At its heart, Yiguandao runs like a well-oiled machine with a clear chain of command stretching from a single Patriarch down to neighborhood “palaces” (miao).

1. Central Patriarchate
   • The movement’s supreme authority sits at the Patriarchate (often based in Taiwan today), home to the living Patriarch or Chief.
   • A Central Council of Senior Masters advises on doctrine, ritual revisions and major charity campaigns—think of it as a board of directors guiding everything from festival dates to education programs.

2. Provincial and Regional Hubs
   • Each province or large region appoints a Provincial Director, backed by a small council that oversees dozens of city-level branches.
   • Regional councils coordinate province-wide events (annual pilgrimages, disaster relief drives) and ensure consistent training for would-be masters.

3. City, County and District Palaces
   • At city and county tiers, directors supervise anywhere from a handful to several dozen local temples. These “palaces” host daily rituals, classes in Confucian ethics, Taoist meditation and Pure Land chanting.
   • Each palace has a headmaster (often called “palace master”) plus assistants responsible for administration, finance, public outreach and youth groups.

4. Functional Departments
   • Beyond territorial layers, Yiguandao operates specialized departments—Education, Ritual Affairs, Charity & Social Welfare, Publications and New Media.
   • The Charity department, having mobilized volunteers for recent typhoon relief in the Philippines and pandemic-era vaccine drives in Taiwan, now experiments with digital fundraising via QR codes.

5. Rank-and-Merit System
   • Members enter as novices, gradually moving up through merit exams, ritual proficiency and recommendations. Ranks come with titles like “Instructor,” “Assistant Master” or “Master,” each unlocking teaching or administrative privileges.
   • That merit ethos echoes modern corporate up-or-out schemes—deliver results in scripture study or community service, and the next title is within reach.

6. Lineage Emphasis
   • Every master traces back in an unbroken line to the founding Patriarch; the personal transmission of secret rituals cements loyalty.
   • Succession remains a matter of careful designation by the current Patriarch, rather than open elections, ensuring continuity but occasionally sparking internal fuss if the heir apparent isn’t universally embraced.

Thanks to this layered, quasi-corporate framework, Yiguandao has grown from a small North China sect into a global network, all while blending Confucian order, Taoist spontaneity and Buddhist compassion into a single, surprisingly agile organization.