Introduction to the English Edition of The Ultimate Realm

Chün-fang Yu
Professor, Department of Religion
Rutgers University

　　This is the English version of The Ultimate Realm: Teachings of the Lord of Universe Church, the most important scripture of the T’ienti Chiao(天帝教) (translated as T’ienti Teachings or Lord of Universe Church in this text). T’ienti Chiao is one of the fastest growing new religions in Taiwan today. Since it registered with the government in 1982, it has not only established its presence everywhere on the island but also spread its messages to Japan and the United States. The present English translation was made in preparation for its worldwide mission. In this introduction, I shall discuss the life of Mr. Lee Yü-chieh(李玉階), the founder of this religion, the characteristics and history of this new religion, the origin of this scripture, and lastly, some main ideas found in the text. The Ultimate Realm is an unusual text, for it does not claim to have a human author. It was revealed by T’ienti, the Lord of the universe, to Mr. Lee Yü-chieh, during several years starting in the spring of 1939 on Hua Mountain(華山), one of the five sacred peaks of China located in Shensi Province(陝西省). The actual human medium was Mr. Lee’s young son, Wei-sheng(維生). Mr. Lee and Huang Wei-tao(黃維道), a journalist with scientific interests, would ask T’ienti various questions of ultimate concern and His answers would be transmitted to Wei-sheng by the Lord’s intermediaries. The first draft was completed in the winter of 1942 and the first edition came out in 1944 in Hsian(西安) under the title, “A New System of Religious Philosophy”.

　　”T’ienti” is the name of the Supreme Lord worshipped by the followers of the religion. This is the same God known as “Lord on High”(上帝, Shang-ti) to ancient Chinese and whose name was inscribed on bronze vessels of the Shang dynasty(商朝)(?1766-?1122 B.C.) It is also the same God worshipped in all religions. According to the teachings of T’ienti Chiao, all regions of the world, be it Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, Taoism and Confucianism, were all established by emissaries of the same Supreme Lord. It is for this reason that converts to T’ienti Teachings do not have to give up their original faiths. Although this is a new religion, its God is, therefore, older than mankind and was already known at the beginning of Chinese history. It is also for this reason that T’ienti Teachings do not speak of a founder (for only T’ienti Himself can be called the founder), but regard Mr. Lee Yü-chieh as the “First-Appointed Master Emissary on Earth of the T’ienti Teachings”.

　　Mr. Lee appears in The Ultimate Realm under two other names: Han-ching(涵靜)”Vessel of Stillness”, and Chi-ch’u(極初)”Absolute Beginning”. He is now, in 1994, 94 years old. Although he is not called founder of the religion, because its history has been so intimately bound up with his life experiences, it is necessary for the reader to have some ideas about him.

　　Born in 1901 in Soochow(蘇州), Kiangsu(江蘇), Mr. Lee lost his father when he was only thirteen years old. His mother, n’ee Liu, was a pious Buddhist, keeping vegetarian diet, chanting Buddha’s name, reading Buddhist scriptures and practicing Ch’an(禪) meditation. When the father died at the young age of thirty-nine, there were four sons and Mr. Lee was the oldest. The mother brought them up by herself. The son’s feeling of filial gratitude is eloquently revealed in the dedicatory preface of the present book. When Mr. Lee was sixteen, he graduated from the Normal Elementary School in Soochow as the valedictorian and went to Shanghai(上海) to continue his education. His mother gave him the handwritten copies of two very important morality books: The Treatise of the Exalted One on Recompense and Retribution(太上感應篇, T’ai-shang K’ang-yin p’ien) and Lord Wen-ch’ang’s Essay on Secret Recompense(文昌帝君陰騭文, Wen-ch’ang Ti-chün ying-chih wen), and said, “These are the only property your father bequeathed to you. Always keep them with you and practice their teachings diligently”. He lived in the house of his uncle in Shanghai and received two silver dollars each month as spending money. Because he was very frugal, he managed to spend only one dollar and saved the other one. At the end of the year, he would use the money thus saved to have copies of these two morality tracts printed and asked workers on a steam boat sailing along the Yangtze River(長江) to distribute them among the passengers for free. He did this for three years. He also started to do quiet sitting about this time.

