Does anyone know the history of the development of the White Lotus Sect? Be more detailed!

In the third year of Shaoxing in the Southern Song Dynasty (1133), Shamen Mao Ziyuan of Wu County, Jiangsu Province founded the White Lotus Sect, which was initially a branch of Buddhism. Its teachings originated from the Pure Land Sect and worshiped Amitabha (Infinite Life Buddha). The followers of this sect are called the White Lotus Sect because they "respect onions and milk, and do not kill or drink alcohol." By the Yuan Dynasty, the religion had infiltrated other religious concepts, mainly the theory of Maitreya's rebirth, and gradually turned to worship Maitreya Buddha, and was renamed the White Lotus Sect. The early White Lotus sect worshiped Amitabha and advocated reciting the Buddha's name and observing the precepts (not killing, not stealing, not committing sexual misconduct, not lying, and not drinking alcohol, collectively known as the Five Precepts) in order to be reborn in the Western Pure Land. The teachings are roughly the same as those of the Pure Land Sect. Mao Ziyuan used Tiantai religious principles to draw the "Selected Buddha Pictures of the Four Lands and Three Views", using Buddha statues, graphics and metaphors to explain the heights of the Buddha lands; he simplified and unified the Buddha chanting and repentance rituals made by his predecessors, and formulated the "White Lotus Morning Repentance Rite" 》. In the previous Pure Land Society, the participants only had a loose friendship relationship, and the societies did not belong to each other. Mao Ziyuan changed it to master-disciple teaching and sect affiliation. He built the White Lotus Confession Hall in Dianshan Lake, Kunshan, called himself a teacher, and sat down to be worshiped by the audience. He also required his disciples to name them after the four characters "Pujue Miaodao", thus establishing a relatively stereotyped sect.

Han Shantong and Liu Futong in the late Yuan Dynasty, Zhao Quan and Xu Hongru in the Ming Dynasty were all members of this religion. Therefore, in the eyes of the imperial court, the three words "White Lotus Sect" are almost synonymous with rebellion. After the Yuan Dynasty unified China, the White Lotus Sect was recognized and rewarded by the court, and entered a short period of heyday. Later, Zhu Yuanzhang explicitly banned "leftist evil arts" in the "Ming Law", and the White Lotus Sect declined from then on. In the thirty-ninth year of Qianlong's reign, Wang Lun, a Shandong believer, rebelled against the Qing Dynasty, and the White Lotus Sect once again shocked the government and the public.

The White Lotus Sect was officially banned when it first emerged, and Mao Ziyuan was exiled to Jiangzhou (now Jiujiang, Jiangxi). However, it spread because of its simple teachings and simple practice. By the late Southern Song Dynasty, although it was still regarded as an "evil party" by some local officials and Buddhist monks who regarded themselves as orthodox, the practice had been spread everywhere, even as far as the north under Mongolian rule. After the Yuan Dynasty unified China, the White Lotus Sect was recognized and rewarded by the court and entered its heyday. Donglin Temple in Lushan and Bailian Hall in Dianshan Lake were the two centers of the White Lotus Sect at that time.

The White Lotus Sect, with the motto of "universalizing the faithful people at home", has formed a large number of professional believers with families, called White Lotus Taoists. Because they "monk at home" and do not shave their heads or wear monk's robes, they are also called unshaved Taoists or monks with hair. In the Yuan Dynasty, nunneries composed of Bailian Taoists were spread all over the north and south, with hundreds of followers and dozens of followers. Their scale was comparable to Buddhist temples and Taoist temples. The nunnery enshrines Buddha statues such as Amitabha, Avalokitesvara, and Mahasthamaprapta (collectively known as the Three Amitabha Saints). It provides royal blessings and prayers for longevity at the top, hosts local Buddhist services at the bottom, and also performs some charitable deeds such as building roads and bridges. Many nunneries own land assets, and the host often inherits the property from father to son, passing it on from generation to generation. The property of the nunnery is actually the family property of the host. Some top Taoists colluded with the government, made friends with powerful people, and became local tyrants.

