dao; likewise, when proposing a classification of four kinds of humans, the “ignorant ones” (yuren 愚人) are characterized as those who do not believe in the six forms of rebirth (a standard Buddhist concept).²⁰ Interestingly, the same binary (belief—wisdom, disbelief—ignorance) is employed in the probably early 1850s Precious Raft analyzed above. It is important to note that in both instances xin is used in negation (bu xin 不信), so as to imply deviation from an accepted standard. Moreover—and also similarly to the Former Heaven tradition—Republican-era Yiguandao revelations frequently charge this binary with an eschatological meaning, proposing that those who do not “uphold and believe” (zunxin 遵信) the teachings will not be granted access to the “cloud city” (yuncheng 雲城),²¹ i.e., Mother’s paradise.

The only other passage in the Answers to employ the term xin is a response to a modernist critique that considers venerating deities “superstition” (mixin 迷信).²² This view is refuted by regarding veneration as a sense of duty towards the supreme god “Eternal Venerable Mother” (Wusheng Laomu), whom Yiguandao practitioners consider the Mother of humankind. Apparently, this critique is related to the general political and ideological climate of the Republican era that saw various forms of secularist attacks on what was perceived as “superstitious” and a major hindrance for China’s modernization.²³

Digging deeper into the corpus of written pre-1949 materials, one will find that xin plays a much more crucial role in individual moral cultivation than is apparent at first sight. For instance, the preface to the 1919 revelation Letter from the Home (Jiaxiang xinshu 家鄉信書) introduces xin as “honesty” and “truthfulness,” which an ancient proverb identifies with the “mother of the Dao, virtues, and all merits.” Playing with the ambiguity of the Chinese word, which also means “letter,” the passage concludes that xin—and thus this very written document as well as the moral qualities of believing and trustworthiness—is the road back to humankind’s original home (i.e., the eternal realm of Mother).²⁴ While not stated explicitly, this characterization of xin as the starting point for further religious practice is cited from the famous Flower Ornament Sūtra (Huayanjing 華嚴經, Skt. Mahāvaipulya Buddhāvataṃsaka-Sūtra), which elaborates on the importance of “deep faith” (shenxin 深信, Skt. śraddhā) in the Buddhist dharma. According to the sūtra, xin is not only the “origin of the Dao and the mother of merits,” but it also opens the path towards nirvāṇa.²⁵ Apparently, the message depicted in the Letter draws on rich Buddhist discourses about the essentiality of believing. Thus, Chinese Buddhists are also likely to refer to this very quotation to underscore the meaning of “belief” in their religious tradition.²⁶ Accordingly, it is no wonder that a follow-up booklet to the Answers published in 1940 proclaims that after having been initiated into the Dao, the first thing to do is to firmly establish one’s faithful heart (xinxin 信心). Here too, believing or having confidence—as the term xinxin is open to both meanings—is considered the “mother of cultivation” and the “origin of all merits” (thus paraphrasing the excerpt from the Huayanjing). Without believing, even taking classes about the Dao will be to no avail.²⁷ Similarly, the 1942 spirit revelation Recognizing the Road to Revert Home proclaims that a firm belief (xinxin) is needed in order to spread the Dao. Furthermore, deep faith is considered the very first step in the cultivation career of every neophyte.²⁸ Finally, a 1944 handbook states that xin is the inherent nature of humankind’s true self. Without it, humans would be nothing more than animals, and this is why the Analects have Confucius saying that “[the government] cannot be established if the people do not have faith [in their rulers]” (wuxin bu li 無信不立).²⁹

