Joy from letting go
There has been a history of government suppression of I-Kuan Tao, but it is now recognized as one of Taiwan's representative religions. The foundation of its teachings is a mix of Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism. Also incorporating ideas from Christianity and Islam, the faith holds that "the five religions come from one source." Confucian ethics and the Buddhist practice of vegetarianism and edicts against the taking of life are integrated into daily life. I-Kuan Tao adherents believe that the end of the world is coming, and that we are in the closing stages of the "White Yang" age. Soon the Ancient Mother of Limitless Heaven will send the Maitreya Buddha to save the world.
The Truth Family's founder Chang Ho-ping has long been an I-Kuan Tao believer. Although he used to lecture about the faith's doctrines, the Truth Family has no direct connection to any branch of the religion and operates completely independently. Deep reflections on the state of society and religion prompted Chang to establish the Truth Family, which operates as a commune, unaffiliated and removed from any official religious site.
He uses the Buddhist concept of the "end of the world" to explain why people are so selfish, why the world is so chaotic, and why suicide rates are so high. Just as "it has been said that every citizen, no matter how lowly, contributes to a nation's rise or fall," so too, he says, must the nation bear responsibility for every person's welfare, and so too must those with religious abilities shoulder their duty to ask Heaven to provide people with direction.
When traditional Zen Buddhism talks about its adherents achieving a state of emptiness, it emphasizes struggling hard at self-cultivation while retreating from the world. It doesn't provide a path for people to take within the world. Typical religious sites, including those of I-Kuan Tao, stress magnificent architecture or awe-inspiring ceremonies or sutras that can draw people in. There is little emphasis on changing the attitudes or perspectives on life that people have out in the world. At seven-day Zen Buddhist retreats there is a sense that many participants are joining the crowd to do the popular thing. Some people stress doing good works, but this "visible giving" aimed at building karma is not what Buddha described when he spoke of giving without expectation of reward.
"We focus on the Zen of life. We don't talk about grand theories, or put much stock in ceremonies or delving deeply into difficult scriptures. Rather we seek a path through life and deal with problems as they come up. Enlightenment can happen at any time. We let everyone learn how to let go and release 'the true self' within."
"After learning how to let go, I can do for others and others can do for me, so that the Commonwealth of the Great Unity can be realized in this world," Chang Ho-ping says. "Only when there is equal progress in the spiritual realm and in daily life, can we achieve paradise and save people."
The concept of establishing a paradise on earth may seem a simple one, but it is far from easy to get people who are used to modern utilitarian and materialistic society to cast aside selfish desires, turn over their income to the group, and live a simple communal life. Wu Cheng-han has lived in the community for 12 years. He used to be a real-estate broker in the Tienmu neighborhood of Taipei. Although appearing very successful on the surface, "My life was in crisis," he says. "My mother had had a stroke and was bedridden, and my wife wanted a divorce. Amid these difficulties, it was the words 'let go' that allowed me to understand that the life of luxury in Taipei was not for me."
"At first, I had a tough time of it, because when a big group of people live together, a lot of one's faults naturally come to the surface," explains Wu. "For instance, I used to be quite egotistic and male chauvinist. When something didn't go the way I wanted, I'd lose my temper, and I didn't get along well with my wife. After coming here, because you have to learn to accommodate people in every aspect of life, and because there is an ongoing conversation about the principle of truth, I gradually learned how to accept things and let go, trying to avoid being narrow minded. Over the course of a few years I was slowly able to change. I hardly have a temper at all now, and I've improved relations with my wife. Living this kind of collective life has been of tremendous help."
Wu insightfully says that like most of the members of the Truth Family, he had read some of the Confucian, Buddhist and Taoist scriptures before coming here. "But truly reading the scriptures isn't the same thing as living them. Sitting and speaking isn't as good as rising and doing. Gaining understanding through group living is the best way to really put these into practice."
Apart from elderly retirees and middle-aged dropouts from the rat race, young people also number among the members of the Truth Family. Cheng Jui-chang is 30. After finishing his military service, he came here with his mother, and now he works as a carpenter at the compound. In his estimation, his arrival both marked a new chapter in his life and was also an expression of filial piety. Gregarious by nature, he has come into contact with all kinds of people in society. "Outside life isn't better," he says. "There is the constant struggle for and hankering after money, and fewer people help each other."
When you ask him about relationships between the sexes, a source of difficulty for many young people, he says that Taiwanese men have had their minds polluted by watching Japanese pornography. He explains that the approach of the Truth Family is to direct youth to develop proper conceptions about these relations. "Romantic love can certainly make people happy, but what's even more important is that when you lose the love, you've got to let it go, or else it can become a bad thing."
Apart from trying to lead people to gain proper conceptions about these matters, the Truth Family has no prohibitions with regard to young people's marriages and relations. "In this day and age who can control that?" he says laughing. Currently the Truth Family has more middle-aged and elderly members, and fewer young people. Consequently, there are few love affairs or marriages within the community. Partners tend to meet on the outside and then come here to live together. And no one has ever left because of getting married.
with local children in front of his small wooden residence.