本文主要研究一貫道的道統觀，以及十五代祖師王覺一「以儒為宗」的宗教改革。透過《奉天承運普渡收圓正宗道統寶鑑》分析一貫道內部「七佛治世、三佛收圓」之說的歷史觀，並闡釋「釋終儒起」之以儒為主的入世修行觀。 經過本文的分析，我們可以看出一貫道的歷史觀，就「七佛治世」而言，基本上乃是一貫道對上古人類社會開發史的自我定位，透過人、神分居的神話描述，開啟對於日漸沉淪的人類社會之救渡，故而有「三佛收圓」之說。又因掌天盤諸佛之不同，導致修行觀轉變，藉以解釋沒有永恆不變的修行觀，強化「釋終儒起」的必然性。 王覺一是真正完成「釋終儒起」之道降火宅的關鍵人物，他主張不棄倫常、不離人群的入世修行觀，使得修道不再受限於性別、年齡與社會階級等外在因素，可謂當代一貫道「道降庶民」之說的先河。 一貫道非常強調「天命明師」的道統觀，故而從十四代祖師姚鶴天開始，諸位紹承道統的祖師，皆是由最高神祇老親自挑選，奉命接續道統，說明了祖師之位乃天意命之，非人為可以掌握，迄今，一貫道仍十分強調「天命明師」重要性。

This paper primarily studies the concept of “Succession of the Way” in Yiguan Dao (often also Romanized as I-Kuan Tao) [hereafter YGD] as well as the religious reform “Taking Confucianism as Model” (yi ru wei zong 以儒為宗 ) led by the 15th Patriarch Wang Jueyi 覺一 . Through examining the text Fengtian chengyun pudu shouyuan zhengzong daotong baojian 奉天承運普渡收圓正宗道統寶鑑 (DTBJ), the author analyzes YGD’s internal historical conceptions of the saying “seven Buddhas heal the world, the three Buddhas receive the holistic teachings,” (qi Fo zhishi, san Fo shouyuan 七佛治世、三佛收圓 ) and elucidates the concept “entering the world as cultivation practice” (rushi xiuxing 入世修行 ) by taking Confucianism as one’s mainstay, a concept related to “Buddhism’s End, Confucianism’s Rise” (shi zhong ru qi 釋終儒起 ). Through an analysis of this text, we can see YGD’s conceptions of history. For example, the saying “The Seven Buddhas heal the world” is essentially YGD’s self-categorization of the historical development of human society in the distant past, which through describing the mythology regarding the separation of human and divine beings, initiated the rescue of human society that had been declining with each passing day; thus, we find the saying “The Three Buddhas receive the holistic teachings.” Moreover, because of the differences in the various Buddhas that grasp the Celestial Disk (tianpan 天盤 ), this led to changes in cultivation practice, and in order to explain this absence of eternal constancy in concepts of cultivation practice, the inevitability of “Buddhism’s End, Confucianism’s Rise” was intensified. Wang Jueyi was the key figure in truly completing “Buddhism’s End, Confucianism’s Rise” in “ the Way descends to the fires of the residence” (Dao jiang huozhai 道降火宅 ). He advocated a concept of “entering the world as cultivation practice,” a notion that neither abandoned proper human relationships nor was set apart from groups. This caused the cultivation of the Way to no longer be restricted according to gender, age, social class, or other external factors; we might call this the forerunner of the saying found in contemporary YGD, “the Way descends to the multitude of people” (dao jiang shumin 道降庶民 ). YGD greatly emphasizes a concept of the succession of the Way, “Heavenly Mandate Illuminates the Master” (tianming mingshi 天命明師 ); thus, beginning from the fourteenth ancestral master Yao Hetian 姚鶴天 , the ancestral masters that inherit the Succession of the Way, are all personally selected by the highest divinity, the Venerable Mother (Laomu 老), and receive the mandate to continue the Succession of the Way. This illustrates that the position of ancestral master is the will of Heaven, and cannot be grasped by human beings. To date, YGD has strongly emphasized the importance of the concept of the “Heavenly Mandate Illuminates the Master.”