contributed by Shen Yeh-Ying, translated from Chinese by Ying Ruo Show, 31 May 2020

Yiguandao’s Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic

Originating from mainland China, Yiguandao is one of the Chinese religious movements that regards the union of the Three Teachings (Buddhism, Daoism, Confucianism) as its religious core.

In modern times, Yiguandao has moved towards Confucianism as its main mode of cultivation. Having developed in Taiwan for nearly 75 years, Yiguandao is one of the three main religious groups in Taiwan, besides Daoism and Buddhism. It has also spread to more than 80 countries.

Yiguandao values charitable acts as part of self-cultivation. In its early days in China, a number of charitable associations were founded by Yiguandao, offering free medical consultation and medicine, and helping the poor and orphans.

Today, Yiguandao divisions have established charity foundations around the world, offering emergency relief and education, and promoting the reading of Chinese classics. While preaching the cultivation of the Way (xiudao 修道), Yiguandao also seek to benefit mankind and do good to society. This is evident in the current response of Yiguandao to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The international expansion of Yiguandao. Red dots indicate countries with Yiguandao divisions, flags indicate countries where Yiguandao established national-level general associations. (source: The General Association of Yiguandao in Taiwan)

The Chinese New Year was not over yet when the first outbreak of COVID-19 happened. The General Association of Yiguandao in Taiwan (yiguandao taiwan zonghui 一貫道台灣總會) quickly responded by calling upon all divisions to pray for the best interests of the world by continuously chanting the Mile Zhenjing 彌勒真經 (True Scripture of the Maitreya Buddha) and bowing, with the hope that the adverse effects of the pandemic could be minimised.

Aside from the usual chanting and bowing familiar to devotees, online group meetings implemented by some divisions in February were rapid and timely measures to keep pace with developments. In fact, utilising new media technology to present and re-construct Chinese religions is not a new phenomenon. One can find such analysis in the recent publication by Prof. Lin Wei-pin.

The increasing use of teleconferencing software also applies to religious groups. With prior experience from the break in religious cultivation resulting from SARS in 2003, this time Yiguandao was able to shift its regular doctrine advancement programme to online classes, given the more adequate environment and resources. This enabled devotees to continue their religious learning during the pandemic.

From 1^st February 2020, divisions and temples of Yiguandao in all countries began to cancel upcoming large-scale events. Some divisions even cancelled the repentance sessions, normally regarded to be of utmost importance. As such sessions have to be carefully screened before they are conducted, it can be seen that Yiguandao paid great attention to the pandemic’s development.

Some divisions with better resources were able to bring their large-scale trans-national leader group meetings online, with lectures conducted from the main temple of Yiguandao in Taiwan either in real time or through pre-recorded videos. As for the daily routine of praying, many Yiguandao devotees are able to carry on with the rituals as they have their own family shrines.

After modifying the internal operation of temples, some divisions also initiated outward facing charity activities. When Taiwan experienced a shortage of alcohol for disinfection, Yiguandao volunteers helped to distribute hypochlorous acid water donated by large corporations. The Yiguandao association in Indonesia initiated the sending of daily necessities to needy families around their temples which are impacted economically. Face masks and vegetarian meal boxes were also offered to medical workers in Jakarta. On their accord, devotees in Thailand donated 5000 handsewn face masks to 19 clinics and hospitals.

Face masks distribution initiative (source: The General Association of Yiguandao in Indonesia)

Face masks distribution initiative (source: The Yiguandao Hongluo Buddha Hall in Los Angeles)

The General Association of Yiguandao in Taiwan also called for the donation of face masks to the government of New York City to help alleviate the severe situation. Masks were also made available to the general public who requested for them, even if they were not devotees of Yiguandao. Till now, masks have been sent to the USA, Canada, France, Spain, Italy, Saudi Arabia, Hong Kong, Australia, Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, Thailand, and other countries. The donation of face masks is understood as a “online dharma service”, the purpose of which is to form good dharma affinity with all sentient beings.

Encouraging vegetarianism is one of the core teachings of Yiguandao. As seen from the internal doctrine manual Yiguandao Yiwen Jieda 一貫道疑問解答 (Catechism of Yiguandao), vegetarianism is a means to preserve pure human nature, and to avoid killing: “Vegetarianism is of utmost importance. The human nature of the Prior Heaven realm is of pristine quality, the quality of which is not to be polluted by filthy qi (energy). If mixed with filthy qi, humans will be confused in their pursuit of the inner truth […] Moreover, the virtue of Heaven is compassion, those cultivating the Way have to abide by Heaven’s will, and should not kill sentient beings in order to satisfy one’s appetites.”

As the COVID-19 pandemic was caused by consuming wild animals, Yiguandao took this opportunity to promote vegetarianism. The video encouraging vegetarianism titled “One Vegetarian Meal Each Day” was a collective effort produced by the main temple in Taiwan and other international general associations of Yiguandao. Some divisions provided cooking videos and online recipe books to extend their core beliefs to a wider audience through the use of new media.

Be it internal devotees or the outside world, it can be seen that Yiguandao is responding to the COVID-19 pandemic with a rational approach that copes constantly with the changing world. The religious aim of going into society to provide salvation is clearly evident in the course of this pandemic. 

31 Days Vegetarian Challenge (source: The General Association of Yiguandao in Indonesia)

Shen Yeh-Ying is an adjunct instructor at School of Humanities and Behavioural Sciences, Singapore University of Social Science. She obtained her PhD in Chinese Studies from National University of Singapore. Her PhD dissertation dealt with the transnational religious movement of Yiguandao, a Chinese religious movement prominent in Taiwan and in Southeast Asia.

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Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the position of the blog editorial team or the Asia Research Institute.

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