I respect and
thank Dr. Christopher Hartney for giving me lots of help to complete this
translation work. As an English teacher in Vietnam for over 40 years, I still
think my English is not enough for this project. Had it not been for his
precious advice, I would never have been confident enough to finish it. I am
extremely thankful
to him for providing such a nice support, although he had busy schedule in the university.
to him for providing such a nice support, although he had busy schedule in the university.
Lunar
Calendar: 14th - 2nd month - Year of the
Dragon
Gregorian
Calendar: March 5th 1928.
Speech by
His Holiness
HỘ PHÁP PHẠM CÔNG TẮC
In the Tây
Ninh Temple.
Translators: * Christopher Hartney and Từ Chơn
Reverend
Divinely Ordained Dignitaries from the Cửu Trùng Đài [1] and Hiệp Thiên Đài, [2] ladies and gentlemen.
On the occasion
of this convention, I would humbly tell you what I have learned from God for
your knowledge. I think it is good for me to do so.
A lot of
religious mysteries are hidden in God’s poems, but their meanings are too
secretive for us to gain insight into them. However, I was taught what is relevant
to my responsibility because God wants me to fulfill it.
I should have
told you about that earlier, but I was instructed to do the missionary work in
Kiêm Biên [3] for over 7 months. Therefore, it is a
little late now.
First, I would
like to elaborate on the Hội Thánh. [4]
What the Hội
Thánh is
In the phú [5] given to the Phối Sư Hương Thanh’s aunt,
God said, “I use good people to save humanity”.
Hội Thánh is the
group of good people gathered by God. God has taught them to have mercy on
living beings as He does and uses them as temporal tools to save humanity.
Those people
have to gather to form God’s earthly body in the Third Universal Salvation so
that God will not have to incarnate in the world as He did in the former
salvations.
Through magical seances,
God taught each of them so that they believe He is really God, who fairly
reigns over the universe, who is powerful enough to protect His children alive
and dead and who shows the differences between Heaven and Hell for them to make
the right choice.
God has promised
to give you the divine status in Bạch Ngọc Kinh (White Gem Capital), to clear
the way to Nirvana and to close Hell in order to save all living beings,
especially the 9.2 million original souls. Those promises can only be kept by
God, who is mightier than any Buddhas.
Considering
God’s power and promises, those selected people (Caodaist Sacerdotal Council)
completely trust Him.
Their belief
spreads to others and develops throughout the world to improve it. To improve
the world, people must practice religion until they achieve enlightenment, but
it is hard for them because there are not proper instructions. Consequently,
God has to found Caodaism to show people the way to practice.
What the Đạo
is [6]
Đạo is the
sacred magic, which forms something like a path for people to take in order to
escape the world of suffering and go to heaven.
How to escape
the endless cycle of rebirth?
To do so, you
must achieve the secret sacred magic of becoming a Divine Being. You can only
pray God for that secret sacred magic, not anyone else.
Hence, Đạo is
the secret magic that helps a temporal human achieve the divine positions of
Genii, Saints, Immortals or Buddhas.
God came,
uniting the old religions to show people the sacred magic for their mental cultivation.
However, why did
not God found a new religion, but just uses the principles of the old
religions?
What if the
non-Caodaists say we just imitate other religions?
It is generally
understood that Nhơn Đạo (Confucianism) teaches how to train your body, Tiên Đạo
(Taoism) to cultivate your mind and Phật Đạo (Buddhism) to achieve sacred
nothingness.
Why three
religions? [7]
First, I’d like
to say about why we follow the teachings of the three religions both in earthly
life and in Heaven.
In earthly
life :
All humans on
earth have to follow the guidelines of Confucianism, Taoism and Buddhism in
order to fulfill their human responsibilities.
According to
Confucianism, a person must act in accordance with the Three Bonds [8] and the Five Constant Virtues [9]. He should have responsibility for creating a peaceful human society, in
which people live harmoniously, not fight against one another because that is
against God’s will.
For humanity to
love and respect one another, Taoism teaches us to cultivate our minds to find
out the way to protect each other. This 68th Earth is the Purgatory, where we
are not only tempted by evils but also vulnerable to natural disasters. We have
to face both violence and diseases. Alas! That is why lots of Western intellectuals
spend their whole life doing research to save human life from destruction. They
train their minds so much that some can attain some secret magics from God. Their science has gone beyond
average human intelligence, so they deserve to be called the Địa Tiên [10].
Now humanity is
intelligent enough to create machinery, so they need mercy taught by Buddhism,
or they will kill and get killed by their own intelligence. In addition to the
law of karma, whose effects you can see with your own eyes, mercy is what
everyone should have, I suppose. Think about it. How chaotic a society will
become if a dishonest person can manipulate all good people there! That is why
life now resembles a lawless community, where the crafty people beat the honest
ones easily!
