The Merit-Accumulating Sect 积善派

Taoism has the social function of advocating goodness. Some Taoists believed that accumulating virtues and doing good deeds could lead to becoming immortals, thus forming the Merit-Accumulating Sect.

Taoists of this sect believed in good books such as Tai Shang Gan Ying Pian (The Treatise of the Supreme on Response and Retribution), Gong Guo Ge (The Record of Merits and Demerits), and Yin Zhi Wen (The Text of Hidden Virtues). They held that cultivating to become immortals must involve accumulating hidden virtues and performing good deeds. The Taoists of this sect promoted goodness in society and attracted believers by integrating the ethical morals of Confucianism, the karmic retribution of Buddhism, and the thought of accumulating virtues and performing meritorious deeds in Taoism.