三一教主是「三一教」教主林兆恩（1517-1598）的稱號，林兆恩字懋勳，號龍江，道號子穀子，他最長的稱號是「三下教主夏午尼氏道統中一三教度世大宗師」。1517年林兆恩生於福建莆田，出身書香世家，原以求取功名為志，1534、1540年的科考裡，他都有不錯的成績。同一段時間，他的人生卻遭遇多次劇變和打擊，18歲成婚，方一年妻子就過世了。接下來在1539年、1544年、1546年，祖父、父親、叔父也相繼過世，身為長子的他必須承擔起延續家族的重任，1546年他更是在一片看好聲中，竟參加省舉考試失敗，同年他就宣佈自此放棄求取功名的理想，要向宗教裡追尋孔子的聖道。此後，他開始至各地尋訪宗教達人，從儒家的程朱學派，乃至道教、佛教禪宗等等無不參與，並與道教人士卓晚春結成道友。
1551年，林兆恩似乎是從一位不知名的大師或一場夢境中開悟，得到心法，創立了三一教，友人黃州率先入教，之後黃大本、蕭應麟、黃崶、鄭泳、林兆居、黃陽、黄輝陽等，包括親友、學生眾人等皆相繼入教。林兆恩礙於學人具有官方的身份，又無法隨意聲言放棄，便以講學的方式傳教。嘉靖三十七年至四十二年間，倭寇侵擾福建沿海至鉅，造成福建居民死傷慘重，林兆恩於是變賣家產，帶領其團體出面為亡者辦理上萬件後事，收葬亡者、濟助民眾，是為林兆恩及其三一教的重要義舉。林兆恩著有〈三敎正宗〉，希望藉由此書，以傳承堯舜文王武王周公以降的道統。林兆恩在明萬曆二十六年(1589年)春過世，享年七十二。
三一教最初流傳於莆田、仙遊等地，全盛時曾流行福建、江西、浙江、湖北、安徽、南京、北京、河南、陝西、山東等地，目前在福建仍有若干三一教的寺院和信仰者。台灣目前亦有三一教的團體，登記為夏教，源於林兆恩的「三一教主夏午尼」稱號，夏教以華夏傳承自居，延續孔子的道統為使命，這也是臺灣許多綜攝教派的共同宣言。
關鍵詞：三一教、林兆恩、夏教、三教合一。
參考書目
林子本行實錄。1999。《北京圖書館藏珍本年譜叢刊，第四十九冊》。北京：北京圖書館出版社。
鄭志明。1998。《台灣民間宗教結社˙台灣夏教的宗教體系(第7章)》，嘉義：南華管理學院出版。
林國平。1992。《林兆恩與三一教》。福州 : 福建人民出版社。
Berling, A. Judith(1980). The syncretic religion of Lin Chao-en. IASWR series. New York, Columbia University Press.
Dean, Kenneth (1998). Lord of the three in One. New Jersey: Princeton University Press.
Sanyi jiaozhu (三一教主) ,the Lord of Three in One, is one of Lin Chaoen’s (林兆恩) religious titles. Lin Chaoen is the founder of the Three-in-One teaching (三一教) who was born in 1517, Puitien (莆田), Fujian (福建), a province in southeast China. His father was Lin Wanren (林萬仞) who was the chief member of the greatest clan in Puitien. This clan had won many titles in the government examination. This was why Lin Chaoen’s ambitious was aiming on passing the government examination and becoming an offical in the Ming government. Lin Chaoen did not let his family down. He got his xiucai (秀才) degree in 1534 and was ranked first among the local students by 1540. However, Lin Chaoen’s fate was unfortunate. Lin Chaoen married at eighteen and lost his wife in just one year. From 1539 to 1546, He lost his grandfather, father, uncle in eight years. He failed his provincial government examination in 1546 when his family members were all expecting his success. Then Lin Chaoen made a decision to renounce his official scholar carrier. Because when Lin reflected on himself and his learning after those strikes, he realized that Confucian education cannot make a person become moral but practice a matter of literary style. He began to visit some religious figures elsewhere and tried to search for a religious truth that could result in personal moral growth. During his religious adventure, he visited all kinds of religious figures, including Confucians, Buddhists, and Daoists. He even made a friend with a Daoist whose name is Zhuo Wan-chun (卓晚春).
In 1551, Lin was enlightened by a dream, mystical experience, or an unknown enlightened master. He began his missionary carrier and founded the Teaching of Three in One (三一教). The Three in One means a religious teaching mixing or syncreticing the three major Chinese religions, Buddhism, Confucianism, and Daoism. His friend Huang Chou (黃州) became his first disciple. Then Lin’s other friends and relatives became his disciples one after another. Since Lin Chaoen was forbidden by government to renounce his Confucian identity. He could only mission his teaching to people as a teacher in some home schools. During 1558 to 1663, the Japanese pirates invaded Fujian and killed many peoples. Lin Chaoen sold his estates out to raise some charity found to bury over ten thousands death and to help the lives to be settled. This was an important contribution which Lin’s and his church, the Three in One teaching, make. After this event, the Three-in-One teaching became more popular and well-known. When Lin Chaoen was dead, there were almost Three-in-One teaching everywhere in the coast county of Fujian province and the other provinces along the coast of China. There are few churches and disciples in Fujian and one church of Three-in-One teaching in Taiwan now. This church was founded after the Second World war and named itself as Xia chiao (夏教). The name Xia chiao originates from one of Lin Chaoen’s religious title, the Lord Xia Wu Ni of the Three in One (三一教主夏午尼). In Chinese, the word xia (夏) means great (大), wu (午) means just right in the middle, and ni (尼) denotes the Confucius. To the Three-in-One teaching, Xia (夏) represents the true inheritance of Confucian’s teaching. Xia chiao regards their members as the carrier of Chinese saints’ teaching.
Lin Chaoen writes many books and essays as the scripture of Three-in-One teaching, including the Sanchiao chengtsung (三教正宗), Sanchiao hoi tachih (三教合一大旨) etc. After his death, his disciples collected all the essays and compiled them as some collections. They are important legacies that Lin Chaoen left to the world.
Keywords: The Lord of Three in One, Lin Chaoen, Xia chiao, the Three in One teaching
References:
1. 林子本行實錄。1999。《北京圖書館藏珍本年譜叢刊，第四十九冊》。北京：北京圖書館出版社。
2. 鄭志明。1998。《台灣民間宗教結社˙台灣夏教的宗教體系(第7章)》，嘉義：南華管理學院出版。
3. 林國平。1992。《林兆恩與三一教》。福州 : 福建人民出版社。
4. Berling, A. Judith(1980). The syncretic religion of Lin Chao-en. IASWR series. New York, Columbia University Press.
5. Dean, Kenneth (1998). Lord of the three in One. New Jersey: Princeton University Press.