A religious
person is always self-respecting and in high spirits so that he can educate
others to do the right things. That is what the three religions have taught.
A society will
be in peace if everyone follows the doctrines of Confucianism, Taoism and
Buddhism. I wonder when all societies in the world can fortunately live in
such peace.
Given the
principles of our religion, you and I can believe that target will be able to
be surely achieved in the future.
In Heaven :
There had been
nothing before the Creation. Then the two masses of air called Hư Vô Chi Khí [11], from nowhere hit each other, which created God’s Soul and His Throne called
Thái Cực.
The fiery globe
called Thái Cực [12], which is the material mechanism, divided
itself, under God’s orders, into the Lưỡng Nghi [13], then Tứ Tượng [14], and then Bát Quái [15].
That is called
the mechanism of Nhơn Đạo [16]. Next millions of earths were produced
throughout the universe. 72 of them are inhabited by humankind. That is the
magic of Tiên Đạo [17]. After the Creation, the fiery Thái Cực
returned to nothingness. That is the miraculous magic of Phật Đạo [18] .
The Bát Quái
endlessly transform to produce earths and everything visible to us in the
universe. That is the material process, which seems to follow God’s orders.
Everything can develop without fighting or harming each other, which is clearly
the mechanism of Nhơn Đạo. Living on 72 earths, humanity also perfects them.
Their societies become more and more civilized, which is the mechanism of Tiên
Đạo. After that everything will be destroyed however civilized or how long
their societies have been, which is the mechanism of Phật Đạo.
A person is
nothing before becoming a fetus. Then the combined Yin and Yang change the
fetus to a child body. Then the person is born and grow up. That is the magical
mechanism of Nhơn Đạo. After that the person learns to be more knowledgeable
and wiser. That is the magical mechanism of Tiên Đạo. At last, he becomes old
and dies. His body is destroyed. That is the magical mechanism of Phật Đạo.
Discussing
the Ngũ Chi [19] (in forms) :
Ngũ Chi are :
Humanism, Shintoism, Christianity, Taoism and Buddhism. On this earth, a human
should fulfill his personal responsibilities or practice Humanism. If he tries
harder to help others, he practices Shintoism. If he does things much more
beneficial to humanity, he practices Christianity. He follows Taoism if he can
perfect what he learns and then teaches everyone. Being knowledgeable about everything,
he knows that his mind is the boss and needs quietness for a rest before he
passes away, so he practices Buddhism.
For the Nguyên
Nhân [20], those five systems are considered a
five-rung ladder to climb to the divine position equal to God (i.e. a Buddha).
It is impossible to reach the top rung in only one attempt, but you can
gradually climb that ladder to the top. Therefore, God uses those five
religions as a five-class school for us to practice religion so that we can
achieve our divine status. The divine positions you have got will be surely
yours without anyone else’s rejection.
Those who copy
the exemplary behaviors of Genii will become Genii. Next, the Genii imitate the
qualities of the Saints so that they can become Saints. Similarly, those Saints
become Immortals and finally Buddhas.
Somebody may ask
how can immoral humans become perfectly moral divine beings. You can answer
that even the Hoá Nhân [21] have souls granted by God. For example, corals
(materials), mimosa (plants), parrots, dogs, horses, monkeys, whales (animals),
humans, Genii, Saints, Immortals and Buddhas.
As a result, we
humans already have souls, so we can learn and practice the right doctrine in
order to achieve the divine positions one day.
That is why God
established religions for you to practice.
Someone may
wonder how human can achieve a divine status while a religion is only a secular
community. The answer is without secular life there is no divine status, and
without divine status secular cannot last. A similar thing is our body and
soul. Without a soul our body is not alive and without a body there is not a
human.
Hence, there
surely is a material world if there is a spiritual one. The doctrine and the
Sacerdotal Council are worldly bodies, which are in accordance with the Divine
Law and which are equivalent to the Cửu Thiên Khai Hóa [22]. The Caodaist Law is also the Divine Law and the Sacerdotal Council is the
Genii, Saints, Immortals and Buddhas on earth.
Isn’t it too
confident to consider the Law we have established as the Divine Law?
It is said by
God that He has never punished us humanity since the Creation because of love
and that the Law in Heaven is made by the Heavenly Assembly to keep themselves
(i.e. Genii, Saints, Immortals and Buddhas) from violating it, not to satisfy
God. Also, God cannot amend the Heavenly Law presented to Himself after it has
been made.
The Caodaist
Canonical Code was made by Giáo Tông [23] Li Bai and other Caodaist dignitaries
without God’s interference. Only after it was presented to God did it become
equal to the Law made in Heaven.
