Caodaism is a Vietnamese monotheistic syncretic religion that combines "ethical precepts from Confucianism, practices from Taoism, theories of karma and rebirth from Buddhism, and a hierarchical organization from Catholicism". It was officially established in the city of Tây Ninh in Southern Vietnam in 1926.
The full name of the religion is Đại Đạo Tam Kỳ Phổ Độ (chữ Hán: 大道三期普度 'The Great Faith [for the] Third Universal Redemption').
Adherents engage in practices such as prayer, veneration of ancestors, nonviolence, and vegetarianism with the goal of union with God and freedom from saṃsāra. Estimates of the number of Caodaists in Vietnam vary; government figures estimate 4.4 million Caodaists affiliated to the Cao Đài Tây Ninh Holy See, with numbers rising up to 6 million if other branches are added.
The United Nations found about 2.5 million Caodaists in Vietnam as of January 2015. An additional number of adherents in the tens of thousands, primarily ethnic Vietnamese, live in North America, Cambodia, Europe and Australia as part of the Cao Dai diaspora.
History
Officially called the "Great Way of the Third Era of Redemption" (Đại Đạo Tam Kỳ Phổ Độ), it was founded in 1925 in Saigon as a Spiritualist club named AĂÂ by Cao Quỳnh Cư, Cao Hoài Sang, Lê Văn Trung and Phạm Công Tắc, a group of clerks working in the colonial government, to practice mediumship and ouija sessions. They were avid readers of medium writings of Allan Kardec, Victor Hugo and Flammarion.
During a séance in 1926, the group believed they had received a revelation message, predicting a future universal religion based on spiritist doctrines. The message gave the member Ngô Văn Chiêu a religious mission in life. This led to his signing of the “Declaration of the Founding of the Cao Đài Religion” on 7 October 1926, formally announcing the founding of Cao Đài, which soon grew into a religious movement.
Ngô Văn Chiêu, who is revered in Caodaism as the first disciple of the Đức Cao Đài, had never intended Cao Đài to become a mass organization. He disagreed with proselytization and wished to keep the practice esoteric. He declined the appointment as Pope and left the movement and eventually established an independent, esoteric branch known as Chiếu Minh, headquartered in Vĩnh Long, which still exists and only admits a limited number of committed adepts. Trung took the more exoteric approach, becoming the acting Pope (Quyền Giáo Tông). After Trung's death in 1934, the Venerable Phạm Công Tắc assumed the role.
During the 1930s, its leader criticized yet maintained good ties with the French colonial regime. This stance was controversial, and contrasted with the liturgy of dozens of "dissident" branches of Caodaism that followed a more Taoist model. By 1940, it had gathered over a million members and converting a fifth to a fourth of the population of Cochinchina and irked the French government From 1941 to 1946, Phạm Công Tắc and other Caodai leaders were arrested and jailed in French penal colonies in Madagascar.
During the First and Second Indochina Wars, members of Cao Đài (along with several other Vietnamese sects, such as Hòa Hảo) were active in political and military struggles against both French colonial forces and South Vietnamese Prime Minister Ngô Đình Diệm, who later became president.
Their criticism of the communist forces until 1975 was a factor in their repression after the fall of Saigon in April 1975, when the incoming communist government banned the practice of Caodaism. In 1997, Caodaism was granted legal recognition and unrestricted practice once again.
Theology and theosophy
God
"Cao Đài" refers to God the Father (also known as the Supreme Being, Creator, and "Ultimate Reality of the Universe," as well as the Ngọc Hoàng). Cao Đài Tiên Ông Đại Bồ Tát Ma Ha Tát, as God's full title, indicates a combination of three religions—namely, Confucianism, Taoism, and Mahayana Buddhism—that significantly influenced Caodaist theology.
Together, they represent not only the unification of the three main religions but also the humility of God who presents himself as the lowest rank of Divinity.
According to Caodaism, God permeates all things in the Universe, both living and inanimate, reminiscent of Panentheism. It is believed that part of God's spirit is within all people and creatures.
