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NOTES AND QUERIES
said to have been of the Buddhist faith and to have lived in China in the early part of the eighth century; or to one of their patriarch-successors. These sects share a common ideology, have the same goals, and some have a similar system of rank and appointments, even possessing the same rank-names and terms of address. Some of these sects are, like Hsien-t'ien Tao, vegetarian, that is to say they demand a permanent vegetarian diet (and also sexual abstinence) from their rank-holders; and some, generally speaking the more recent off-shoots, are non-vegetarian. It is only the vegetarian sects which are organized through vegetarian halls.
Some of the other sects operating in Hong Kong today and recognised by Hsien-t'ien Tao to be related to it are P'u-tu Men: "The Salvation Sect" and Kuei-ken Men: "The Sect of Reverting to the Root [of Things]," which are both vegetarian; and T'ung-shan She: “The Fellowship of Goodness", which is non-vegetarian and was particularly active in the period leading up to the founding of the Chinese Republic and immediately afterwards.
The ideology of these sects is known by Hsien-t'ien Tao rather confusingly as Hsien-t'ien Ta-tao: "The Great Way of Former Heaven". It is syncretic, incorporating elements from a number of sources but most importantly from Chinese and Tibetan Buddhism, and from Taoism, and the Yin-Yang cosmology which received general acceptance by the Chinese in traditional times. In combining all these elements however Great Way ideology, as we will refer to it here, produces an original synthesis: a system of ideas distinct from any other. The religion divides time into three major epochs, or cyclical periods, during each of which it is supposed that Absolute Truth comes into the world, is taught by a major Buddha and other distinguished sages, and then, unless men have made efforts to prevent it, becomes distorted and finally disappears. The disappearance of Truth from the world is followed by a major catastrophe (there might also be minor, localised disasters during each period due to minor Truth distortions). All sects in the group believe we have already passed through the first of these periods which was followed by a great flood; some believe we are in the second period now (dominated by Sakyamuni Buddha) which will be followed by a great fire unless we act to prevent it; and a few believe we are actually in the third period which will be followed by a wind catastrophe (interpreted by the sect Kuei-ken Men as an atomic war). It is in this final period that the
138
NOTES AND QUERIES
said to have been of the Buddhist faith and to have lived in China in the early part of the eighth century; or to one of their patriarch- successors. These sects share a common ideology, have the same goals, and some have a similar system of rank and appointments, even possessing the same rank-names and terms of address. Some of these sects are, like Hsien-l'ien Tuo, vegetarian, that is to say they demand a permanent vegetarian diet (and also sexual ab- stinence) from their rank-holders; and some, generally speaking the more recent off-shoots, are non-vegetarian. It is only the vegetarian sects which are organized through vegetarian halls.
Some of the other sects operating in Hong Kong today and recognised by Hsien-t'ien Tao to be related to it are P'u-tu Men: "The Salvation Sect" and Kuei-ken Men: "The Sect of Reverting to the Root [of Things]," which are both vegetarian; and T'ung- shan She: “The Fellowship of Goodness", which is non-vegetarian and was particularly active in the period leading up to the found- ing of the Chinese Republic and immediately afterwards.
The ideology of these sects is known by Hsien-t'ien Tao rather confusingly as Hsien-t'ien Ta-tao: "The Great Way of Former Heaven". It is syncretic, incorporating elements from a number of sources but most importantly from Chinese and Tibetan Budd- hism, and from Taoism, and the Yin-Yang cosmology which re- ceived general acceptance by the Chinese in traditional times. In combining all these elements however Great Way ideology, as we will refer to it here, produces an original synthesis: a system of ideas distinct from any other. The religion divides time into three major epochs, or cyclical periods, during each of which it is sup- posed that Absolute Truth comes into the world, is taught by a major Buddha and other distinguished sages, and then, unless men have made efforts to prevent it, becomes distorted and finally dis- appears. The disappearance of Truth from the world is followed by a major catastrophe (there might also be minor, localised dis- asters during each period due to minor Truth distortions). All sects in the group believe we have already passed through the first of these periods which was followed by a great flood; some believe we are in the second period now (dominated by Sakyamuni Budd- ha) which will be followed by a great fire unless we act to prevent it; and a few believe we are actually in the third period which will be followed by a wind catastrophe (interpreted by the sect Kuei- ken Men as an atomic war). It is in this final period that the
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