"Respecting the teacher is practice, disobedience is degradation, and doubt is karma." Buddhist reading can lead to a special prison

"Respecting the teacher is practice, disobedience is degradation, and doubt is karma." Buddhist reading will become a special prison

Writer "Wang Xue" Wang Jiangzhen and others were charged by the Taipei District Prosecutor's Office yesterday for imprisoning and abusing a female believer named Chiang Kai-shek. Wang Nan's method of controlling his followers is like that of a cult leader. The indictment revealed that he established the absolute authority of the "guru" internally, forbade calling him by his first name, and used religious precepts, life monitoring, collective criticism, and violent corporal punishment to weaken the followers' autonomy. The reading club located in Da'an District, Taipei City, was even called a "special prison" internally.

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To create absolute authority, believers must retreat and leave

Wang calls himself "Teacher Wang Xue" externally, and is regarded as "guru" internally by his followers. He is the supreme leader of the group and requires believers to strictly abide by the precepts of making offerings, treating the teacher as Buddha, and practicing the teacher's teachings. Among them, "offering offerings" was even interpreted as having to dedicate all the children, spouses, bodies and wealth that are most difficult to part with to the guru. He then strengthened control with teachings such as "respecting the guru is practice, disobedience is degeneration, and doubt is karma", gradually suppressing the doubts and independent thinking of believers.

Gradually suppress the independent thinking of believers

The king's authority seeps into daily life. Believers must call him "teacher" and are not allowed to look directly at him. They must step back and leave after reporting. Believers must report in advance when they go out and return on time. If they miss Wang’s call, they must call back immediately. In addition to being responsible for cooking, cleaning, feeding the dogs, and picking up and dropping off, believers also have to handle matters such as publishing, official websites, and evening parties, and take turns to be on duty at the king's residence and various bases.

If a believer offends the king, he or she will be "discussed," "struggled," corporally punished, or imprisoned. The "seminar" is led by the king himself or designated by senior believers to host it. Everyone surrounds the punished person and yells, humiliates and attacks him personally in the name of improvement and elimination of karma until the other person cries bitterly and admits his mistake. Corporal punishment included slapping, splashing hot water, or repeated prostrations, alternating jumps and half-squats. Wang would sometimes ask "five hundred or one thousand" to decide the number of spanks, and then order other believers to carry out the punishment. Those who refused may also be beaten.

Bathing, using the toilet, and mobile phones are all monitored

Those in confinement are not allowed to go home or freely bathe or use mobile phones, and they are also restricted from talking to others. Bathing and using the toilet must be approved by the person on duty. Without permission, they can only use plastic bags to contain excrement. Who can enter the reading club or be on duty inside must also obtain the king's consent, so that the monitoring extends from mental obedience to sleep, communication and basic physiological needs.