God has many different names depending on each person's worldview.
Caodaism posits that all religions are derived from the same source; it is a pluralist theology. The unique name for the Caodaist deity is intended to capture the development of God's revelation throughout evolutionary history: Cao Đài Tiên Ông Đại Bồ Tá Ma Ha Tát, Chaos, Taoism, Ông Trời, Thượng Đế, Đấng Sáng Tạo, Allah, Tathāgata, Atenism, Brahma, Yahweh, Great Spirit, Waheguru, etc.
Cosmology
Caodaists adopt the traditional Chinese idea of âm (yin) and dương (yang) duality constituting the harmonious balance of the universe. Before the creation of the universe there was the "Đạo", the infinite, nameless, formless, unchanging, eternal source. The negative and positive principles of the universe are the components of the eternal nature.
There are two main Gods, the Cao Đài ("Highest Lord") and the Diêu Trì Kim Mẫu or Đức Phật Mẫu ("Holy Buddha Mother"). They represent respectively the yang and yin forces. Cao Đài is viewed as the heart of the universe, the common Father of all beings. He imparts part of him into each living being, including even rocks, in the form of consciousness. Đức Phật Mẫu is venerated as the Mother of the Universe, responsible for giving visible forms, consciousness and emotions to all life. Ultimately, she has to follow the orders of Đức Cao Đài who is revered as the Supreme Being of both Heaven and Earth.
All other Divine Beings are to obey the orders of these two Creators during the course of evolution of the universe. Each of them carries a specific role as designated by their Father and Mother. Any being who falls out against them is considered devils in nature.
In terms of the cosmos, faithful Caodaists believe there are heaven and hell, which are the main destinations for souls after death. Heaven consists of thirty-six planes and many heavenly realms upon each of them, e.g. the Realm of Saints, the Realm of the Holy Mother, the Realm of the Perfect Beings, the Divine Court Realm, the Paradise of Extreme Joy, etc. Meanwhile, hell has ten key realms to carry out punishments in accordance with sins of souls.
In order to get to heaven, souls are required to cultivate their virtues and / or devote themselves to spiritual causes. Without merit from the latter, they cannot escape the cycle of birth and death, but can improve their virtues and merit gradually to reach better places in the universe, including the 72 planets (Earth being the 68th), the 3,000 worlds, the four great cosmic regions, and the thirty six heavenly planes. True liberation can only be attained when souls ultimately rejoin God the Father in Heaven.
Three-fold revelation
The father of the universe, Cao Đài, is believed to have communed with men since the beginning of times, revealing his will. According to Cao Đài doctrine, history is divided into three times (tam kỳ) of revelation. In the first two periods, there were teachings of Dipankara Buddha, sages, Phục Hy/Fu Xi, Gautama Buddha, Laozi, Confucius and Jesus, who received the will of the Highest Power, and founded their respective religions to serve and/or educate humanity. However, due to the frailty of the messengers and the common men, the will of the Highest Power was misled into corrupted forms. Caodaists also believe that former revelations were culture-bound, being applicable only for certain ethnicities, and primarily intended for specific ages. The third and final form of revelation is disclosed through the teachings of the Cao Đài faith.
Twelve-fold hierarchy
Caodaists believe that there are various ranks of divine spirits: Thần ("Holy Spirits"), Thánh ("saints"), Tiên ("Immortals"), and Phật ("Buddhas"). Each of these ranks can be further divided in the three grades of Thiên (Heavenly), Nhân (Human) and Địa (Earthly), forming a twelve-fold hierarchy that reflects the twelve-fold earthly hierarchy of the Caodaist church. Below those ranks are the spirits of matters, plants, animals and humans. All spirits may evolve to attain higher rank based on present deeds. Disembodied spirits fulfill a number of roles: they are benefactors of mankind, messengers and instructors of the truth. Quan Âm is regarded as the exemplary goddess of the Buddhas, Lý Bạch (Li Bai) of the Immortals, and Quan Vũ (Guan Yu) of the Saints.
