Thank you for your interesting email.
Most people are unable to pursue a ‘direct’ Daoist path as this involves dramatic life-changes that many are unable (or unwilling) to their daily existence. I would say that this is the case for the majority of practitioners. This situation could also highlight the perceived differences between ‘religious’ and ‘philosophical’ Daoism – with the former being ‘faith-based’ and the latter premised upon ‘cause and effect’. Qianfeng Daoism is, of course, ‘philosophical’ in nature and its public face is that of a strict stage one to stage sixteen progression. This is logical and reasonable (as Zhao Bichen intended), as each stage is like the prescription of a modern doctor building on the healing of the previous treatment, etc.
Adrian