III. Grand Master Huen-Yuan leads Weixinism for world peace.

2. Spreading the seeds of Peace Culture by teaching and lecturing on the orthodox lineage of Chinese culture - Yi-Ching, and Feng Shui.

Education affects the physical and mental developments of individuals and communities. It is also part of socialization, embracing the internalization of external knowledge and experiences as well as the externalization and application of inner transformation, organization and recognition. Therefore, one of the educational functions is to convey human knowledge and experiences and to inspire human endowments and innate wisdom. Thus, education is an essential social function and a mandatory representation of human nature. This process makes a person sociable and capable of elucidating on life’s abstract values, which inculcates important social cultural values and facilitates the attainment of an ideal condition based on freedom, equality, love, security, peace and progress. Hence, the short-term goal of education is to advance human nature and cultivate character; the mid-term goal is to serve and reconstruct society; and the long-term goal is to achieve world peace and ensure an ideal future for humanity in the universe.

Education is closely tied to philosophy. Philosophy provides content to education, and education works to achieve the ideals of philosophy. Both Chinese culture and Yi-Ching belong to the realm of philosophy. The spirit of Chinese culture is comprehensive. It contains:
(1) Spirit of Advancement: To examine, to find reason, to be sincere and to be mindful in order to enhance oneself, put the family in order, rule the state, and bring order to the world. All is achieved through this spirit, the essence of which is described in the quotation, “Qian hexagram, Xiang ci” in the Yi-Ching, “The movement of the heaven is strong and cycles incessantly. The noble man emulates Tao to make himself strong and tireless.”
(2) Spirit of Neutrality: Being unbiased and impartial is what we call “the mid way”. To be neutral is proper and to stay in the middle is an unchanging principle.
(3) Spirit of Fraternity: Fraternity means to be benevolent. A benevolent person helps others achieve what they want, investing himself in the task as if it were his own.
(4) Spirit of Reason: Recognize when one knows something and also when one does not - this is the way of knowledge.

Spirit of Ethics: This emphasizes the maintenance of proper moral virtues in familial relations, e.g., the father being kind, the son being filial, the elder siblings being generous, and younger siblings being respectful. At home, children respect and care for their parents. Outside of home, siblings take care of each other. People are reverent, trustworthy, and philanthropic, and maintain the best relationships with benevolent people. This is the ethical practice that we pursue.

Thus, future education should be increasingly culture-oriented in order to use cultural design to improve relationships between individuals and other people, things, nature, and the transcendence. “Peace” is, furthermore, a new axiology. In other words, the characteristics of future education will lie in the vision that embraces the whole world and takes care of the future. Its main features will be:
(1) Life-long learning: education will be continuous throughout life.
(2) Holistic education: education will address all aspects of life.
(3) Education in all surroundings: education will be delivered in all types of settings and situations.
(4) The educational spirit shall echo the love of religion and incorporate the entire cosmos as well as reflect the union and harmony of humanity, the earth and the universe. This is peace education. This is the realization of a cosmopolitan world.

Weixinism promotes the spirit of advancement, neutrality, fraternity, reason, and ethics in Chinese culture, embracing the whole world, taking care of the future with the aim of world peace. Grand Master Huen-Yuan is a religious educator who founded the first Yi-Ching university in over five thousand years of Chinese history. The university promotes and encourages the study of Yi-Ching and Feng Shui by using the educational functions of cultural transmission and creativity. By doing this, we hope that “objective culture” will grow and flourish in the inner being of students in order for learning and wisdom to be transformed into “subjective culture”. We will pursue the realization of ideal culture through subjective culture and apply such to all aspects of life by making use of and transforming Yi. Ultimately, we intend to reach the ideal state of personal security, social harmony and universal peace.

In the educational concept of Grand Master Huen-Yuan, disturbed human minds underpin our troubled world. He established Yi-Ching University in the sincere desire to change things for the better. Admission is open to all regardless of race or financial means, and all can join in studies as long as they feel the Yi within themselves and have a kind heart. The school is nourished by the stream of Chinese culture and provides solid social education. Education at Yi-Ching University embraces a future ripe with possibilities and hope. Students are recruited nationwide. The entirety of Taiwan is our campus, with towns and cities our many classrooms. Courses are taught using solid research methodology and strong student participation. It is holistic education grounded in lifelong learning principles. We are gradually broadening our teaching scope from the national to global level. It is the actual practice of religious peace education that unites the universe and nature. Yi-Ching University of Weixinism was set up 15 years ago, with the essential spirit of spreading Chinese culture and spiritual core in Yi-Ching and Feng Shui studies. The school serves four purposes: to raise and cultivate talented people; to revitalize lives and conserve virtue; to refine ambitions; and to create universal harmony. In 2006, Grand Master Huen-Yuan found a plot of land blessed by ideal Feng-Shui in the Bagua Mountains. This is where he established the main campus of Yi-Ching University, which today covers approximately 65.3 acres.

