Oh so is Yi Kuan Dao is it?
http://www.buddhismaustralia.org/cults.htm
I Kuan
Tao (Tian Tao) - Yi Guan Dao
The followers of I Kuan Tao
claimed that it is a distinguished lineage back over 2000 years
when it begins from the ancient Chinese astrolgers, emperors,
Confucius, and so forth. From 18th Ancient Patriarch Mencius, the
lineage travels to the west, the lineage began from Shakyamuni
Buddha, Mahakashyapa to 28th Indian Patriarch Bodhidharma. But the
modern practice of Tian Tao, as we know it today, was established
about 70 years ago. In the 1930, Shi Zueng Zhang Tian Ran and Shi
Mu Sun Hui Ming, became the 18th Patriarch and started
theirpractice I Kuan Tao in Chi Nan City, Shang Dong Province of
China. Their work spread by word of mouth, andby 1946 I Kuan Tao
became prevalent among 36 provinces of China. At the end of the
Civil War in 1949, many followers in China found their beliefs
incompatible with Communist doctrines. This and other reasons
compelled large numbers of them to emigrate to Taiwan, Hong Kong,
Korea,Japan, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand and the Philippines.
Tian Tao quickly took root in these new lands, spreading with its
teachings Chinese culture and traditional family values. By
increasing the number of I Kuan Tao temples, they believed that
they are bringing the Buddhist "Western Paradise" to earth and
creating a world of brotherhood and universal love as envisioned by
Confucian
teachings.
Presently, they claimed that
the founder, 17th Patriarch Lu Zhong Yi, was an incarnation of
Maitreya. He has major influence and impact on the present form of
I Kuan Tao. The central teaching of Tian Tao, is based on the
initiation ceremony - a new formula on the Triple Gem,
namely:
1. Opening of Heavenly Eye
(Dian Xuan Dao),
2. Oral Transmission of the
Maitreya prayer (Chuan Ko Jue),
and
3. Hand Gestures (Jie He
Tong).
They believe that the recipient
has obtained the Tao and that his name has been reserved in the
heaven and erased from the lists in hell. Upon death, the recipient
will ascend straight to heaven without having to endure the cycles
of rebirth.
Graeme Lyall (Australia), 1999, wrote:
"The group is known as Ee Kwang Tao
(Yi Guan Dao). I was invited to attend the opening of one of their
'Holy Houses'. It was one of the strangest rituals that I have ever
witnessed. Following the ritual we were invited to go before the
'Master' to receive initiation. I declined on the grounds that I
had been invited to attend the opening but not to join anything.
After a while they approached me again and they said that the
'Master' was waiting for me and I MUST go before the 'Master'. I
replied that I must not do anything of the sort as
I am atraditional Buddhist and had no wish to join their
organisation. I thanked them for their hospitality and said that I
was leaving. As each person arrived they took their name. As I left
they asked me for my name as they said that the names were being
sent to heaven and, as I refused initiation, my name would have to
be struck off the list. I consulted a Chinese friend about my
experience and he
immediately identified it as the Ee Kwang Tao cult which, as was
said, is proliferating in Australia. The initiates are sworn to
secrecy with the threat of harm to themselves and their family if
the secrets are revealed. This dangerous cult bears no relation to
Buddhism so beware of them."