Like a Heavenly
Law, which is not influenced by anyone, even God, the Caodaist Canonical Code
is unbiased. Let’s have a look at the process of making it. The Caodaist
Sacerdotal Council is composed of two body the Cửu Trùng Đài (Executive Body)
and the Hiệp Thiên Đài (Judiciary Body), but the Code for the former was
granted by God first. However, the dignitaries under the latter are not the
outsiders. They, together with the dignitaries under the Cửu Trùng Đài, had to
make the Code for themselves. Therefore, they have to observe the Caodaist
Canonical Code like everyone.
The Thập Nhị
Khai Thiên [24] made law and presented to God. Similarly, The
Caodaist Sacerdotal Council made the Canonical Code and presented it to God. As
a result, the two laws are considered equivalent.
If breaking the
law, the Hộ Pháp will be summoned to appear in the Toà Tam Giáo [25] under the Cửu Trùng Đài like an ordinary believer.
In the same way, a lawbreaking Giáo Tông will also be summoned to appear in the
court under the Hiệp Thiên Đài like a believer.
The divine
beings (Genii, Saints, Immortals and Buddhas) make the law in heaven while the
Caodaist Sacerdotal Council makes the Canonical Code on earth. Consequently,
they all are considered equal.
By the way, I
would like to elaborate on how the Caodaist Sacerdotal Council is organized and
why it is considered equal to the divine beings.
The Sacerdotal
Council is divided into three parts.
1 - Bát Quái Đài [26] is the dwelling place
for all Genii, Saints, Immortals and Buddhas, which is led by God.
2 - Cửu Trùng Đài [27] is where Caodaist
divinely ordained dignitaries work. They are considered equivalent to the
Genii, Saints, Immortals and Buddhas on earth and led by the Giáo Tông.
3 - Hiệp Thiên Đài [28] is the organization to protect the secular and religious law like the Ngọc
Hư Cung [29] in heaven.
It is led by the Hộ Pháp.
HIỆP THIÊN
ĐÀI
Hiệp Thiên Đài
(Communion Tower) is the door to heaven. Hiệp - communion, alliance, Thiên -
heaven. In other words, it is the ladder
for humankind to go to heaven. The organization includes Hộ Pháp, Thượng Phẩm,
Thượng Sanh and Thập Nhị Thời Quân.
* Who are the
thập nhị Thời Quân?
The Caodaist Thập
nhị Thời Quân [30] are considered equivalent to the Thập nhị
Thời Thần [31]. They are the source of various souls.
Similarly, everything in the universe created by God comes from the Thập Nhị Thời
Thần. Traditionally, it is said that "Heaven starts at Rat [32], Earth ends at Ox [33] and Humans are born at Tiger ." [34].
Whether the
souls who incarnate on earth ascend or descend depends on the Thập nhị Thời
Quân. Similarly, divine beings’ promotion and punishment depend on the Thập nhị
Thời Thần.
The Thập nhị Thời
Quân are assigned to four branches: Pháp, Đạo and Thế, [35] each of which has four dignitaries.
* What is the
Thượng Sanh?
Souls come from
two sources: before and after the Creation. The former are called the original
and the other the evolutionary. All materials, plants, animals, birds and
humans have evolutionary souls, of which humans are the highest level. In the
Third Salvation, God saves all souls, especially helps the evolutionary climb
to the level of humanity. Thượng Sanh is the one who is directly responsible
for those promotions. Mastering secular laws, he leads all living beings in the
religious path. He can bring anyone who hinders people from practicing religion
to the Caodaist Court. He can request that the lawbreaking dignitaries causing
people to shy away from Caodaism be immediately punished. He is the leading
prosecutor, whose staff members are four Zodiac Superiors: Bảo Thế, Hiến Thế,
Khai Thế and Tiếp Thế.
* What is the
Thượng Phẩm?
Joining
Caodaism, you can earn a divine status. Then God will help you reach the highest
level. Thượng Phẩm is the one who is directly responsible for that job. He
protects believers’ statuses and helps them avoid breaking the law to get a
divine promotion. He prevents Caodaists from fighting each other for a higher
position, keeps the Cửu Trùng Đài in order and prevents them from retreating.
Mastering religious laws, he defends Caodaist dignitaries and believers by
preventing them from violating the laws. He is the Caodaist defense lawyer,
whose stall members are four Zodiac Superiors: Bảo Đạo, Hiến Đạo, Khai Đạo và
Tiếp Đạo.
* What is the
Hộ Pháp?
Like the law in
a secular society, Bí Pháp
[36] is the magical power in Caodaism. Hộ Pháp
is the one who masters both secular laws and Caodaist esoteric practice. He can
judge Caodaist dignitaries and believers and request that someone be awarded or
punished on earth.
