Viet syncretic religion, Cao Đài 高臺 Options

[華夏無產]

Anyone know more about this religion? Here's what I found, but the other information seems only available in Viet.

The Cao Đài religion represents a synthesis of three great traditions, Taoism, Confucianism and Buddhism. It was created in 1926, and as its three principal saints, has Dr. Sun Yat Sen, Victor Hugo, and Nguyen Binh Khiem. Adherents engage in ethical practices such as prayer, veneration of ancestors, nonviolence, and vegetarianism with the goal of, minimally, obtaining a favorable rebirth, or, better yet, entering heaven, or, ultimately, escape from the cycle of birth and death.

[Byron]

No sorry. But I do like the artistic designs of those temples.

(IMG:http://www.zen18336.zen.co.uk/photos/vietnam_dec_2001/218-tay_ninh-cao-dai-great-temple.jpg)

(IMG:http://www.world-safaris.de/de/fernreisen/asien/vietnam/rundreisen/bilder/vietnam_tay_ninh_cao_dai_tempel.jpg)

But worshipping human beings? WTF? lol

[華夏無產]

But worshipping human beings?  WTF?  lol

My thoughts exactly. How'd they pick those three guys?

[Johannjs]

Cao Dai

Cao Dai (Cao Đài) is a religion founded in 1926 in Tay Ninh, southern Vietnam, by Ngo Van Chieu, an official in the French colonial government, who claimed to have received direct communications from God, ordering him to combine various religions, some from the East and some from the West.

Caodaists believe that there is only one God, the same one who created all the major religions of the world such as Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, Taoism, Confucianism, and Spiritualism.

Adherents engage in ethical practices such as prayer, veneration of ancestors, nonviolence, and vegetarianism with the goal of, minimally, obtaining a favorable rebirth, or, better yet, entering heaven, or, ultimately, escape from the cycle of birth and death. Three Saints, or guiding spirits revered in Cao Dai are Republic of China founder Sun Yat Sen (1866-1925), French author Victor Hugo (1802-1885), and Nguyen Binh Khiem (1492-1587). They are depicted in a painting, signing a covenant with God.

God is symbolized by the Divine Eye, specifically the left eye.

The faith has a hierarchical organization resembling that of the Roman Catholic Church, with a pope, cardinals, bishops, and priests. Ordained women may attain ranks up to cardinal.

Followers of Cao Dai believe that its teachings, symbolism and organization were communicated directly from God, and even the construction of the Tay Ninh Holy See had divine guidance.

Cao Dai currently has an estimated seven to eight million adherents in Vietnam, and an additional 30,000 (primarily ethnic Vietnamese) in the United States, Europe, and Australia.

***
Vietnam has many more very exotic religions!

Here's a very good shortcut to understanding Vietnam and the Vietnamese people.

http://ceris.metropolis.net/Virtual%20Libr...fer2chapt3.html

After that, you can read all about Cao Dai here, in English

http://www.google.com/search?num=50&hl=en&...ao.dai+tay.ninh

Photos
http://images.google.com/images?svnum=50&h...ao.dai+tay.ninh

This post has been edited by Johannjs: Nov 16 2004, 09:46 AM

[Johannjs]

But worshipping human beings?  WTF?  lol

My thoughts exactly. How'd they pick those three guys?

In fact, the common people are just too unlearned to worship more "humans". Among the "humans", there are those who did a lot for the betterment of humanity, or to ease their sufferings... and there are those who are just common people! (IMG:http://www.asiafinest.com/forum/style_emoticons/default/biggthumpup.gif)

The latter are just ignored, and they normally return to nothingness. (IMG:http://www.asiafinest.com/forum/style_emoticons/default/icon_smile.gif)

[fiji]

I prefer human worshipping than an imaginary god, but I personally wouldn't worshipped those guys. The Buddha is human and people worship him as well as prophets of other religions.

[Johannjs]

I prefer human worshipping than an imaginary god, but I personally wouldn't worshipped those guys.  The Buddha is human and people worship him as well as prophets of other religions.

You must put things back in their historical context, to understand the founder of Cao Dai's choice of his 3 saints (not gods). The world was entering in its modern age, and this is not worshiping but remembering. The commoner people then made it worshiping (or perhaps not?) !!!

Three Saints, or guiding spirits revered in Cao Dai are Republic of China founder Sun Yat Sen (1866-1925), French author Victor Hugo (1802-1885), and Nguyen Binh Khiem (1492-1587). They are depicted in a painting, signing a covenant with God.

here is that painting :
http://www.terragalleria.com/vietnam/picture.viet8099.html

more images
http://www.terragalleria.com/vietnam/vietnam.tay-ninh.html
http://www.orientalarchitecture.com/tayninh/CAODAI.htm

FYI, I found some short-cut digests here for

Sun Yat-sen - founder of modern time China (1866-1925).
http://www.wsu.edu/~dee/MODCHINA/SUN.HTM

Victor Hugo - modern France's greatest poet and novelist (1802-1885).
"To love another person is to see the face of God." —from Les Miserables
http://www.lucidcafe.com/library/96feb/hugo.html

As for Nguyễn Bỉnh Khiêm, it's a little bit more complicated as there are only texts in Vietnamese. Ngo Van Chieu, the founder of Cao Dai, had a more profound understanding of his own country, Việt-Nam, and so, he went back farther in history and picked this poet as his 3rd personae.

The period was long after Lê Lợi and Nguyễn Trãi had already pacified Việt-Nam, after centuries of war with the Chinese invaders... but then Việt-Nam underwent internal division (as often with the Vietnamese! but that's another story).

Nguyễn Bỉnh Khiêm - for those of you who can read Vietnamese,
http://www.nhandan.com.vn/tinbai/?top=43&s...6&article=11858

The astrologer Nguyen Binh Khiem (1491-1585), the so-called "Nostradamus of Vietnam," was also known for his robust poetry which dominated the 16th century. Seen as the paragon of wisdom who knows when to step out and participate in the world and when to retire from it all, Nguyen Binh Khiem left us a legacy of gentle humor and great fortitude:

Retirement

I'm more than seventy-four,
and lucky to be here at home, New Year -- marvelous
to see the world reborn, though my house is poor
in all but books.

Spring gardens, bamboos blooming,
house empty but for one
long clean chair, one bright window.

Who's right? Who's wrong? Who cares?
I only laugh at my own simple-mindedness.

All 3 are great humanist philosophers. (IMG:http://www.asiafinest.com/forum/style_emoticons/default/beerchug.gif)

***
P.S. I'm less often in the Vietnamese Chat forum (boring at times!), some more in the Debate/Philosophy/Religion (that's the name of the forum, on more general issues), and also in TIBET forum (in Chinese Serious Talk). So, if somebody wants to join me there!

OK. Behave, don't start quarrelling all over again! (IMG:http://www.asiafinest.com/forum/style_emoticons/default/beerchug.gif)

This post has been edited by Johannjs: Nov 18 2004, 05:13 PM

[arun]

my mom used to tell me about how those cao dai people used to harrass non-caodai followers 'cause they wouldnt observe caodai rules and this happened before the liberation of south vietnam. them cao dais are very nutty bunch.