　　In 1918 Mr. Lee transferred to China Public School(中國公學, Chung-kuo Kung-hsueh) located in Wu-sung(吳淞). This was the highest educational institution established by the Revolutionary Government. Dr. Sun Yat-sen(孫逸仙), and other revolutionary leaders such as Huang Hsing(黃興), Ts’ai Yuan-pei(蔡元培), and Yu Yu-jen(于右任) were memebers sitting on the board of directors. Dr. Hu Shih(胡適) was an early graduate of the school, and after finishing his studies in the United States, he became its president upon returning to China. Mr. Lee thus received the influence of Three Principles of People and Nationalist revolutionary spirit from an early age. The next year, 1919, when the May Fourth Movement started in Peking, students in Shanghai responded. He was elected the chairman of the students’ association of his school and was very active in organizing strikes and other patriotic protests against the signing of the peace treaty with Germany. He also formally joined the Nationalist Party in this year.

　　Mr. Lee married Miss Kuo Ch’un-hua(過純華) in 1924. The story of their marriage is very interesting and disciples of Mr. Lee love to tell visitors even today. Miss Kuo is a native of Ch’ang-chou (常州) and, in the summer of the previous year, was visited by the incarnation of Chi-Kung (濟公), the Living Buddha, who opened her wisdom eye and secretly transmitted methods of saving people. Miss Kuo was the choice of Mr. Lee’s grandmother. His mother, however, was in favor of another candidate, a Miss T’ang from Soochow. A family meeting consisted of the grandmother, mother, uncle and Mr. Lee, was finally called to decide the matter. When Mr. Lee was asked about his choice, he deferred to his grandmother and mother, who also refused to insist on their own opinions. The uncle then suggested that two lots, one with the character “Kuo” and another the character “T’ang”, be cast in front of an image of Bodhisattva (觀音, Kuan-yin). The lot which came up two out of three times would be the winner. This was done. “Kuo” came up two times in a row and the grandmother declared that her candidate was the winner. Mr. Lee asked to try one more time so that his mother could be given a last chance. Yet the third time also turned up the lot with “Kuo”. This was indeed a marriage made in heaven. Mrs. Lee is ninety-two years old today and is working closely with her husband in matters relating to the church.

　　Mr. Lee was invited to serve in the Ministry of Finance of the Nationalist Government in 1928 and became the secretary of T.V. Sung (宋子文), the minister. When the Nationalist army captured Peking in June of that year, he was given the task of taking care of the files of the Ministry of Finance in the Peking government as well. He was also asked to draft the first tax laws for the Nationalist Government. Several miraculous events happened soon after this which indicated more momentous changes were coming in his life.

　　First, in the spring of 1929, a fire broke out in the dormitory of the Nanking Ministry of Finance where he was staying. Although Mr. Lee was deadly tired because he had not slept for two days because of urgent official business, he was prevented from falling asleep on that particular night by protecting deities. He could thus run out when he heard noises at the start of the fire. With the exception of one corner of his bedroom where the desk on which his important documents were placed, the entire building was burned to the ground. A second and an even more miraculous event was the way Mr. Lee met his teacher, Master Hsiao Ch’ang-ming (蕭昌明), the founder of the T’ien-te Chiao (天德教, Heavenly Virtue Teachings), who is regarded as the 54th founder of the Transmission of T’ienti Teachings. In 1930, when Mr. Lee heard that an eminent person was staying at a photo studio in Nanking, he took the night train from Shanghai and got there the next morning. When he entered the door, even before he was announced, Master Hsiao said, “Yü-chieh, you have come!” Mr. Lee was immediately won over and converted to the religion right away. He was given the religious name “Chi-ch’u” (Absolute Beginning). Master Hsiao used spiritual healing as an expedient in teaching people to turn to virtue. He emphasized the “Twenty Words of Truth” as the guiding principle for human life. T’ienti Teachings continued both traditions.

　　Taking upon himself the task of spreading the religion, he succeeded in establishing in the winter of 1932 the Institute for the Study of Religious Philosophy and The Eastern Sanitarium of Spiritual Healing in Shanghai. After that, the religion was spread to Soochow, Hangchow (杭州), Hankow (漢口), Ch’ang-sha (長沙) and other places. In the autumn of 1934, Master Hsiao ordered Mr. Lee to establish the religion in the northwest. It just so happened he was appointed the Northwest Special Commissioner of Salt by the Ministry of Finance to be stationed in Hsian. He went to work in Hsian. Human wishes were in this case answered by Heaven. Mrs. Lee joined him with the whole family in the winter of 1935. By then, Mr. Lee had four sons who were nine, seven, five and two respectively. The Shensi Institute for the Study of Religious Philosophy was established in May of the same year. It was also around this time, after the religion was spread to Shensi, a third miracle happened to Mr. Lee. He was a very tall person and had a distinguished looking face with fine features. The only defect was that he had no bridge above his nose. After he practised quiet sitting according to the method taught him by Master Hsiao, he suffered tremendous pains in his nose one night. The next morning, when he looked in the mirror, his nose had grown a bridge. This was taken as an example that cultivating the mind could lead to the perfection of physiognomy.