This understanding of xin as foundational to human interaction and moral cultivation is further developed in various spirit revelations. For instance, the first of the Six Commandments [As Strong As] Stone and Metal already proclaims that only if the faithful heart is firmly established will one be able to understand the true nature of the Dao. Furthermore, the text continues, this morale means to “not bend even if tried for a hundred times” (baizhe buwan 百折不彎) and to bravely withstand temptations and animosities.³⁰ Received during the summer of 1937, one séance within a series of revelations about the nature of the eight Confucian virtues (bade)—itself an innovation of nineteenth-century spirit-writing communities that sought to compound a single thread of Confucian social morality³¹—particularly deals with xin, as it is generally accepted as the fourth of the eight virtues.³² Here, xin is described both as humankind’s inherent inclination towards truthfulness and trustworthiness, as it ought to be applied among families and friends in order to establish firm relationships; but it is also employed in the sense of “believing in something,” such as in one’s abilities. Finally, the revelation concludes that it is not possible to cultivate the Dao without xin.³³ This text appears to be influenced by the probably 1840s Xiantiandao scripture that equally focuses on the eight virtues, the Bazi jueyuan 八字覺源, which was already mentioned in Section 2. In another revelation received in Ji’nan (Shandong Province) in 1939, the deity stresses the importance of believing in traditional morals and cherishing the true principle (i.e., the Dao) while at the same time attacking those “misguidedly or blindly believing in religion and science” (mixin zongjiao huo kexue 迷信宗教或科學).³⁴ This argument seems to be informed by conservative discourses that refute the alleged supremacy of scientific rationality that many secularist modernizers proposed as the sole way to establish a modern China. At the same time, similar sentiments are articulated in Buddhist discussions that caution that blind faith in whatever is labeled as science is likely to turn into a superstition itself (that is also called “blind belief in science,” mixin kexue 迷信科學).³⁵ However, the Yiguandao argument differs to the extent that it also takes religion (as human-made distortions of the one universal truth) into the equation (a topic to be explored in Section 5).

The same line of reasoning is applied in the Record about Making Progress According to the Truth, a booklet produced after the first “stove meeting” (luhui 爐會)—a training camp for committed Dao followers—had been held in Beijing in 1941. The first section, which specifically deals with how to exercise “true faith” (zhengxin 正信) towards God (Shangdi 上帝, i.e., the Eternal Mother), argues that modern evolutionary theory is wrong in claiming that humankind evolved from primates. Science may claim omnipotence but is not even close to doing what God can do, as humans equipped with souls have been created only by Mother. Accordingly, “we need to take out our true heart, preserve our unchanging intentions, cease fallacious ideas, resist improper conduct, resolve our minds and bodies, purify our thoughts, appreciate heaven’s mercifulness, and repay the heavenly grace. This is [the way to establish] true faith in and dispel doubts about God.”³⁶ By preserving a true heart and putting one’s trust in God (xinlai Shangdi 信賴上帝), the book continues, one will also be able to overcome any lack of confidence or conviction that may arise—both from within oneself (neikao 內考) and incited by external pressure (waikao 外考, e.g., mocking behavior of others, government hostility etc.).³⁷ Accordingly, belief in God is considered both the very nature of humankind and the basic tool for Dao followers to deal with moments of uncertainty.

4 The Powers of xin 信: Post-WWII Discourses

After the advent of the People’s Republic of China and the large-scale persecution of Yiguandao and similar religious groups in the early 1950s, the island of Taiwan developed into a major stronghold of the movement during the latter part of the twentieth century. Even though the political and social climate was similarly hostile until Yiguandao was finally granted legal status in 1987, the movement was able to consolidate itself into one of Taiwan’s major religious traditions.

Many of the aforementioned texts were still being reprinted and read by Yiguandao members during this period, but new booklets and pamphlets also began to take up questions of believing as well. One of those, the Basics of Dao Learning (Jichu daoxue 基礎道學), introduces the “faithful heart” (xinxin) as the foundation of religious cultivation. Drawing on the aforementioned distinction between “true belief” (zhengxin) and “superstition” (mixin), the handbook postulates that not all things are to be believed equally. While “true belief” consists of emulating the moral model of the deities (i.e., ancient worthies), upholding knowledge of karmic retribution, and believing in the powers of moral cultivation, “superstition” is summarized as begging the gods for protection and venerating “extraordinary things, feats of strength, disorder, and spiritual beings”—which is the traditional Confucian rendering of inappropriate topics that the Analects (7:21) report Confucius avoided talking about.³⁸ Quoting the famous Republican-era medical doctor, scholar, and engaged lay Buddhist Ding Fubao 丁福保 (1874–1952), probably best-known for his Dictionary of Buddhist Studies (Foxue dacidian 佛學大辭典, 1922), the Basics further claim that “if there is no such thing but one believes in its existence, it is called superstition; but if something truly exists and you believe in it, this is called true belief.”³⁹ This quotation comes from Ding’s 1920 Essentials of Buddhist Studies (Foxue cuoyao 佛學撮要), thus indicating that the author(s) of the Basics must have been well-versed in Buddhist literature.⁴⁰ Finally, and yet again building on thoughts that had been established in earlier texts, the Basics claim that because “demonic tests” (mokao 魔考, i.e., temptations to part from the Dao) reveal a practitioner’s true mindset, cultivation must begin with belief.⁴¹