Since the
lawbreakers who have been punished on earth will not be punished again after
death, Hộ Pháp punishes the sinners in accordance with the Canonical Code in
their lifetime so that they still keep their divine positions after death. He
takes all souls to the Bát Quái Đài to meet the Genii, Saints, Immortals and
Buddhas. Mastering secular and Caodaist laws, Hộ Pháp is the leading Judge of
the Caodaist court [37]. His staff members includes four Zodiac
Superiors: Bảo Pháp, Hiến Pháp, Khai Pháp và Tiếp Pháp.
The Hiệp Thiên
Đài, a replica of the Ngọc Hư Cung [38] on
earth, is the door for souls to travel to the Thirty Six Heavens, Nirvana and
the Bạch Ngọc Kinh [39] to meet God. It is also the checkpoint to prevent
the immoral souls from penetrating into heaven.
Due to His great
compassion and expectation, God assigns Thượng Sanh, Thượng Phẩm and Hộ Pháp to
save and take all of His children back to heaven.
Physically, the
Hiệp Thiên Đài is a construction, where good people are selected and assigned
to work with the Cửu Trùng Đài to help Caodaist believers obtain their divine
positions. After the believers die, the Hộ Pháp will take their spirit tablets
to the Bát Quái Đài to be worshipped with other Genii, Saints, Immortals and
Buddhas.
CỬU TRÙNG ĐÀI
The Cửu Trùng
Đài [40] is a copy of the Cửu Thiên Khai Hóa [41] for the Cửu Phẩm Thần Tiên [42]. Joining Caodaism, you achieve one of those levels.
The Divine
Beings in the Nine Heavens govern the earthly worlds and the Nine-Level Tower
administers the Caodaist community, saves people and leads them back to God.
The Toà Tam Giáo [43] established by God in the Nine-Level Tower
is the authority God gives Divine Beings to manage the universe. The Canonical
Code has already explained the authority of the Caodaist dignitaries.
I would like to
comment briefly on the Nine- Level Hierarchy.
1 - Genii :
- Those who are
non-Caodaists, but moral enough, can attain the level equal that of Địa Thần [44].
- The Caodaist
believers, who well practice Caodaism, Nhơn Thần [45] .
- The Lễ Sanh,
Thiên Thần [46].
2 - Saints:
- Giáo Hữu, Địa
Thánh or Earthly Saints.
- Giáo Sư, Nhơn
Thánh or Human Saints.
- Phối Sư, Thiên
Thánh or Heavenly Saints.
3 - Immortals:
- Đầu Sư, Địa
Tiên or Earthly Immortals.
- Chưởng Pháp,
Nhơn Tiên or Human Immortals.
- Giáo Tông,
Thiên Tiên or Heavenly Immortals.
What I just said
is to mention the equivalence of Caodaist dignitaries and the divine statuses.
According to the
Divine Messages, God says He chooses one Buddha, three Immortals, thirty six
Saints, seventy two Sages and three thousand disciples in this Third Salvation.
That is, God mentions the Caodaist dignitaries under the Cửu Trùng Đài or the
divine beings He has assigned to incarnate on earth to establish Caodaism.
The one Buddha,
two Immortals and twelve Saints under the Hiệp Thiên Đài, who have previously
served God in heaven, now continue to do so on earth.
There are lots
of Divine Beings having incarnated on earth who are still among Caodaist
believers. God is teaching them for their assignments in the future.
As for the Tam
Trấn Oai Nghiêm [47], who represent God to administer the Cửu
Trùng Đài, they are Buddhas. All souls have to join the Cửu Trùng Đài to attain
those mimetic positions in order to achieve the real divine positions after
death. Without the Cửu Trùng Đài, you cannot enter the Cửu Trùng Thiên.
BÁT QUÁI ĐÀI
The Bát Quái Đài
[48] is where Genii, Saints, Immortals,
Buddhas, late Caodaist dignitaries and believers are worshipped. That is in
accordance with the principle “God and humanity unite”.
It is miraculous
that God only opens the door of Bát Quái Đài for the souls who attain the
highest level of the Cửu Trùng Đài and let them unite with other divine beings.
There is only a
door between the highest level of the Cửu Trùng Đài and the Bát Quái Đài, so
between the earthly world and the divine Nirvana there is only one thing: the
material body. If that door can be opened, you can get enlightenment right here
on earth.
In conclusion, I
would like to say:
The Hiệp Thiên
Đài is the opening door to heaven, where there are devoted helpers available
for the original souls to return to their previous divine positions and for the
evolutionary souls to compete for a higher divine position, even the one equal
to God’s.
The Cửu Trùng
Đài is the divine positions God grants you on earth. It is like the barometer
to show you what your divine position will be after death in advance.
- The Bát Quái
Đài is the Bạch Ngọc Kinh on earth.
Unfortunately,
most of us do not respect our ranks. Some even degrade Caodaism. O! What a
terrible sin!
God has revealed
all secrets of heaven to you, so be alert to be able to escape the cycle of
rebirth.