　　In the summer of 1936, Master Hsiao told Mr. Lee to go visit the Venerable Sage of Cloud Dragon (雲龍至聖, Yun-lung Chih-sheng), who was Master Hsiao’s teacher, among Tai-pai Mountain (太白山) (south of Mei County 郿縣, Shensi Province). The Sage was the founder of T’ien-chün (Heavenly Balance) Chiao (天鈞敎) and was regarded as the 53rd founder of the transmission of T’ienti Teachings. Tai-pai Mountain was covered with snow most of the year and few people ever went there. Except for the one month from the fifteenth of the sixth month to the fifteenth of the seventh month when snow melt and pilgrims could come, the mountain was inaccessible the rest of the time. Mr. Lee searched for the Sage for three days and nights in wind and snow. Finally on the fourth day, the Sage’s disciple met him on top of a hanging cliff and led him to the Cave of Nestled Cloud for an audience with the Sage. Mr. Lee wanted to stay on the mountain to learn the Way with him, but the Sage warned him that a national catastrophe would occur the summer of the following year and Lee had a mission to accomplish. He ordered Mr. Lee to tell the latter’s teacher, Master Hsiao, to retreat to Huang Mountain (黃山) in Anhui Province (安徽) and Lee himself must resign from his official duties no later than July 2, 1937 and take his whole family to live under White Cloud Peak (白雲峯) on Hua Mountain. His task was to pray constantly and saveguard the gateway to the northwest. The Sage promised to visit Lee often and protect him.

　　Hua Mountain is located in Hua-yin County (華陰) of Shensi Province. Its elevation is over 2800 meters above sea level. One of the five sacred mountains of China, it has long been revered as a holy place where the Chinese people originated. It is also the base of the Complete Perfection (全真派, Ch’uan-chen) school of Taoism. Numerous people have practiced the Way there and become immortals. After his visit with the Sage, Mr. Lee went to Hua Mountain after the Mid-Autumn Festival with several of his friends in order to find White Cloud Peak. Prior to the trip he researched the mountain gazetteers of Hua Mountain but could not find any reference to this peak. While visiting the North Peak, they met an old Taoist priest who told them that the solitary peak known familiarly as Incense Burner Peak (香爐峯) might be what they were looking for. He then told his disciple to lead them there. Sure enough, under the Incense Burner Peak, outside the Cave of the Golden Immortal (金仙洞) where Princess Golden Immortal, the younger sister of the T’ang Emperor Hsuan-tsang (唐玄宗) (r.713-755) practiced the Way, they found a stele with the following inscription, “So and so reestablished the Cave of the Golden Immortal situated under White Cloud Peak of Hua Mountain in the years of Wan-li (萬曆) (1573-1615) of the Great Ming Dynasty (明朝)”. The mystery was resolved.

　　On July 2, 1937, Mr. Lee resigned from his official post as he was instructed and, taking Mrs. Lee, the four young sons and their tutors, went to live on Hua Mountain. Five days later, on July 7, Marco Polo Bridge Incident occurred and China soon plunged into war with Japan. Mr. Lee was thirty-seven years old and, taking Han-ching Lao-jen (涵靜老人) “The Old Man Who was the Vessel of Stillness” as his Taoist sobriquet, stayed on Hua Mountain for the next eight years until the end of the Second World War. He was often visited by The Venerable Sage of Cloud Dragon and other hermits from the Kun-lun Mountain (崑崙山) . It was also during the two years 1940-1941 that teachings from T’ienti were revealed, culminating in The Ultimate Realm. In 1945, when the war against Japan was over, the Sage declared cryptically that a new mission was waiting for Mr. Lee and he would go to “the immortal island of P’eng-lai” (蓬萊仙島, Formosa). This island turned out to be no other than Taiwan, for the Lee family moved there in 1949. After a business deal failed as a result of embezzlement by his partner, Mr. Lee took over the Tzuli Evening News (自立晩報), a private-owned newspaper, in 1951. In 1958, he gave up his membership in the Nationalist Party in order to protest against government laws restricting freedom of the press. He ran the newspaper for fifteen years and retired in 1966. He turned increasingly to missionary work from this time onward. He went to Japan in 1968 for the first time and gave lectures on the T’ienti Teachings. The Ultimate Realm was translated into Japanese, the first time that the book was rendered into another language.

