White Lotus

White Lotus
白蓮教
White Lotus Society, c. Ming–Qing
Classification	Chinese salvationist
Orientation	Maitreya teachings
Language	Chinese
Founder	Huiyuan
Origin	during Jin dynasty Mount Lu, Jiujiang
Branched from	Pure Land Buddhism
Absorbed	Chinese Manichaeism

The White Lotus (traditional Chinese: 白蓮教; simplified Chinese: 白莲教; pinyin: Báiliánjiào; Wade–Giles: Pai-lien chiao; lit. 'White Lotus Religion') is a syncretic religious and political movement which forecasts the imminent advent of the "King of Light" (明王), i.e., the future Buddha Maitreya.^[1] As White Lotus sects developed, they appealed to many Han Chinese who found solace in the worship of the Queen Mother of the West (or the "Birthless Old Mother" traditional Chinese: 無生老母; simplified Chinese: 无生老母).