Caodaism is a
religion, thanks to which we can persuade and save people. To do so, we have to
be perfectly moral to administer the Caodaist community. Frankly, we are still
not moral enough!
His Holiness
Giáo Tông always criticizes us, complaining that we have been chosen because
God loves us too much while we are, actually, terribly unworthy. That complaint
always makes me ashamed of myself for not finishing my responsibilities due to
my inability. Having tried hard, I am still like a firefly at night, which is
not luminous enough to show the way for believers.
Therefore, I
think you and me have to try a lot to keep ourselves worthy of God’s love,
brothers and sisters. The higher the rank, the more moral we should be. That is
something we should do to repay God for His love, not to achieve something like
a divine status. We should try and happily accept what God grants.
We have to trust
and worship God all the time.
I can foresee
some punishment awaiting us. Therefore, why don’t we wholeheartedly repent
together to see whether we will be forgiven?
Lunar
Calendar: 15th - 7th month - Year of the Monkey
Gregorian
Calendar: August 16th 1932.
Sermon by
His Holiness
HỘ PHÁP PHẠM CÔNG TẮC
In the Tây
Ninh Temple.
Translator: *
Từ Chơn
Caodaist
brothers and sisters,
For a year,
Caodaism has been in trouble, which degrades its noble purpose assigned by God.
I have not made
any apologetic explanation, so some may think I have favored some current
Caodaist senior dignitaries. Such a slanderous rumor has recently been spread
around by some rebellious Caodaist schisms. I do not need to elaborate on or
object to it. Let it be judged by people with a clear conscience. However,
there is one thing that I am sure about: I am certain that I have never been
partial.
Generally,
people are partial because they want to attain something from somebody such as
sharing power, benefit, friendship or even a plot. Obviously, Caodaism has no
fame, benefit or power for you to pursue. Some may say yes, but they are fake
priests who only live on stealing from others.
In real life,
no-one dares to crazily declare that they pursue power and benefit because they
will be shied away. Conversely, they pretend to be moral to seduce the honest
ones. Then, they can have authority and steal what those honest people have.
Furthermore,
they use virtues as their slogan. Commonly, they begin their campaign by
criticizing others and show off how righteous they are.
Righteousness!
Righteousness! It is righteousness that helps lots of heroes become kings of a
nation.
King Jie was too
immoral, so Tang of Shang could overthrow him and started the Shang Dynasty.
King Zhou of
Shang was too immoral, so Wu of Zhou could overthrow him and became King Wu of
Zhou.
King You of Zhou
was too immoral, so other nobles could defeat him.
The six States
were too immoral, so Ying Zheng could
unite China and became the King of Qin.
The Qin Dynasty
was too immoral, so Liu Bang could start the Han dynasty.
Emperor Xian of
Han was too immoral, so Cao Pi could
overthrow him and became the King, etc.
Righteousness is
so powerful that all bad guys always take advantage of it for their own
benefit. Nevertheless, a wise person never lets them play tricks on himself.
Therefore, when Zhuge Liang gave a flattering eulogy in Zhou You’s funeral,
Shiyuan, who knew Zhuge Liang’s true intention, did not show any grief.
Like Shiyuan, I
have turned a deaf ear to the rumors spread by the rebellious Caodaist schisms.
I just chuckled to myself while they tried to speak ill of myself behind my
back.
The only thing I
fear is they use the slogan of righteousness, which is both a Confucian and
Caodaist principle, to trick others into believing that they are genuine
priests. Fortunately, everyone knows that they are only fake priests.
Now, I am going
to discuss what the ĐẠO is with you first.
What the ĐẠO
is ?
"Đạo" [49] is a term temporarily used to identify or mention the spiritual realm. Our
Confucian forefathers said: "It is the
mystery of the relationship between God and His creatures".
Confucians
promote and consider the principle of “God and Man rule the world together” the
secular law for human societies. Therefore, there should be a mutually
supportive relationship between religious life and secular life. Man has to cultivate
themselves to be as righteous as God and how to practice it is also called “Đạo”.
Shintoists
worship nature spirits and promote the principle “Sincere prayers will be
granted”. Its practice is also called “Đạo”.
Christians aim
at saving people, saying that God is inside Man. Therefore, love for people
equals to love for God. Its practice is called “Đạo” as well.
Taoists try to
achieve calmness by retreating to a quiet place, saying your mind is dull
because of life disturbance and the way to achieve calmness is also named “Đạo”.
Buddhists hold
that consciousness, which allows you to reason, keeps you in the secular world.
It should be eliminated so that you can gain enlightenment. How to do that is
also called “Đạo”.
According to
Zhongyong [50] (Doctrine of the
Mean), “What God confers is called the Nature; How to live in accordance with
this Nature is called the Path; the regulation of this path is called
Instruction”.