The establishment of Yi-Ching University on Bagua Mountain will train many sages and talented people for Yi-Ching and Feng Shui studies and the proper exercise of Dharma. Grand Master Huen-Yuan gave instructions to build Yi-Ching University as a site for world peace. It has a profound destiny. When seriously ill in 1982, the Grand Master was saved by the deity Zu-Shi Ye (祖師爺). After his recovery, he established the “Yi-Yao Society”, devoted to the practicing of divination founded on a trinity of heaven, earth and humanity. Having proved no being can be independent of the subtle forces of of Yi-Ching, he vowed to propagate its wonderful methods together with those of Feng Shui. He established Yi-Ching University to realize his dream of popularizing Chinese cultural legacies. He realized that if a harmonic society and peaceful world were to be realized, Yi-Ching and Feng Shui studies represent the most powerful forces to do so. He thus decided to found Yi-Ching University.

A foundation stone-laying ceremony for Yi-Ching University on Bagua Mountain was held on June 19th of the lunar calendar in 2007. Master Huen-Yuan said, “The foundation of Yi-Ching University is a valuable and eternal treasure. It is crucial to the earth. It is important for world peace, the pure land of Taiwan and Cross-Strait peace. Bagua Mountain is boundless as is its inheritance of Dharma. It is the guiding star of salvation. In the future, Yi-Ching University will set the benchmark for Chinese cultural orthodoxy. Our education lies in religion, which is about tolerance and not confrontation. We will build a quality university that gives people tranquility ... I look for our Chinese culture to inspire future generations, for the essence of Yi to prevail worldwide, and for Yi-Ching University to benefit all living things.” He also stated, “In the future, Bagua Mountain’s Yi-Ching University will be the catalyst for world peace and a beacon of Chinese cultural orthodoxy. Dharma is priceless, and our cultural legacy is extremely valuable. I hope that we will support it together. In the future, we hope to seed branches throughout Taiwan and the world. We look to spread across the world and create true universal peace.” Branch schools currently operate in New York, Los Angeles, Sydney and Melbourne. Also, the “College of Advanced Yi-Ching and Feng Shui Studies” is currently applying for approval to open a masters degree program.

At this moment, Yi-Ching University offers seven courses.
(1) Research course on Yi-Ching Xin Fa (the essence of Yi), with an enrollment of over 5,000.
(2) Basic introductory course to Yi-Ching and Feng Shui, with an enrollment of over 15,000.
(3) Teacher’s training course, with an enrollment of over 500.
(4) Advanced Yi-Ching Xin-Fa Summer course for college students, with an enrollment of over 1,000.
(5) Yi-Ching Xin-Fa and Feng-Shui research course for talented Chinese worldwide, with an enrollment of over 100.
(6) Graduate credit program on Yi-Ching and Feng Shui, with an enrollment of over 300.
(7) Children’s Yi-Ching reading course, with an enrollment of over 1 million nationwide.

Apart from these, the university offers a study group called the Yi-Ching and Feng Shui Interest Circle. It was launched in October 1999 and today has more than 500 members. Participants are all outstanding students from the “Research course on Yi-Ching Xin Fa” who already have strong knowledge of Yi-Ching and Feng Shui. It was formed in the midst of Taiwan’s devastating 921 Earthquake in 1999. With his compassion for mankind, Grand Master Huen-Yuan personally led the group into damaged areas and committed himself to helping in the reconstruction of victims’ houses using Feng-Shui principles. One hundred and twenty-three schools as well as countless residences benefitted from his assistance. When reconstruction work came to an end, Master Huen-Yuan changed the project and re-entitled it as the “Feng Shui Interest Circle Service Team. Membership rose, with all students enrolled in the research course asked to dedicate themselves to offering their service and assistance to solve the problems of believers facing family troubles that are rooted in incorrect understandings of Feng-Shui. To date, thousands of families have benefited, and the Service Team’s area of service has expanded beyond Taiwan into Mainland China. The work of the Feng Shui Interest Circle Service Team is making important contributions to the restoration of peace within families and the maintenance of social harmony.