# Xiantiandao

The Xiantiandao (Chinese: 先天道; pinyin: Xiāntiān Dào; lit. 'Way of Former Heaven', or "Way of the Primordial"; Vietnamese: Tiên Thiên Đạo, Japanese: Sentendō) or known as Blue/Green Lotus sect (青蓮教), also simply Tiandao (天道; Tiāndào; 'Way of Heaven'; Vietnamese: Thiên Đạo, Japanese: Tendō) is one of the most productive currents of Chinese folk religious sects such as the White Lotus Sect, characterised by representing the principle of divinity as feminine and by a concern for salvation (moral completion) of mankind.
Xiantiandao was founded in Jiangxi in the 17th century Qing dynasty as an offshoot of the Venerable Officials' teaching of fasting (老官齋教; Lǎoguān zhāijiào), a branch of the Dacheng (大乘 "Great Vehicle") or Yuandun (圆顿 "Sudden Stillness") eastern proliferation of Luoism. It has also been traced to the earlier Wugongdao (五公道 "Way of the Five Lords"), a Yuan dynasty offshoot of the White Lotus tradition.
The Xiantiandao religions were considered heterodox and suppressed throughout the history of China; they are still mostly forbidden in Mainland China, yet they thrive in Taiwan where at least 7% of the population adheres to some sect derived from the Xiantiandao.
The Xiantiandao movement is not limited only to Chinese-speaking countries, with at least one sect, the Tendō (天道, "Way of Heaven" or "Heavenly Path"), active in Japan. In Vietnam, "Tiên Thiên Đạo" doctrines ultimately influenced the rise of the Minh Đạo sects since the 17th century.
Sects that are or have been considered as part of the Xiantiandao stream are:
* Guigendao (归根道 "Way of the Return to the Root")
* Guiyidao (皈依道, "Way of the Return to the One"), best known by its corporate name of School of the Way of the Return to the One or simply School of the Way (道院 Dàoyuàn)
* Shengdao (圣道 "Holy Way"), best known by its incorporate name of Tongshanshe (同善社 "Community of the Goodness")
* Jiugongdao (九宫道 "Way of the Nine Palaces")
* Tiandi teachings (天帝教 "Heavenly Deity")
* Yaochidao (瑤池道 "Way of the Jasper Lake")
* Yiguandao (一貫道 "Complete Way")
** Haizidao (亥子道 "Way of the Children")
** Miledadao (弥勒大道 "Great Way of Maitreya")
** Jiulian Shengdao (九莲圣道)
* Yixin Tiandao Longhua Hui (一心天道龙华会 "Dragon Flower Church of the Heart-bound Heavenly Way")
* Yuanmingdao (圆明道 "Way of the Bright Circle")