　　1979 was an important year in the history of the church. In April of that year, Mr. Lee began teaching the public the “Chinese Original Quiet Sitting” (正宗靜坐, Cheng-tsung ching-tso) based on his realization attained over forty years ago on Hua Mt. In the winter of that year, Soviet Union suddenly invaded Afghanistan and in order to preserve the supply of oil, the United States was ready to defend it by going to war. Faced with the crisis of nuclear destruction and the threat of another global war, Mr. Lee led the graduates of the first two meditation classes to engage in collective prayers day and night, pleading T’ienti to intervene and make sure that the war, if it were to occur, to be no more deadly than a conventional warfare. Indeed, the danger of a nuclear confrontation was thus averted. However, although the Afghanistan situation did not worsen, but with the outbreak of war between Iraq and Iran, the fate of mankind was still precarious. Fearing that all traditional religions would fail to rescue the world from impending disaster, Mr. Lee beseeched T’ienti to reveal T’ienti Chiao, the original religion of the mankind to the world again. Finally, on December 21, 1980, T’ienti gave his approval and named Mr. Lee the founder of T’ienti Chiao in Taiwan. When Mr. Lee received this order, he knelt down and, crying with loud sobs, begged T’ienti Himself to take the position of founder, for no human being in this era was qualified to assume this title. Eventually, on December 27, T’ienti relented and named Mr. Lee the First-Appointed Master Emissary on Earth of the T’ienti Teachings.

　　Mr. Lee is a patriot. He joined the Nationalist revolutionary cause when he was a young man. Even after he ceased to be a formal member of the Nationalist Party, he continues to regard the Three Principles of People as unfailing guides to a strong and prosperous China. He believes that the future of China lies with a peaceful reunification between the mainland and Taiwan. He is equally concerned with the future of the world and the safety of mankind which are possible only with the permanent elimination of the nuclear weapon. The lasting solution of political hostility between nations and peoples, however, can be realized only through their spiritual transformation. T’ienti Chiao, in this view, holds the key to human happiness. Politics and religion are thus ultimately related, a belief central to the Confucian tradition. It is clear from even this short review of Mr. Lee’s life that he embodies both the traditional values of Chinese culture as well as the revolutionary ideals of a new age. In a similar fashion, The Ultimate Realm contains ideas found in traditional religions such as Confucianism, Taoism and Buddhism as well as new concepts unique to T’ienti Teachings. It is a fascinating text which creates a new synthesis between religion and science. Let us examine some of the ideas in the rest of the introduction.

　　The first and perhaps the most distinguishing characteristic of the book that a new reader notices is its scientific (or quasi-scientific) terminology. Instead of finding terms used in most religions and philosophies such as body and mind (or soul), or matter and spirit, one reads about e-tropons (p.13) and harmonons (p.15) which correspond to the former terms. The reason for the use of such new terms is because with the prevalence of scientific education in the twentieth century, people find such expressions easier to understand. T’ienti Teachings take an evolutionary view of religion, acknowledging that “the religion of each era must be in accord with that era’s needs. Precisely because of this, religion must possess an enduring spirit of renewal, without which it cannot become mankind’s traditional faith or maintain the validity of its lasting existence”(p.2). Cosmic truth is expounded from a scientific perspective in order “to establish a new sort of spiritual science, to illumine the true Tao of the cosmos”(p.39). Therefore, not only the views of the world and human life, but also those of deities and even that of T’ienti Himself, as we shall see, are expressed with such a scientific perspective. It is also for this reason that among the faithful of the T’ienti Teachings today in Taiwan, one finds a large number of well educated intellectuals, including physicists, space scientists and engineering professors and students.

