Yiguandao centers its religious life on a distinctive initiation and ongoing self-cultivation that draw from Confucian, Taoist, and Buddhist currents. The pivotal rite is the reception of the Dao, an initiation in which the adept is entrusted with the so‑called “Three Treasures”: a teaching about the inner spiritual gate or aperture, an orally transmitted mantra, and a specific hand seal used in prayer and meditation. This transmission is framed as a solemn commitment, often accompanied by confession of past wrongs and vows to live a morally upright life under the guidance of the Eternal Mother. From this point onward, the practitioner is understood to participate consciously in a salvific path that leads back to the primordial source.

Daily practice then unfolds in a rhythm of meditation, worship, and ethical discipline. Silent meditation, often focused on the inner “mystic gate,” is paired with recitation of sacred names and mantras, as well as morning and evening prayers before the altar. Bowing, prostration, and incense offering form the bodily language of reverence, while group chanting and scripture reading create a shared field of devotion and reflection. Study of revealed texts and of Confucian, Taoist, and Buddhist classics is treated as a form of cultivation, deepening understanding of the Dao and sharpening moral discernment.

Ethical and communal life are not secondary but integral to Yiguandao practice. Moral self‑improvement is articulated through virtues such as humaneness, righteousness, propriety, wisdom, and trustworthiness, together with strong emphasis on filial piety and social responsibility. Many adherents adopt vegetarian or predominantly vegetarian diets as a discipline of compassion and purification, and communal vegetarian meals reinforce both ethical commitment and group solidarity. Charitable work, disaster relief, and other forms of public service are understood as concrete expressions of Confucian social ethics and as powerful means of merit‑making.

Ritual life extends beyond the individual to encompass family and cosmic relationships. The family or temple altar, typically dedicated to the Eternal Mother along with figures such as Maitreya, Guanyin, and important patriarchs, becomes the focal point for offerings of incense, fruit, flowers, and vegetarian food. Ancestor veneration is woven into this framework, linking personal practice to lineage and gratitude for those who have gone before. Yiguandao communities also observe traditional festivals and commemorative days for deities and patriarchs, marking them with special services, chanting, and moral exhortation. Through these intertwined practices—initiation, meditation, ethical discipline, worship, and service—the movement seeks to harmonize inner realization with outward conduct in the midst of the present age.