enters its final period and is on an inexorable course
toward apocalyptic destruction. Sometimes, sectarian
leaders themselves claimed to be Maitreya, sent by the
Eternal Mother to gather in her children; occasionally,
millenarian fervor initiated political action, as sects re-
belled in an attempt to usher in the new age. The best-
known modern representative of this millenarian
tradition is the Yiguan Dao (Way of Unity), an influ-
ential religious movement in Taiwan and Hong Kong
and among overseas Chinese, which was founded in
the 1920s by a patriarch who claimed to be the Living
Buddha Jigong, dispatched by the Eternal Mother to
open up a path of salvation in this final age.
Thus, Buddhism historically served as an important
source of inspiration for Chinese popular sects. Bud-
dhist concepts and themes were integrated with Con-
fucian and Daoist elements, as well as with elements
of popular origin (such as mediumistic practices), to
produce a variegated array of religious movements.
The creativity of popular sectarianism has not ebbed
in the modern age, as new sects keep emerging. Some
of these draw on older sectarian traditions, while oth-
ers make a fresh start by taking a new look at China’s
Three Teachings. A modern example of a sect that
draws strongly on (in this case, tantric) Buddhist ma-
terial is the Zhenfo Zong (True Buddha movement),
founded by Lu Shengyan (1945– ) in the 1980s. Head-
quartered in Seattle, Washington, it is particularly ac-
tive among overseas Chinese. While usually eyed with
some suspicion by the mainline SAN ̇GHA, the Buddhist
borrowings of such syncretic sects are a testimony to
the successful integration of Buddhism into Chinese
popular culture and to its power to inspire religious
innovation.See also:Confucianism and Buddhism; Daoism and
Buddhism; Folk Religion, China; Millenarianism and
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