Abstract
This ethnography regards the sole Chinese temple in the Romanian capital Bucharest, its people and activity, as well as the thinking that supports this new religious movement (Maitreya Great Tao,Mile Dadao 彌勒大道). It is common knowledge that Taoism, Budhism, and Confucianism appear, at least in the official discourse, as a braided rope of unified Chinese tradition, each of the three at the same time preserving their particular features. Nevertheless, Mile Dadao not only seems to implicitly unite the three traditions in one (to which other foreign or popular traditions may be added as well), but also aims to act as a next-level movement of global importance. This messianic and missionary movement may also be understood as a Sinicized version of Buddhism that ceases to call itself ‘Buddhist’ (or ‘Taoist’) while expressing the role of spiritual supra- structure in which every earthling, member of any religion, may find their place on Earth and eventually salvation.
Recommended Citation
Toader, Serban
(2021)
"Neither Buddhist nor Taoist, but Both (and Even More): Exploring the ‘Hall of Infinite Principle’ (Guangli Fotang): A Chinese Temple in the Romanian Capital,"
Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe: Vol. 41
:
Iss.
8
, Article 4.
Available at:
https://digitalcommons.georgefox.edu/ree/vol41/iss8/4