Wang Hao-te

Wang Hao-te (1921–1999) was the founder of the Great Way of Maitreya (Chinese: 彌勒大道; pinyin: Mílè Dà Dào), which is based in Hsinchu, Taiwan. According to a survey done in 2004, this religion has 1,000,000 members and 2,000 temples all over the world. Wang was born in 1921, the 28th day of the 7th lunar month (August 31, 1921) in a small village called Zhang Gu in Shandong province, China. He went to Taiwan when he was 17 years old during the Second World War, and he was introduced to Yiguandao in 1948 by chance. He was a hardworking, well loved and down-to-earth talented young man and he was the only person appointed to take care of Sun Su Zhen, or "Shi Mu" 師母, the great mistress of Yiguandao, for 11 years until her death on 4 April 1975.

In 1987, Wang set up the Providence Maitreya Buddha Institute (Chinese: 天恩彌勒佛院; pinyin: Tiān'ēn Mílè Fó Yuàn) in Hsinchu, Taiwan. Unfortunately, Wang died of CO2 poisoning on Christmas Day in 1999 during his mission to Chiang Mai, Thailand.