Similarly, a small but unfortunately undated pamphlet entitled Discussing Belief (probably 1970s) treats the topic in a detailed manner.⁴² Here, xin is given unequivocal praise as it is considered the source of humans’ motivations as well as the place to find rest, comfort, and safety. Among various examples, the text compares this state to trusting a bank, because it equally provides savers with a feeling of security, knowing that their money is safe there. Furthermore, without the power to believe people will not be successful in their doings, and everything they try will be doomed to fail.⁴³ While there is also a material side of xin that seeks worldly and instant benefits, it is only its spiritual form that is characterized by an unflinching belief in the heavenly truth. Thus, the text utterly criticizes what is perceived as pleasure-seeking hedonism among today’s youth, while the more intelligent ones may be inclined to “worship science” (chongxin kexue 崇信科學).⁴⁴ Small-mindedly focusing on imminent and bodily pursuits, however, they tend to ignore what will come after one’s mundane existence has vanished. Consequently, the pamphlet urges its readers to exercise faith, which it summarizes as follows: “Today, we believe that ‘Our Only God Venerable Buddha’ (Weihuang Shangdi Laofo 維皇上帝老佛) is absolutely true; we believe that our master’s true principle is the only one and that it is entirely right. […] We take Dao learning as essence and science as its function. This is the Way of the Doctrine of the Mean.”⁴⁵ Building on the traditional Chinese distinction between absolute reality (essence) and other fields of knowledge that may be applied for more concrete purposes (function), this section also draws on topics prominent since the late nineteenth-century “Self-Strengthening Movement,” which urged China to value and preserve its “Chineseness,” while applying Western knowledge only on a more practical basis.

As one of the handbooks that most Dao practitioners have come across during the early phase of their cultivation, the Records of Progress in Illuminating Virtues and Renewing the People—a textbook intended to provide neophytes with basic knowledge about the Dao—offers equally illuminating insights into Yiguandao attitudes toward xin. Similar to the small pamphlet discussed above, the Records (its earliest edition dates to 1951) claims that “confidence” (xinxin) can achieve everything. Here, the text quotes from the intellectual writings of the “father of modern China,” Sun Yat-sen (1866–1925), who was equally convinced that “if my heart believes that something is possible, even difficult things such as ‘moving mountains or reclaiming land from the sea’ (yishan tianhai 移山填海) can be achieved one day. But if my heart does not believe so, then even the easiest things such as breaking the bough of a tree will not work out.”⁴⁶ In addition, xin is attributed a crucial role in humankind’s moral cultivation, as it is considered to stand at the center of the “Five Constants” (wuchang)—a standard grouping of the most prominent Confucian virtues. By quoting from the Confucian classics Doctrine of the Mean and the Analects, the center—and thus xin—is considered the foundation of the entire world and the place where the Dao will emerge. Humans without xin are compared to “carriages without crossbars” (another citation from the Analects); they are similar to wild animals, and their mind will meander purposelessly like a boat traversing the vast sea without a rudder.⁴⁷ Similarly to the books discussed above, the Records also distinguishes the “true Dao” (zhengdao 正道) from “heterodox beliefs” (xiexin 邪信) and superstition (mixin), such as venerating fox spirits, trees, oxen, snakes, and stones, or fraudulently using fengshui 風水 and spiritual healing techniques in order to make money (all of which are common accusations against the purported “superstitious” character of Chinese popular religion). Consequently, one is requested to choose one’s belief wisely, unless one wants to be found “believing purposelessly and wildly” (hu xin luan xin 胡信亂信).⁴⁸

