of Shakyamuni Buddha, the lord of teachings, lies in his behaviour as a human being". Buddhism and new religious movements in Taiwan Yin Shun was the key figure in the doctrinal exposition of Buddhism and thus humanistic Buddhism in Taiwan. However, he was not particularly active in the social or political spheres of life. This was to be carried out by a younger generation such as Hsing Yun, Sheng-yen, Wei Chueh and Cheng Yen. These four figures, collectively known as the Four Heavenly Kings of Taiwanese Buddhism, head the Four Great Mountains, or monasteries, of Taiwanese Buddhism and Buddhist new religious movements, namely Fo Guang Shan, Dharma Drum Mountain, Chung Tai Shan and Tzu Chi. History of Chinese Buddhist ritual practice Humanistic Buddhism originated in China at the beginning of the 20th century. The movement emerged as a collective attempt to emphasize the importance of serving the living in Buddhist practice, rather than placing focus on the traditional Buddhist rituals for the dead. After the Ming dynasty, penance for the dead had become more widespread, replacing rituals focused on meditation. A possible cause for this was Emperor Zhu Yuanzhan's Buddhist Orders issued in 1391. These created three categories of the sangha, or monastic class: meditation monks, teaching monks and yoga monks. These yoga monks were responsible for performing rituals for the dead. This led to certain monks taking on the roles of monks on call who performed rituals to earn their livelihood. These monks on call made up a majority of the sangha by the end of the Qing dynasty. Another possible cause of the increased rituals for the dead was the spread of tantric Buddhism following the Yuan dynasty which promoted ritual practice. Fo Guang Shan Fo Guang Shan is one of the most popular humanistic Buddhist organizations in present-day Taiwan. They have done work to reform and re-invent more traditional ritual practices. They strive to highlight Dharmic aspects of ritual and tailor their practices and worship to benefit the living, rather than the dead. Fo Guang Shan are known for their Recitation Teams, which they send to hospitals and hospice care facilities to assist the dying and their loved ones in performing humanistic Buddhist ritual practice. Humanistic Buddhists believe that death is not an end so much as the beginning of a new life and therefore rituals at the end of life should comfort and pacify the dying