What God confers
is called the Nature: God grants us humanity both our nature (or souls) and
destiny. Not only humanity but also other living beings have souls granted by
God. How much spiritually advanced a soul is decides how good or bad a person’s
destiny is.
How to live in
accordance with this Nature is called the Path: most humans have to struggle
for food and clothes in their community, so they sometimes becomes too
materialistic to know the Path. Nevertheless, a few of them, who are so wise,
know they have to live in accordance with the Path in order to unite with God.
The regulation
of this path is called Instruction (education or religion): those who follow
the Path either teach themselves or learn from wiser persons. Those wiser
persons’ techniques gradually form communities called religions. Thiệu Khương
Tiế [51] tadded, “Superior people are instinctively good,
so they do not need any education. They are Saints; Average people will become
good if properly educated. They are virtuous people; Lower people will never
become good though properly educated. They are morons”. Therefore, only Saints
can teach themselves to become virtuous people. The others all need education
or religion.
Who is God ?
God is the High
and Lofty One, powerful enough to create the universe, humankind and all living
beings. He is the Father of life, the Lord of all souls and the King of all
divine beings. He is the Supreme Being all peoples on earth worship.
He is as
mysterious as the infinite space He creates. His nature is as incomprehensible
and unknowable as the universe. You can partly understand that when you look at
what humanity has created so far. The more you ponder over the nature of God,
the more scarily miraculous you find it.
In both Europe
and Asia there have been lots of highly educated people who do not believe any
religions and who want to seek the answer to that question on their own. They
have thoroughly examined the material world in order to find out who God is.
The more they study, the more confused they are. At last, they have to exclaim:
“God is absolutely high! God is infinitely great!”
So disappointed,
they sometimes want to give up. However, they are still pushed into searching
for the answer for two reasons: first, they want to know the system to which
they belong; second, the evolution of the universe inspires their desire for
more knowledge. Due to the difficulty while researching on their own, they, at
last, resign themselves to joining a religion like ordinary people in spite of
its weird regulations. They accept whatever the new religion says about God
though it may sound scientifically unacceptable because they know that their
so-called high education has been ineffective in studying God so far.
Sometimes those
highly educated, but indecisive people have to give in to more powerful
political forces, for example, Galieo Galilei, an Italian mathematician,
physicist and astronomer from Pisa, who has been called the father of modern
science. Having seen the swaying chandelier in the cathedral of Pisa, he
created the pendulum. He also developed the thermometer, the hydrostatic
balance, the law of gravity, etc. In 1609 he made a telescope to watch the
heavenly bodies. Using that telescope, he could present supporting observations
and prove heliocentrism by Copernicus (the astronomical model in which the
Earth and planets revolve around the Sun at the center of the Solar System).
His work shocked
the Catholic Church in Rome, who supported geocentrism, saying the earth is the
center. The Church wanted to ban him, so they decided that the theory by Copernicus
was heresy and ordered him not to support it.
He promised, but
later wrote a book, arguing for heliocentrism in Florence. Therefore, he was
tried by the Inquisition and forced to recant when he was 70 years old. After
signing to recant his theory that the Earth moved around the Sun, Galileo
allegedly muttered, “And yet it moves”. He was then placed under house arrest.
He went blind and died in 1642. Alas! What brutal repression against such a
talent! The reason is ordinary people do not possess enough intelligence to
perceive the grandeur of the universe, much less Galileo’s evidence.
So, who held the
truth, the Inquisition or Galileo? As you can see now, the one who held the
truth suffered a great deal because no one understood his evidence! Now, our
religion (Caodaism) has the same suffering as Galileo did: we can hardly
provide the evidence for the existence of God.
Since the
Creation, nobody has ever seen God, the mighty invisible Creator. It is a
precious award for someone, even the leading divine beings, to be with
God. That is commonplace! Everyone
always wants to have close companionship with a good intellectual, not to
mention the fact that they can with the Supreme Being. However, there has been
no evidence for such a meeting!
Some fear Him
because they witnessed “for whatever a man sows, that shall he also reap”.
Therefore, they guess there must be someone who rules the world.
Some love Him
because they see everything in nature is for people’s benefit.
Some admire His
talent because He unbiasedly reigns the universe without missing anyone out.
However, there
are people who hate and blaspheme God. They are too unworthy to be mentioned
here.
There are some
religious founders, who are instinctively religious, who used to be close to
God in heaven or who have attained enlightenment. On earth they naturally
believe God although they just heard of Him once. They even cry tears of love
when someone mentions His name. It is almost impossible to describe that
affection.
Except those
religious founders, most people are only the curious ones, some of whom think
God is only an imaginary Being. (I do not dare judge these people. Think twice
and judge them for yourselves, please!). They may follow some doctrine which
takes advantage of God’s name for their secret benefits. They never believe God
at all, but may form a weird kind of religion! It is acceptable if they act
based on their conscience and it is fine if they ignore the boss of their
conscience (i.e. God), but it is never fair if they judge themselves.