　　Having said this, however, I must hasten to emphasize that such ideas should not be taken literally and correlated with existing concepts in physics, chemistry or biology. For we should never forget that the contents of this book were resulted from revelation and transmitted through human media. T’ienti Teachings have always regarded this way of communication between human beings and God as most infallible, for we read, “The distance between Heaven and man lessens as the wheel of time advances. Whenever matters in this world do not yield to solution by intellect, we hope that communication between Heaven and man will be the path to illumine the truth”(p.3). Technically known as “Heaven-man communication” (天人交通, T’ien-jen chiao-ton), messages from Heaven can take from through mediumship of the planchette, mediumship of light, mediumship of the pen, auditory mediumship, spiritual healing and quiet contemplation, detailed explanation of which can be found in the body of the text (p.75-80). As I mentioned earlier, Mr. Lee’s oldest son, Wei-sheng, who was then only fourteen years old, served as the media in communication with deities. Huang Wei-Tao, a journalist with heavy interest in science, used proximate concepts from science to express most of the ideas received by revelation. However, this was not always possible. In fact, during the early 1940’s, when the bulk of the revelations took place, some ideas mentioned in the book were actually unknown in science. For instance, speaking of the nature of e-tropons, “The positive and negative polarities of ordinary electricity follow the principle of like-repels-like and opposites attract. However, e-tropons follow the principle of like-attracts-like and opposites repel, This is a truth that has not yet been discovered in physics”(p.41).

　　Another characteristic of the text which may give rise to some difficulty in understanding for a new reader is its special vocabulary. The relationship between human beings and deities, for instance, is cememted by “bonding” (親, ch’in) and “harmonizing” (和, ho) or “sympathetic” (親和, ch’in-ho) forces. Human beings send out the bonding force which is yin (陰) in nature. When that force reaches “jen-chun” (熱準), another special term meaning “critical energy”, because the person’s great sincerity, it calls forth a response from the deity who sends out the harmonizing force which is yang (陽) in nature. Such exchanges are traditionally facilitated through prayer, sacrificial offering, chanting of sutras and mantras (p.70-74). Not only humans can move deities through these religious activities, deities often play active roles in changing a person’s destiny. For they can either “impel” (壓, yia) or “uplift” (挾, chia) person to do something he is destined to do(p.6, 81-84). A glossary for these and other technical terms is provided with this English translation to help readers understand them better.

　　Concepts and terms central to Chinese philosophies and religions, on the other hand, are also used throughout the text. But they are often used in a different and new way. Some examples will make this clear. For instance, we encounter the familiar term wu-hsing (五行), “five evolutive phases”, but they come about, we are told, because “The combination of e-tropons into atoms, and into molecules caused the Five Evolutive Phases to appear”(p.32). Shen (神) “deities” are harmonons which succeed in freeing from the constraints of e-tropons(p.52).

　　They are divine intermediaries, half-yin and half-yang, above bodily essence but below cosmic ch’i, and above matter but below Nature (p.107). Human beings can become deities through moral striving and spiritual cultivation so that their harmonons can be freed from the e-tropons upon death. By tempering the “three treasures: essence, ch’i, and spirit”, a practitioner can transform his ordinary body into a raydon embryo (p.84-89) which will not only escape transmigration, but, like “a nuclear reactor”, generate pure yang energy without end. In this process of transformation, one must practice hsing-ming shuai-hsiu (性命雙修) “dual cultivation of self-nature and the body” (p.89-90). These terms come from Taoist inner alchemy, but they receive new interpretations here. Sometimes, traditional terms are used to explain new concepts. Thus, “Harmonons are like the superior man (君子, chun-tzu), and e-tropons are like the lowly person (小人, hsiao-jen). The lowly man takes the superior man’s mind to be his own mind. If the superior man moves toward the good, the lowly man will follow and they will walk together. If the superior man is false in his intentions, the lowly man will curry favor by the vilest acts of servitude” (p.60), Tao (the Way) is correlated with harmonons, Nature, the Confucian benevolence (仁, jen) and the Buddhist emptiness (空, k’ung), whereas teh (virtue, power) is correlated with e-tropons, matter, the Confucian sincerity (誠, ch’eng) and the Buddhist form (色, se). “Thus the workings of Tao depend on harmony and sincerity—that is, the fitting union of e-tropons and harmonons” (p.106).

