RELIGIOUS RESPONSE TO MODERNIZATION IN TAIWAN THE CASE OF I-KUAN TAO
51
are strictly secret. The most important of these elements are the so-called San Pao, the "three Precious Ones", a traditional Buddhist expression by which in the case of I-kuan Tao three different secrets (a symbol, a ritual gesture and a formula) are signified1. The San Pao are transmitted to new members during a secret initiation ceremony which is much rumoured about by the public. The rumour goes that the participants have to be naked22 and that the sect performs other scandalous rites in which men and women are not separated. Reports from former members prove that the accusations about the initiation ceremony are certainly not true23. Such wide-spread rumours, however, show how deep-rooted the prejudices against "heterodox" sects are, which makes propagation of the faith difficult if not dangerous.
All the more remarkable is the undoubtable success of this sect. This seems to indicate that obviously I-kuan Tao has something to offer which attracts people even though they may have to suffer public defamation or even prosecution. As a matter of fact, the enforced secrecy which results from prohibition by the government allows for many speculations about vicious rites and political plotting indulged in by the sect-members. But we do not need to occupy ourselves further with the secret aspects of the sect since the teachings which are important for our present purpose are transmitted more or less openly. What is more, they are very similar to the beliefs held by other popular religious communities. This is true especially for some of the fu-luan cults which are very popular in Taiwan today.
Fu-luan 扶鸞 or fuchi 扶乩 (alt. 扶箕) is an ancient Chinese divination practice which can be described as spirit-writing, sometimes known in the West under the name "planchette". Although the practice can be traced back at least to the Sung dynasty, its modern form seems to have developed during the last century25. At that time it became usual to receive written revelations from various deities which communicate through mediums. The mediums, traditionally two persons operating jointly, but today often only one, hold a stick with which the deity writes characters on a small table covered with sand. These messages from the gods normally contain answers to questions of the believers, but not seldom also directions or instructions of a general kind. At times the medium might be the focus of a larger cult or community whose members participate in the seances and try to follow the divine admonitions. Fu-luan cults were brought to Taiwan from the mainland during the first decades of this century and soon turned into a mass movement. There has been a very strong revival