The Cao Đài pantheon counts three main prophets, as illustrated on a plaque at the entrance of the Tay Ninh Temple: Victor Hugo (to please the French), since he gave many teachings and also the text of a number of important prayers. He himself practiced spiritism on the island of Jersey from 1852 to 1855, and predicted that he would become the prophet of a new religion to merge European and Asian mysticism. Sun Yat-sen (for the Chinese) and Trạng Trình, the Vietnamese Nostradamus (for the Vietnamese).
The Holy See
In the city of Tây Ninh stands the Cao Dai Holy See (Tòa Thánh Tây Ninh), the Caodaist headquarter. At the heart of the religious enclave is the Great Divine Temple. Being the major center of Cao Dai pilgrimage, the Tây Ninh Holy See is one of Vietnam's major tourist attractions.
Worship rituals and festivals
Monthly rituals take place at midnight on the 1st and 15th days of the lunar month. There is also a special anniversary ceremony once a year for God the Father, the Holy Mother, the five founders of the world's major religions, and the founders of the Cao Dai religion.
The rituals differ between places, depending on who they pray to.
There are also differences between monthly rituals, and anniversary ones.
The Holy Banquet
Hội Yến Diêu Trì or the Holy Banquet for Great Mother and the Nine Goddesses is the most important festival of the Cao Dai community. It is annually held in Tây Ninh Holy See on the 15th of the eighth lunar month. This coincides with the Tết Trung Thu in Vietnam. Most Caodaiists choose to go on a pilgrimage to Tay Ninh Holy Land on this day.
Symbols
The Caodaism Holy See, Caodaism Temples, and religious buildings host a rich array of symbols, all of which are instructed by either God the Father or Divine Beings. No symbol is redundant, and none is meaningless. They each tell a different story that reveals the beliefs, values, cosmic secrets, prophecies, etc. When combined, they lay out the journey of the Tao throughout the history of mankind and the universe, as well as its way forward.
The Divine Eye
In spirit and in pictorial representation, the Eye serves to remind Cao Đài believers that the God witnesses everything, everywhere, constantly. At the Holy See, there are in total 50 Divine Eyes of five different shapes; each carrying a different meaning related to various spiritual aspects. The One on the globe shows the Supreme Being above the North Star in the Ursa Minor constellation. The One on the façade of the Holy See has 35 rays of light which represent the three major religions and five main religious doctrines of the world. At the local Cao Đài Temples, the Divine Eye has 16 rays of light emanating from it. Nine radiate upward representing the nine levels of heaven, and seven radiating downward representing the seven emotions, which believers must control.
The religious banner and emblem
In accordance with the religious mission, the three colors of Cao Đài banner represent the three main non-Hinduistic Asian religions of the world; yellow stands for Buddhism, blue for Taoism, and red for Confucianism. Under the Divine Eye is the religious emblem which also represents the essence of the three religions; the bowl of charity for Buddhist compassion and asceticism, the feather duster for Taoist purification; the Spring and Autumn Annals for Confucianist virtue and love.
Scriptures
There are various Caodaist scriptures. Some of those belonging to the Holy See of Tây Ninh are: Kinh Thiên Đạo Và Thế Đạo ("Prayers of the Heavenly and the Earthly Way"), Pháp Chánh Truyền ("the Religious Constitution of Cao Đài Religion"), Tân Luật ("The Canonical Codes"), and Con Đường Thiêng Liêng Hằng Sống ("Divine Path to Eternal Life").
The Canonical Codes
This scripture sets out the rules and boundaries for different aspects of the religion, from a believer to the Pope, from education to marriage, etc. There are ten sections in the scripture with the following content:
- Hierarchy of religious dignitaries
- Initiation and ranks of believers
- Establishment of a parish
- The five interdictions
- The four commandments
- Education
- Sanctions
- Promulgation of laws and regulations
- Secular rules
- The house of meditation