Thus, a few
people contend that God does not exist. They say their bodies are controlled by
their brains and there is nothing left after they die. Therefore, they do not
believe any religious doctrines. They respect the progress of the material world
and their target to hit is earthly happiness.
To this point,
you might be really upset and question:
Where do those
people come from and why do they reject their origin?
Then, there
might be an endless argument, in which we humans can exchange what we think is
the most logical. Till the cows come home, the argument will get us nowhere.
Why? Because
what we think and what knowledge we gain appear after God and His plan. How
much knowledge about God we gain was already determined by Himself. Our finite
mind can never comprehend the Infinite or God. We are like a frog at the bottom
of a well who thinks the sky is a small circle like the mouth of the well.
Consequently,
brothers and sisters, you should know that matter is beyond belief and tolerate
what others say about God. You Caodaists are so lucky to be taught by God by
means of magical seances, which are also too miraculous for the lay public to
understand.
O! It is hard to
tell whether ghosts, Buddhas, Satan or God come through those seances, isn’t it?
Some say ghosts, we say Buddhas; some say Satan, we say God, yet no one can
present convincible evidence!
Lots of times
God instructed us that we should be very cautious about distinguishing between
genuine and fake seances. In addition, He said you can have a successful seance
only with the contribution of a medium.
Hence, were the
divine messages from God or the medium, from Buddha or the medium, from Satan
or the medium, from ghosts or the medium? Actually, there are no ways to tell
which one. That is why some believers, who have not been taught the Caodaist
esoteric practice because of its too difficult techniques, got “fake messages”
from the seances they held without the permission of the Caodaist Sacerdotal
Council. Look! Even in the Caodaist Inaugural Celebration, some evils could
enter our seance, so their unauthorized seances were surely controlled by
Satan!
That is why the
Caodaist dignitaries under my Hiệp Thiên Đài, who had been chosen to be the
Caodaist mediums by God, had sometimes to be ashamed and bear the humiliation
of supposedly producing fake messages. That means they have not been trusted
enough by other Caodaist believers, so be generous enough to put up with them
like God does, brothers and sisters!
Unlike Caodaism,
some religions maintain that God has no image, has infinite power and can do
what He wants. Those contradictory opinions can confuse you all. Therefore, I
would like to literally quote the poem from a divine being, who incarnated as
the great poet Victor Hugo in France and who is the Nguyệt Tâm Chơn Nhơn [52] in Quảng Hàn Cung [53]. He taught me the nature and the authority of God in creating the universe
and living beings.
20 Avril 1930
(1 heure du matin).
Mes respects Hộ
Pháp,
Ils sont en
train de vous médire
Pour pousser
derechef nos frères dans le pire.
Ils comptent à
vous faire malheur,
Ils agrandiront,
au contraire, votre honneur.
Oh ! qu’il est
gênant d’être près des traỵtres !
Mais c’est juste
pour eux qu’on est né Maỵtre.
Hộ Pháp - Enfin passons,
Poser moi vos questions.
HỘ PHÁP : - Je veux être instruit sur l’origine
de notre
Maỵtre et sur sa puissance.
Il n’ est pas
aisé de connaỵtre ce mystère,
L’enquête
éternelle sur ce point n’est plus claire
Il peut bien
avoir, d’ après mon avis,
D’ autres
Univers que le nôtre, dans l’ infini.
Ils seraient
plus ou moins énornes,
Mais la vie et
les êtres auraient les mêmes formes.
L’ un de ceux-ci
serait donc plus avancé,
Au point de vue
d’ Esprits et d’ Humanité,
A une étape, il
ressemblerait bien au nôtre,
Avec le progrès,
il deviendrait apôtre.
Dans tous ses
Cieux, règnerait la Beauté.
Ses êtres
auraient une grande part de Divinité.
La Paix et l’
Harmonie dirigeraient ses terres,
Ses créatures
ignoreraient le mot Guerre.
Rien n’ est
relatif, tout est absolu;
Des grandes âmes
se rivaliseraient en vertu.
Toute production
serait Science et Sagesse.
La force d’ âmes
maỵtrise l’ humaine faiblesse,
Ses derniers
mondes vivraient sans Loi,
L’ Union se
ferait sous la Divine Foi.
La Mort serait
vaincue par la haute conscience.
Morts et vivants
n’ auraient pas de différence.
L’amour des
êtres est partout proclamé,
mes et hommes seraient tous en sainteté.
Il y a chez
nous, dans un certain monde,
Où cette sorte
de vie est féconde.
Vous pourrez, un
jour, apprécier sa grande valeur,
Quand notre
terre passera au degré supérieur.
