The doctrine of the Three Suns () or three stages of the end-time (), or Three Ages, is a

teleological Teleology (from and )Partridge, Eric. 1977''Origins: A Short Etymological Dictionary of Modern English'' London: Routledge, p. 4187. or finalityDubray, Charles. 2020 912Teleology" In ''The Catholic Encyclopedia'' 14. New York: Robert Appleton ...

and

eschatological Eschatology (; ) concerns expectations of the end of the present age, human history, or of the world itself. The end of the world or end times is predicted by several world religions (both Abrahamic and non-Abrahamic), which teach that nega ...

doctrine found in some

Chinese salvationist religions Chinese salvationist religions or Chinese folk religious sects are a Chinese religious tradition characterised by a concern for salvation (moral fulfillment) of the person and the society.; ''passim'' They are distinguished by egalitarianism, a ...

and schools of

Confucianism Confucianism, also known as Ruism or Ru classicism, is a system of thought and behavior originating in ancient China. Variously described as tradition, a philosophy, a religion, a humanistic or rationalistic religion, a way of governing, or a ...

. According to the doctrine, the absolute principle, in many salvationist sects represented as the

Wusheng Laomu The Queen Mother of the West, known by various local names, is a mother goddess in Chinese religion and mythology, also worshipped in neighbouring Asian countries, and attested from ancient times. From her name alone some of her most importan ...

, divides the

end time The end time (also called end times, end of time, end of days, last days, final days, doomsday, or eschaton) refers to: * Eschatology in various religions—beliefs concerning the final events of history or the destiny of humanity End Time, En ...

into three stages, each of which is governed by a different Buddha sent by the Mother to save humanity: the "Green Sun" (''qingyang'') governed by

Dīpankara Buddha Dipankara (Pali: ''Dīpaṅkara''; Sanskrit: ', "Lamp bearer") or Dipankara Buddha is one of the Buddhas of the past. He is said to have lived on Earth four asankheyyas and one hundred thousand kappas ago. According to some Buddhist or folk tr ...

, the "Red Sun" (''hongyang'') by

Gautama Buddha Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha, was a wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist tradition, he was born in Lu ...

, and the current "White Sun" (''baiyang'') by Maitreya. In different sects the three periods are known by slightly different names, variations originated by oral transmission of the teaching. The doctrine is especially important in the

Xiantiandao The Xiantiandao (, or "Way of the Primordial"; Vietnamese: ', Japanese: '), also simply Tiandao (; Vietnamese: ', Japanese: ') is one of the most productive currents of Chinese folk religious sects such as the White Lotus Sect, characterised by ...

group of sects, the most notable one being

Yiguandao Yiguandao / I-Kuan Tao (),; ko, 일관도, Ilgwando; th, อนุตตรธรรม, . meaning the Consistent Way or Persistent Way, is a Chinese salvationist religious sect that emerged in the late 19th century, in Shandong, to become C ...

Origins

The Three Suns doctrine places itself in a sect tradition ("Sanyangism", 三阳教 ''Sānyángjiào'', "teaching of the Three Suns") flourishing at least since the

Ming dynasty The Ming dynasty (), officially the Great Ming, was an imperial dynasty of China, ruling from 1368 to 1644 following the collapse of the Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming dynasty was the last orthodox dynasty of China ruled by the Han peo ...

. It can be traced back to a

Taoist Taoism (, ) or Daoism () refers to either a school of philosophical thought (道家; ''daojia'') or to a religion (道教; ''daojiao''), both of which share ideas and concepts of Chinese origin and emphasize living in harmony with the '' Tao ...

school A school is an educational institution designed to provide learning spaces and learning environments for the teaching of students under the direction of teachers. Most countries have systems of formal education, which is sometimes comp ...

named ''Hunyuan'', from the concept of ''hunyuan'' ("original chaos") that existed before '' hundun'' ("still chaos") and is the beginning of primordial '' qi'' (''yuanqi'') according to some Taoist cosmologies. Other possible origins go back to the entry of Maitreya beliefs into China. These concepts became part of the folk tradition and were incorporated in the sect ''milieu''. In the earliest sects of the Ming period, the Lord of Original Chaos (''Hunyuan Zhu'') represents the origin of the universe developing through three stages, ''yang'', or cosmic periods. The earliest written evidence of this doctrine can be found in the ''Huangji jieguo baojuan'', published in 1430. In this text the three stages are already associated to the three Buddhas:

Dipankara Dipankara (Pali: ''Dīpaṅkara''; Sanskrit: ', "Lamp bearer") or Dipankara Buddha is one of the Buddhas of the past. He is said to have lived on Earth four asankheyyas and one hundred thousand kappas ago. According to some Buddhist or folk t ...

Gautama Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha, was a śramaṇa, wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist tradition, he was ...

and Maitreya. The Green Sun Assembly was held at the end of the first period, the Red Sun Assembly in the second one and the White Sun Assembly will be held in the third one.

Confucian doctrine

The doctrine of the Three Ages is discussed in

Neo-Confucian Neo-Confucianism (, often shortened to ''lǐxué'' 理學, literally "School of Principle") is a moral, ethical, and metaphysical Chinese philosophy influenced by Confucianism, and originated with Han Yu (768–824) and Li Ao (772–841) in t ...

and New Confucian teachings, the ''Gongyang Commentary'' and the ''Datong shu'' of

Kang Youwei Kang Youwei (; Cantonese: ''Hōng Yáuh-wàih''; 19March 185831March 1927) was a prominent political thinker and reformer in China of the late Qing dynasty. His increasing closeness to and influence over the young Guangxu Emperor spar ...

. The Confucian interpretation is comparable to the doctrine of the Spirit in

Hegelian Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel (; ; 27 August 1770 – 14 November 1831) was a German philosopher. He is one of the most important figures in German idealism and one of the founding figures of modern Western philosophy. His influence extends a ...

thought. '' Ren'' ("humaneness", the essence of human being) develops and matures progressively to higher stages in history. Kang saw history as progressing from an Age of Disorder to the Age of Approaching Peace, and ending at the Age of Universal Peace. In the third age humankind attains ''Datong'', ''ren'' is fully realised as people transcend their selfishness and become one with "

all under Heaven ''Tianxia'' (), literally meaning "(all) under Heaven", is a Chinese term for a historical Chinese cultural concept that denoted either the entire geographical world or the metaphysical realm of mortals, and later became associated with polit ...

Yiguandao doctrine

Currently, Yiguandao doctrine about Three Ages is as follows:三期末劫與三曹普渡
2009, Retrieved 6 February 2014

References

Sources

* Hubert Michael Seiwert. ''Popular Religious Movements and Heterodox Sects in Chinese History''. Brill, 2003. {{ISBN, 9004131469 * Tay, Wei Leong.
Kang Youwei: The Martin Luther of Confucianism and His Vision of Confucian Modernity and Nation
'. In: Haneda Masashi, ''Secularization, Religion and the State'', University of Tokyo Center for Philosophy, 2010. Teleology Eschatology Chinese salvationist religions Yiguandao

Origins

Confucian doctrine

Yiguandao doctrine

See also

References

Sources