In another chapter, the Records introduce the important principle of xin yuan xing zheng 信愿行證—literally, “belief, vow, practice, verification” and a guiding rule of conduct for Yiguandao practitioners in the course of their cultivation.⁴⁹ Usually taught to neophytes as early as their first series of introductory classes, the principle argues that belief is the very first step in spiritual cultivation. Making a vow comes next—for instance, pledging to become a vegetarian (a usual and highly valued practice in Yiguandao). Vows are important in one’s cultivation as they enable practitioners to define goals to achieve, thus raising individual levels of dedication and thereby also the commitment to the entire community.⁵⁰ Belief is crucial in this mechanism as it serves as a sort of fingerpost to indicate the direction of cultivation. Consequently, the text claims, “without belief, one cannot make a vow. Without making a vow, there is no guide in practicing. Without practicing, there will be no proof in order to fulfill one’s vow.”⁵¹ While the term itself appears for the first time in the Records, the author of the preface to the 1942 revelation Realizing the Road to Revert Home also argues that one function of taking the oaths during the initiation ceremony is to strengthen one’s belief and thus to embrace the Dao in practice.⁵² This important guideline is outlined in many writings of the movement,⁵³ and it is at least partially modeled after the Chinese Buddhist concept of xin jie xing zheng 信解行證 (literally, “belief, understanding, practice, verification”) that represents a similar model of sequential stages in Buddhist practice.⁵⁴ As explored in Tam Wai Lun’s chapter, it originated in Qingliang Chengguan’s 清涼澄觀 (738–839) commentary to the aforementioned Flower Ornament Sūtra.⁵⁵

Likewise, a Japanese-language manual designed to instruct temple owners stresses a similar sequential model of believing that starts from exerting confidence (J. shinjin 信心) in one’s path of cultivation: after initially “halfway believing, halfway doubting” (J. hanshin hangi 半信半疑), the Dao follower will eventually end up “believing perfectly” (J. enshin 圓信) in the truthfulness of the Dao, the self-strengthening powers of cultivation, and the fact that all humans are Mother’s beloved children.⁵⁶ Other writings also explicate normative principles that need to be “believed in” (xiangxin 相信) by Dao cultivators: while the first three center on accepting the “truthfulness” of the Dao, the Heavenly Principle, and the Heavenly Mandate (tianming 天命), the other five prescribe belief in (4) reincarnation and the laws of karmic retribution, (5) the soothing powers of the “three treasures” (sanbao 三寶, which, however, differ from the Buddhist tradition), (6) the divine messages revealed in spirit-séances, (7) the transforming powers of divine beings, and (8) that these beings all emerged from humans who cultivated themselves in an excellent way.⁵⁷ In my fieldwork experience, Yiguandao practitioners bring up the first three principles—i.e., “Dao, Principle, and the Heavenly Mandate are all real” (dao zhen, li zhen, tianming zhen 道真, 理真, 天命真)—most frequently when describing their creed.

5 “Believing” versus “Knowing”

Even though most Yiguandao writings appear to appreciate the crucial importance of xin both as individual quality (trustworthiness) and faith in the Dao, another thread of discourses seeks to disintegrate “believing” and Dao cultivation. While the latter is thought to be related to the universal, unchanging, and eternal truth, belief is associated with the realm of “religion,” i.e., the human and thus necessarily incomplete interpretations of this truth. This distinction has been made in Yiguandao writings at least since the 1940s and probably earlier,⁵⁸ and it represents the prime reason why Dao followers tend to deny having “faith” in a more conceptual meaning. It appears that recent decades in particular have witnessed a growing desire among practitioners to clearly separate Dao from religion, which is most probably related to the increase in worldwide missionary activism, particularly since the 1990s.⁵⁹ Many prospective converts appear to conflate the two and thus consider Yiguandao just another religion.