　　What are the key teachings found in The Ultimate Realm? As I understand them, I will mention at least four. The first is “oneness with dual function of mind and matter”. We read, “Is human life ultimately of the mind, or is it material? This is an ageless enigma. Most religious believers and philosophers of the past have argued from idealism. In recent times, most scientists and materialists have tended toward materialism. In actuality, not only do mind and matter both exist for a fact, they arise mutually and fulfill each other.… the cosmos is in truth an arena for mind and matter to coexist, unify and find harmony. This is a world in which e-tropons and harmonons are a oneness with dual function. The nature of human life, also, is none other than oneness with dual function of mind and matter”(p.60). Related to this is “the law of universal dynamism”.

　　Everything in the universe is in a constant state of movement. “At the large end is the spiral harmonizing force which forms the universe’s celestial bodies, in the middle is the force of e-tropons and harmonons acting on each other, as in the human body, and at the small end is the ceaseless movement of e-tropons found even within a cup of water. Thus it is said, matter and Nature move ceaselessly. Objects in motion move, of course, but objects at rest also move. This is universal dynamism”(p.19). Although it is not specified, what we find here is the same idea emphasized in the Book of Changes (易經) and Tao Te Ching (道德經).

　　The second is the so-called “The Third Theory of Godhood” (p.91-93) and the related concept of T’ienti. Taking the theologies of world religions as a whole, the book divides them into three categories: the three theories of godhood. For the first theory of godhood, “All such phenomena as the stars, moon and planets; mountains, rivers and land; plants and minerals were thought to be creations and expressions of divine beings”. For the second theory of godhood, however, “God is man’s savior and possesses supreme authority. Human merit and sin will earn its just recompense through God’s pleasure or displeasure. If one incurs anger up in Heaven, one disaster will follow another; if one gains approval of heaven, terrible sins can be pardoned”. The latter represents a more advanced stage of human understanding. Still, the two theories share much in common. For they both claim that divine power is omnipotent. “The former claims that God is autocratic and brooks no dispute, in the latter God is humanity’s savior. God in the former is like a tyrant and in the latter like a benigh father. All in all both belong to the doctrine of ‘theocentrism'”. By contrast, the third theory of godhood as advanced in this book is very different. For “it is a belief that divine power ultimately is no more than a mediation between matter and the natural order. Deities are heavenly emissaries who carry out the Lord’s will. They are not only unable to create Nature, they themselves fall under the governance of natural laws. It is simply that they possess methods for avoiding some laws. T’ienti or the Lord is the “supreme regulator who brings natural laws into harmony”(p.92). While He is the ruler over all spiritual entities and the highest regulator of harmony among natural laws, the Lord is not the creator of those laws, nor of human beings(p.81). Human beings, for this reason, are not qualitatively different from deities and spiritual entities. This brings us to the third point which I want to emphasize.

　　The statement, “Sacred and mundane are equal”(p.94) characterizes the T’ienti Teachings as a humanistic religion. According to this view, human beings have the potentials and abilities to transcend their limitations and become holy. The pathway of self-transformation is consisted of three kinds of self-initiated striving: First, one must strive within oneself by controlling one’s selfish desires and actively perform moral actions. Confucian and Neo-Confucian models are invoked. Thus, by “rectifying the mind” and “making the will sincere”, one may advance toward sagehood. “As a result of striving within the self, one proceeds to establish merit and virtue, and leave behind lasting words”(p.97). Secondly, one must strive against nature by breaking free from the constraints of material forces. Meditation is the indispensible method to attain freedom from nature, for “nature is mankind’s common enemy”(p.96). Thirdly, one must strive toward Heaven, which means one tries to achieve union with the Lord. This is the highest religious goal for the followers of the T’ienti Teachings. When this is achieved, it is the ultimate realm where Heaven and man become one.

　　The attainment of sagehood is not a private personal matter, but will inevitably bring about a universal transformation. Individual salvation is thus intimately linked with salvation of the whole mankind. This fourth key idea of the T’ienti Teachings is represented by the three great unities (大同,ta-t’ung) : unity of all religions, unity of all peoples of the world, and lastly, unity between Heaven and man. T’ienti Teachings do not deny other religions or their validity but try to point out the common ground. When all people of the world give up fighting and acknowledge our common humanity, true peace may then be established. Finally, with the creation of unity between Heaven and man, a true “paradise” or a real “heaven” becomes a reality, for it is a heaven on earth experienced by living people, but not a place in some other world where one goes after death. T’ienti religion is, therefore, a humanistic spirituality, or an asceticism of this world. Its essential teachings, like T’ienti Himself, are thus firmly rooted in the Chinese tradition, yet at the same time, offer universal messages open to all mankind.