After a long period of circulation, the organization and doctrine of the White Lotus Sect changed in the Yuan Dynasty. The precepts were relaxed and there were many sects. Some sects have converted to worship Maitreya Buddha and preached the religious prophecy that "Maitreya will be reborn", which originally belonged to the Maitreya Pure Land method. Some believers gathered at night and dispersed in the morning, gathering crowds to cause trouble, and sometimes armed resistance to the rule of the Yuan Dynasty. In the first year of the Great Emperor's reign (1308), the imperial court feared that the White Lotus Sect would become too powerful and ordered a ban. After the monk Pudu, the leader of the Bailian Hall of Donglin Temple in Lushan Mountain, came to the rescue, the White Lotus Sect regained its legal status after Renzong ascended the throne (1311). In the second year of Zhizhi (1322), his activities were restricted again. Since then, White Lotus organizations in many places have been hostile to the government, and most of their followers are lower-class people. Therefore, when social conflicts intensified in the late Yuan Dynasty, some White Lotus organizations took the lead in armed rebellion against the Yuan Dynasty. The leaders of the Red Turban Uprising, including Han Shantong, Liu Futong, Xu Shouhui, and Zou Pusheng, were all White Lotus believers. They inspired the masses with their prophecies about the birth of King Ming (namely Amitabha Buddha) and the rebirth of Maitreya, which had a great influence.

The White Lotus Sect was strictly prohibited in the early Ming Dynasty. During the Hongwu and Yongle years, there were many armed riots by the White Lotus believers in Sichuan, Hubei, Jiangxi, Shandong and other places. Some even claimed the title of emperor, but they were all suppressed. After the mid-Ming Dynasty, there were many folk religions, including Jinchan, Wuwei, Longhua, Wukong, Huanyuan, Yuandun, Hongyang, Maitreya, Jingkong, Dacheng, Sanyang, Hunyuan, Wenxiang, Luo Dao, etc. Some teach several names. They all have different affiliations, with many different doctrines and rituals, and the gods they believe in are extremely complex, including the Jade Emperor in Heaven, the King of Hell, sages in the world, etc. The most revered one is Maitreya Buddha. Starting from the Zhengde period, the worship of the Inanimate Mother appeared, and there was also the so-called eight-character mantra "Vacuum Hometown, Innocent Mother". It is said that the Inanimate Mother is an ancient Buddha who has no birth or death in heaven. She wants to save her children from the earthly world and return to the heaven to avoid disaster. This heaven is the hometown of Vacuum. Each sect composes its own scriptures, which are called treasure scrolls. The rulers believed that these different sects were actually the White Lotus Sect, and the people also generally called them the White Lotus Sect.

In the Southern Song Dynasty, because the White Lotus Sect had not broken away from orthodox Buddhism in general, it was still tolerated by the rulers. In the Yuan Dynasty, due to the different statuses of various classes of people within the church, there were obvious differences in the pursuit of goals. One faction claims to be the authentic descendant of Mao Ziyuan, inherits the mantle of Mao Ziyuan in terms of religious doctrine and practice, and cooperates with the Yuan rulers politically; the other faction completely betrays the purpose of Mao Ziyuan's advocacy of religion, fits in with the lower-class popular movements, and goes On the road to resist the Yuan regime. In the eleventh year of the reign of Emperor Shun of the Yuan Dynasty (1351), the Yuan Dynasty government forced civilians to block the mouth of the Yellow River, triggering a nationwide uprising of the White Lotus Sect.

The uprising army called for "Maitreya is reborn, and King Ming is born". It received a positive response from the broad masses of people who could not bear the rule of the Yuan Dynasty, and quickly swept across the country. In August of the 28th year of the Zheng Dynasty, the Ming army invaded Dadu (now Beijing) and overthrew the Yuan Dynasty. Zhu Yuanzhang was well aware of the significance of the White Lotus Sect's rebellion, and immediately issued a ban on the White Lotus Sect after the self-proclaimed "King of the Ming Dynasty" ascended the throne and proclaimed himself emperor. However, the White Lotus Sect did not completely disappear because of this. After the integration of the north and the south in the early Ming Dynasty, there was a grand phenomenon of secret spread. After the founding of the Ming Dynasty, there were almost continuous rebellions by the White Lotus believers. During the Apocalypse period in the late Ming Dynasty, there was an uprising led by Xu Hongru and Wang Haoxian, which was later suppressed and suppressed by Shandong Governor Zhao Yan and Denglai Governor Yuan Keli. After the Qing Dynasty entered the Pass and took over the Central Plains, the White Lotus believers often put national interests first, advocated the "return of the sun and the moon", and raised the banner of anti-Qing and restoration of the Ming Dynasty. As a result, they were banned by the Qing court with severe punishments and laws. However, during the Shunzhi, Kangxi, Yongzheng and Qianlong periods, the White Lotus Sect's anti-Qing and restoration activities never stopped.

The White Lotus Sect has many scriptures, mainly including "Golden Suo Hongyang Strategy", "Xuan Niang Holy Mother Sutra", "Zhenguo Dingshi Sanyang Calendar", "Ode to Maitreya" and "Ying Jie Sutra", etc.