What is the major defference between I-Kuan Tao and Buddhism?

by Master Kuo Ming-Yi

I-Kuan Tao emphasizes the practical aspect and not the theoretical aspect of religion. Buddhism’s path of practice is “cultivation before attainment”. For I-Kuan Tao, the path of practice is “Attainment before cultivation” - this is the greatest difference from Buddhism. After a cultivator has received the Tao, he attained “surpass the cycle of birth and death” first, and then later gradually cultivate.

Regarding the different method of cultivation, I-Kuan Tao is the path of “directly pointing to mind, see your true nature and become Buddha”. Buddhism, on the other hand, is the path of using all kinds of theory and teaching to transform the behavior of people. As this is a period of knowledge explosion, people’s thinking have become more complex and full of doubts, Buddhism has no choice but to move towards the direction of explaining the academic theory and essence, so as to convince the people. But it is also because of this direction taken that Buddhism has trodden onto this path of “games of words” - a path that is now difficult to reverse.

I-Kuan Tao has completely taken the opposite path to Buddhism. I-Kuan Tao emphasizes on the importance of practicing the truth in everyday life, enabling the spirituality of human beings to be pure and lifting it to a higher level. There is another major difference between Buddhism and I-Kuan Tao – Buddhism is the path of teaching, and I-Kuan Tao is the path of Tao. Although Tao is extremely unique and valuable, the appearance of Tao is however dependent on the right time and affinity. Therefore this Mandate from Heaven, which has been passed to the holy masters to enable them to transmit the Tao, is not going to be in this world forever and will gradually disappear when the holy masters leave this world one day. When that happened, Tao will transform from its manifested form to obscurity.      

It is for this reason that our Holy teacher has emphasized that this is the “third period of final judgment and salvation”. Once we missed this period of salvation and harvesting of the masses, we will not know when the Great Tao will once again be transmitted to the masses.