One of the most trenchant critiques of this view is the 2011 brochure The Myth of Seeking the Dao and Belief.⁶⁰ Here, religious belief (xinjiao 信教, xinyang 信仰) is contrasted with “seeking the Dao” (qiudao 求道), a common term for becoming initiated into the movement. In the same vein as introduced above, religion is described as human-made interpretations or even distortions of the one universal truth. According to Yiguandao theology, the complete truth was not to be disseminated in its entirety until the early twentieth century. Consequently, religious teachers in human history were only able to transmit partial elements of this truth, which eventually leaves all religions bound to specific historical, social, and political contexts. These particularistic human transformations of the one truth are characterized by having sacred scriptures, congregations, rituals, religious teachers and followers, as well as “belief in deities” (xinyang shenqi 信仰神祇). Consequently, because religion is considered a human creation, it is thought to be about seeking worldly benefits, while salvation (chaosheng liaosi 超生了死) can be obtained only by cultivating the one true Dao.⁶¹ It is interesting to note that this understanding of religion does not take into account claims of various religious traditions to represent their own path towards salvation, but rather integrates all existing religions into a large narrative dominated by the Dao. In this context, religious belief (xinyang) is thought of as an expression of the “belief in others” (xinta 信他), which is characterized by trusting something or someone because of depending on, relying on, seeking, and worshipping external entities. Accordingly, the book claims, religious belief is not different from idolizing musicians, actors, or spiritual mentors (such as Yoga teachers). This, however, will be of no avail to achieve a true “faithful heart” (xinxin), which can only be attained by “believing in one’s true self” (zixin 自信): somewhat departing from the everyday usage of the term as “having confidence in oneself,” the brochure clearly uses zixin to refer to faith and trustfulness in humans’ spiritual self and their original nature. Quoting the famous Platform Sūtra which is associated with the sixth Chan Buddhist patriarch Huineng 慧能 (638–813), the text claims that “without recognizing one’s ‘original mind’ (benxin 本心), it is of no avail to study the Buddhist dharma.”⁶² Consequently, realizing one’s original nature is considered one of three essential requirements for initiation into the Dao, namely (1) to have karmic affinities to receive the Dao by having practiced good deeds before, (2) to have faith (in one’s original nature), and (3) to have made a vow to practice the Dao.⁶³

Interviewees during my fieldwork frequently raised similar convictions about the discreteness of Dao and religious faith. In one instance, a high-ranking practitioner of Yiguandao’s Fayi Tian’en 發一天恩 branch (“Promoting Unity, Heavenly Grace”) told me that

… things related to religion are easy. It is just to do things in a certain way, and that’s it. Even if it does not make any sense at all, you do it like this. For instance, to believe God. Right? To believe God is okay. But don’t think, don’t ask. But the Dao is not like this. […] Each and every religion is about worship, […] but this is not what is important—cultivation is. […] The Dao does not tell people to believe or to worship.⁶⁴

Similarly, another informant from the Fayi Chongde 發一崇德 (“Promoting Unity, Cherishing Virtues”) branch pointed out that Dao cultivation comes from within, while “religious beliefs” (zongjiao xinyang 宗教信仰) are to seek for good luck or other mundane improvements, while at the same time leaving the question of recognizing one’s inner nature untouched.⁶⁵ Probably most incisively, a high-ranking American-Taiwanese representative of the same branch put it that “religion is made by humans, you may believe or not, but Dao is the truth, you must do.”⁶⁶ As these examples demonstrate, contemporary Dao followers appear to share modernist critiques of religious believing as mindless obedience, while Dao cultivation is portrayed as the only path towards recognizing one’s true nature. Even though this discourse seeks to take a rationalist stance by claiming to represent “knowledge of the self” rather than religious worship, to exhibit faith (xin) in a certain set of notions reintroduces the concept of faith into the discussion.

6 Conclusion

The conviction that belief in the teachings of the sect is required in order to attain salvation appears to have been an important characteristic of popular sects not only in the late imperial period. Medieval “Buddhist-inspired” (borrowing Barend ter Haar’s term) scriptures such as the probably late sixth-century apocryphal Sūtra on the Realization of Understanding already proclaim that those who will be punished during the apocalypse at the time of Buddha Maitreya’s descent are those who consume meat and alcohol and do not believe in the advent of the savior.⁶⁷ Yet a cursory look at relevant materials suggests that both “belief” and xin were not primary topics in Ming and Qing sectarian writings. Nevertheless, the notion of belief as essential to enlightenment and salvation appears to have been a well-established understanding in these groups. Furthermore, most sects appear to have constructed some form of binary that imagined belief-salvation to be clearly distinguished from disbelief-doom. While some groups may have viewed this binary in a more subtle and implicit way (such as the Non-Action Sect), others have proclaimed outright that the nonbelievers will be annihilated in the final apocalypse. Similar visions were also articulated in spirit-written morality books of the late imperial period, as Vincent Goossaert shows in his contribution. Moreover, it is obvious that these tracts also circulated among sectarian groups. Particularly since the nineteenth century, both milieus engaged in ever greater interaction. For instance, the fourteenth-century revelation by Xuantian Shangdi 玄天上帝 discussed by Goossaert was cited by a Xiantiandao patriarch in 1836 to underscore the eschatology of the faithful in an apocalyptic prophecy made for the years 1832 to 1833: “The virtuous people will get to see the light of day, but the wicked ones will not see the [era] of Great Peace. Those who believe will be saved at the end of the final period, while those who do not believe will lose their souls.”⁶⁸ Further research is needed to determine whether this formulation has evolved into a stock phrase in similar apocalyptic visions.

