The symbol of the primordial goddess Wusheng Laomu used by some Xiantiandao religions, and specific symbol of
Yiguandao.
The Xiantiandao or Way of Erstwhile Heaven (Pinyin Xiāntiān Dào, 先天道) encompasses a group of religions of Chinese origin which trace their lineage back to the White Lotus movement in past centuries. They were considered heterodox and suppressed throughout the history of China; they are still mostly forbidden in China, yet they thrive in Taiwan where 7.6% of the population adheres to some Xiantiandao religion.
The sect can be traced back to the Yuan dynasty (1271-1368). It is usually referred to as White Lotus Sect (Bailian Jiao), which has a negative meaning in modern Taiwan and is associated with secret, illegal, rebellious sects.
The differentiation of the Xiantian Dao subtradition out of the general field of Chinese popular sects is commonly attributed to the so-called ninth patriarch Huang Dehui (1684-1750). Of the five sects listed below, the Yiguan Dao and the Tongshan She legitimize themselves by tracing their patriarchal lines through Huang Dehui to the mythical patriarchs of early Chinese history.
The patriarchal lines of these two sects are largely identical down to the thirteenth patriarch Yang Shouyi (1796-1828), after whom the lines split and ultimately lead to the development of the Yiguan Dao and the Tongshan She as separate sects. The other three groups do not maintain a similar model of linear patriarchal succession.
Xiantian Tao doctrine holds that the creator of the universe was Wusheng Laomu, “The Unborn or Eternal Venerable Mother” (無生老母), who created all living beings, 9.6 billion in total. 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 merciful Venerable Mother sent a range of envoys to bring Her children back to Heaven. The Dipankara Buddha (燃燈佛 Randeng Fo) saved 200 million suffering children as the first salvage. Gautama Buddha afterwards saved another 200 million. The remaining 9.2 billion live beings will be saved by the Buddha of the future, Maitreya Buddha.
The individual Xiantian Dao 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 (neigong, waigong), i.e., 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, Xiantian Dao sects claim to represent a Way (Tao) that transcends and unites all other religions. Consequently, an explicit syncretism is a noticeable feature of these groups, who claim that their teachings aim to unify the "Three Religions" (Confucianism, Taoism, Buddhism), the "Five Religions" (the former three plus Christianity and Islam), or even the "Ten thousand Religions". Most Xiantian Dao groups rely heavily on spirit-writing as a means of communicating with the Mother and lower-ranking deities.
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 I-Kuan Tao and the T'ung-shan She calling her "Venerable Mother of Limitless Heaven" (Wuji Laomu), the Tz'u-hui Tang "Golden Mother of the Jasper Pool" (Yao-ch'ih Chin-mu), the Tien-te Sheng-chiao "Unborn Sacred Mother" (Wusheng Shengmu). The Daoyuan diverges from the common maternal pattern by describing the supreme deity as male, naming him "Most Sacred Venerable Patriarch of Former Heaven" (Zhisheng Xiantian Laozu). Despite these and many other differences in liturgy, organization, and doctrine, ultimately each Xiantian Dao sect represents a variation on a central theme.