## History

The differentiation of the Xiantiandao subtradition out of the general field of Chinese popular sects is commonly attributed to the so-called ninth patriarch Huang Dehui. The Yiguandao and the Tongshanshe sects legitimize themselves by tracing their patriarchal lines through Huang Dehui to the mythical patriarchs of early Chinese history. Huang Dehui was the successor of Luo Weiqun (羅蔚群) or sometime known as Luo Weixing (罗维行), one of the descendants of Luo Qing of the Eastern Great Vehicle sect (東大乘教) who spread the teachings in Jiangxi. One of the sect led by Huang Dehui was later known as Xiantiandao (先天道). Official documents of the Qing dynasty (清代官书) refer to this sect as the Green/Blue Lotus sect (青蓮教) or by another name the Golden Herb Road/Jindandao (金丹道). This sect unites the three religions by practicing Confucian manners, Daoist practices, and Buddhist precepts. It was named Green Lotus to compete with the then-popular White Lotus sect. It was very popular in Sichuan, Yunnan-Guizhou and Hubei, and staged many rebellions to overthrow the Qing dynasty and restore the Ming dynasty, but was successfully suppressed by the Qing Dynasty government.
In 1690, Huang Dehui was arrested and executed by the Qing government. The leadership of the sect was continued several decades later by Wu Zixiang (吳紫祥). Wu changed the name of his group to Wupanjiao (五盤教). He was also arrested and sentenced to death. Leadership continued to the eleventh patriarch, He Ruo (何若) / He Liaoku (何了苦). In 1790, as the group leader, He Liaoku was sent to Longli, Guizhou to serve in the army as a punishment from the government, thus the Green Lotus sect spread to Guizhou. He Liao Ku's disciple Yuan Zhiqian (袁志謙, known as the 12th patriarch) spread the teachings from Guizhou to Yunnan, Sichuan, and Hubei, where it flourished. In 1823 he founded Xigang Tang (西港堂) in Chengdu and worked actively to spread the teachings in the Yangtze River valley. In 1826, the leadership was continued by Xu Ji'nan (徐吉南) and Yang Shouyi (楊守一) who became the 13th patriarchs. Shortly after, patriarchs Xu and Yang were arrested and executed by the Qing government in 1828. History shows that several new sub-sects were born after this era including Yuanming Dao (圆明道), Guiyi Dao (皈依道), Tongshan She (同善社) and the most important for Taiwan's religious history is Yiguandao (一貫道). The patriarchal lines of these sects are largely identical down to the thirteenth patriarch Yang Shouyi and Xu Ji'nan, after whom the lines split and ultimately lead to the development of some group as separate sects. The other groups maintain a different model of linear patriarchal succession.
In 1834, Xiantiandao elected five preaching leaders, known as the 'Five Elders' (五老). At colloquy of seven deities (七聖) held in 1843 in Yuncheng (雲城), it was decided that the sect would henceforth be divided into five branches headed by patriarchs named after the Five Elements (water, fire, wood, metal and earth). Xiantiandao texts often refer to the “Precious register of Cloud City”, according to the Yuncheng Precious Mantra (雲城寶籙), the Seven Saints are “the patriarchs in charge of universal salvation in the three world ages" (開辦三期普度之祖). In that period, the Green Lotus sect later united with parties and armed groups to fight the officers and soldiers, and became a secret religious group, causing much unrest." In 1845, the Green Lotus sect staged a rebellion in Wuchang but failed.
Later, An Tianjue (安天爵) of the Wood, Chen Yijing (陈依精) of the Fire, Song Chaozhen (宋潮真) of the Earth were arrested by the Qing government and put to death. Pang Chaofan (彭超凡) / Peng Yifa (彭依法) of the Water, and Lin Zhuguan (林祝官) / Lin Yimi (林依秘) of the Metal escaped and evaded being arrested. These Peng Chaofan and Lin Zhuguan were later regarded as the 14th patriarch and 15th patriarch by many Xiantiandao groups. At the end of the Daoguang period, Peng Chaofan continued to preach in Sichuan under the banner of Xiantiandao. Meanwhile, Li Zhuguan founded the Hall of Western Heaven (西乾堂) as a shelter for members of the Green Lotus sect which was later renamed Dongzhentang (東震堂) by Wang Jueyi (the 15th patriarch of Yiguandao). Yao Hetian who became the 14th patriarch of Yiguandao was probably also one of the successors of Li Zhuguan."
In the beginning, the main centers of Xiantiandao development were in Jiangxi and Sichuan provinces. In 1860, the sub-sect headed by Peng Yifa was introduced to Guangdong from Hubei province by his follower Chen Fushi 陳復始. Chen convert Lin Fashan 林法善 in Qingyuan, before going into retirement in Yichang 宜昌 in Hubei. In 1863, Lin Fashan founded the Cangxia Gudong (藏霞古洞) temple on Yuxia Mountain (嵎峽山) in Qingyuan county, which is the starting point of the Cangxia sub-branch and the starting point of Xiantiandao in Guangdong." Lin Fashan had two main disciples: Huang Benyuan 黃本源 (aka Daochu 道初) and Li Zhigen 李植根 (aka Jingquan Xiansheng 淨泉先生). While Huang took over the leadership of the Cangxia branch from Lin Fashan, Li in 1871 founded the Jinxiadong (錦霞洞) temple in Qingyuan. For the future regional development of Xiantiandao, Cangxiadong and Jinxiadong were both very important, with Huang spreading the teachings to the north and Li spreading the teachings to the south."
In 1873, the last of the Five Elders (15th patriarch), Lin Zhuguang passed away from illness in Mukou. Lin Zhuguang was the last patriarch of Xiantiandao who is still agreed upon by many Xiantiandao sub-groups. Afterwards, because Xiantiandao split into so many small groups, there was no agreement from each group on who the next patriarch should be, so each sub-group had its own Taoist lineage. After that, Xiantiandao spread throughout China and some parts of Southeast Asia."
In the first half of the 20th century, there was tremendous growth in one of the Xiantiandao-rooted groups, Yiguandao. However, most of the other Xiantiandao groups did not develop into large organizations. Although some Xiantiandao groups joined forces to register Zhongguo Sanjiao Shengdao Zonghui (中國三教聖道總會) with the Beiyang regime in 1923, in reality Xiantiandao seems to have remained just a collection of independent temples and networks running on their own."

## Common themes

Xiantiandao doctrine holds that the origin of the universe is Wusheng Laomu (無生老母; Wúshēng Lǎomǔ; 'Unborn Ancient Mother'), creatrix of all living beings. These children went astray and ended up in the earthly world where they forgot their divine origin. The wheel of reincarnation started and the return to Heaven was no longer possible.
For this reason, the Mother sent a range of enlightened beings to bring Her children back to Heaven. The Dīpankara Buddha (燃燈佛; Rándēng Fó) was the first salvage. Gautama Buddha afterwards was the second enlightened. The remaining beings will be saved by the Buddha of the future, Maitreya.
The individual Xiantiandao sects all see themselves as carrying out the Mother's intentions by converting people and guiding them on a path of cultivation and reform that will ultimately lead them back to Heaven. The cultivation urged on members is divided into "inner" and "outer" work (nèigōng, wàigōng), that is, meditation and good deeds, so as to accumulate merits and purify the mind.
As the focus is on a primordial deity superior to all other gods, Xiantiandao sects claim to represent a Way (Dào) that transcends, comes before, and thus overcomes all existing religions. Consequently, a syncretism of features is noticeable in some groups. Most Xiantiandao groups rely heavily on automatic writing as a means of communicating with the Mother and lower-ranking deities.

## Theological and practical differences

Along with the written works of the founding patriarchs, spirit-writing provides a distinct corpus of scriptures for each individual sect, that develops the shared themes in different directions and serves to differentiate the individual group from related sects. The variations on the central theme are many: for example, different sects use different names for the supreme deity, the Yiguandao and the Tongshanshe calling her "Venerable Mother of Limitless Pole" (Wuji Laomu) and the Yaochidao the "Mother of the Jasper Lake" (Yaochimu).
The Daoyuan diverges from the common maternal pattern by describing the supreme deity as male, naming him "Holiest Venerable Patriarch of the Primordial Heaven" (Zhisheng Xiantian Laozu). Despite these and many other differences in liturgy, organization, and doctrine, ultimately each Xiantiandao sect represents a variation on a central theme. Other movements have significantly departed: the Tiandi teachings movements have shifted to a focus on the Tian.