Still, believing and xin appear to have become major topics of reflection and discussion in sectarian groups only in the twentieth century. It is difficult to ascertain whether this development is related to increased interaction with non-Chinese religious traditions (particularly Christianity, which of course puts great emphasis on matters related to faith) and Western modernity since the late nineteenth century. Yiguandao discourses appear to have taken up matters related to faith, believing, and xin particularly since the late 1930s, and all major themes have emerged already during this period. Even though the purported engagement with Christianity may have fueled Yiguandao notions of believing, references to Christian counterparts are nearly absent from the discourses and they also represent a quite recent phenomenon.⁶⁹ Rather, the writings demonstrate a profound commitment to traditional Confucian and Buddhist notions of xin in the sense of individual trustworthiness, thus creating a unique discourse that cannot be reduced to Christian or modern influence but which engages with the rich Chinese intellectual and religious traditions. Thus, the discussion is embedded in a variety of discourses, including Buddhist (e.g., Flower Ornament Sūtra, Platform Sūtra, Ding Fubao, the principle of xin yuan xing zheng), Confucian (citations from Lunyu and Zhongyong), intellectual (Sun Yat-sen), and modernist ones (such as the secularist attacks on traditional moral values). Only recently, and yet under apparent Christian and Western influence, Dao followers seem to have dropped the notion of “belief” to a certain extent, as they consider it too much entangled with “religion,” i.e., human-made interpretations of the one universal truth.

Still, to have faith in the Dao appears to remain a prominent topic in contemporary sectarian groups in Taiwan. For instance, Yiguandao offshoots such as Haizidao 亥子道 promise salvation to those who believe (xinyang) in their teachings.⁷⁰ Likewise, other modern sectarian groups that equally emerged during the first half of the twentieth century, such as the Daoyuan 道院, expose similar understandings that knowledge of the Dao and the self must come prior to “believing.” In addition, it claims that belief is a rational engagement with the one universal truth, and is thus the very foundation of modern science.⁷¹ Others, such as the “Fellowship of Goodness” (Tongshanshe 同善社), mirror Yiguandao’s appraisal of believing as the most powerful force guiding humans’ motivations and actions.⁷²

To conclude, it appears that the concept of “believing” in Chinese popular sects is both central and marginal at the same time. While this statement may appear paradoxical at first sight, there seems to be a disproportion between the level of religious practice on the one hand and that of terminology and religious concepts on the other. Thus, analyzing Yiguandao and other sectarian discourses in regard to “belief/faith” clearly reveals that “believing” is indeed a relevant and significant practice, or what Max Weber would call Lebensführung or “conduct of life”—i.e., a structured and purposeful whole of behavior and practices.⁷³ To believe in the absolute truth of the Dao and the teachings of the sect while at the same time rejecting certain other ideas is an essential element of individual commitment and collective identity. It is very clear that this practice of believing is to be distinguished from mere “knowing something,” as it is grounded in nonempirical and divine entities and encoded in strict binaries of belief—salvation and disbelief—doom that can be traced back to popular sects of at least the medieval period. In regard to religious concepts, however, “belief/faith” (or its Chinese counterparts, such as xin, xinxin, and xinyang) does not play an equally prominent role and is often surpassed by other notions that sectarians are more eager to explore in their writings and to discuss with outsiders, such as the Dao and its efficacy, or the need to cultivate one’s moral nature in order to be reborn in Mother’s paradise. This discrepancy, I assume, is one of the reasons why it feels so difficult at first sight to detect references to “belief” (both as practice and concept) in sectarian discourses: They tend to be concealed behind more prominent teachings and symbols but nevertheless assume prominent roles in the day to day “conducts of life” of committed sectarians.