HỘ PHÁP : - Quand la terre aura-t-elle ce profit
?
Pour que vous
ayez conscience en votre mérite,
Je me servirai
d’ une expression spirite.
Des purgatoires,
elle débute au rang des bienheureux,
Il faudra
longtemps pour qu’elle soit le pays des dieux.
Si l’on veut
connaỵtre l’origine de notre Maỵtre,
Il faut qu’ on
soit avec lui ou on le pénètre.
Aucun esprit n’
a une très nette opinion,
Bouddha lui-même
ne fait que des suppositions.
Ne prenez pas
mes instructions en importance,
Je ne répète que
ce que les esprits y pensent.
Supposons que
notre Créateur, à ses débuts,
Dans un de ces
Univers, a vraiment vécu,
Son esprit
devait faire aussi un long stage;
De la matière,
il devenait homme et sage,
Dans les classes
d’ Esprits, il passait les échélons;
Il entre enfin
dans le mystère de la Création.
Par ses vies
successives, il a une puissance,
Qui le fait Maỵtre
de la Sagesse et de la Science.
Il sait aussi s’
entourer des meilleurs esprits,
Qui forment sa
Cour de serviteurs et d’amis.
Une fois que son
Ciel avait assez de force,
Il parcourait l’
infini avec son escorte.
HỘ PHÁP : - Il avait donc un Ciel à lui ?
Oui, chacun de
nous a un domaine défini,
Que nous
fabriquions avec notre force d’esprit.
mes et êtres provenant de notre état
karmique,
Forment ainsi
notre ciel ou notre république.
Ceux qui le
peuplent ne nous sont guère fidèles,
Beaucoup d’
entre nous viennent de notre erreur originelle.
Tant qu’ on
néglige ses secrets de purification,
Tant qu’on ouvre
son ciel à ces terribles démons
D’ où vient
alors notre Satan, le grand diable,
Si nous
cherchions la Vérité et non les fables,
Il provient
suârement du cortège divin,
Que notre
Créateur n’a pu le rendre vraiment saint.
Il est donc de
règle que nos proches nous trahissent
Par jalousie,
par envie ou par purs caprices.
Vous avez, Hộ-Pháp,
une crampe à la main,
Renvoyons notre
causerie pour demain.
21 Avril 1930
Savez-vous que
les mêmes médisances se continuent,
Maintenant notre
Divin Maỵtre est porté en vue
Ne vous souciez
pas des méchantes gens;
Ils se
reviendront quand ils auront du bon sens.
Je continue mon
point de vue sur la genèse,
Tout en respectant
ceux qui vous plaisent.
Il arrive alors
dans un endroit ténébreux.
Stagnant,
tranquille, paisible que rien ne meut,
Dans un gaz qui
n’est ni vapeur ni liquide,
Dorment des
germes à un sommeil léthargique;
Enveloppé enfin
dans un effroyable froid.
Nulle créature
ne vit, nulle matière ne croỵt.
HỘ PHÁP : - Est-ce bien la forme de l’eau parlée
dans la
genèse chrétienne ?
Oui, c’est cette
sorte de gaz qu’ on appelle hydrogène,
Plus ou moins
dense qui fait la partie la plus saine.
Dire que l’
Esprit de Dieu nage au-dessus des eaux.
C’ est à ce sens
qu ’il faut comprendre le mot.
Avec son astral
qui est de lumière,
Il anime par sa
chaleur ces inertes matières.
Une couche
d’oxygène produit, se met en action.
Le contact des
deux gaz donne une détonation;
Le feu divin est
né et l’eau sacrée se forme,
Sous l’ effet
des deux éléments tout
se transforme :
Des matières
bruâlées forment des gaz, des gaz bruâlés,
Produisent des
fluides, des fluides purs sont vitalité.
La dite vitalité
a une puissance,
Se donner aux
esprits la mort et la naissance.
Quelles
merveilles qu’ elle nous a fait constater,
Quels mystères
qu’ elle ira encore nous conserver ?
Tout ce qui
vient de la main de notre Maỵtre,
Il nous est bien
difficile d’ en connaỵtre.
Ce feu divin
alimenté, s’ est agrandi,
Jette ses
nébuleuses jusqu’ à l’infini.
Dans tout
l’Univers ce feu se sème;
Il se répartit
tant qu’il se décompose lui-même.
Ses nébuleuses
s’agrandissent sous forme de soleils,
Créent des
mondes et des mondes avec tous leurs détails
Où la conscience
de Dieu et sa lumière anime,
Les êtres sont
tous pénétrés, mêmes les plus infimes.
L’ esprit divin
s’ est répandu partout,
Ceux qui ont vie
proviennent de ce Tout.
De ces fluides
rayonnées de sa divine lumière,
Les plus impurs
se métamorphosent en pierres,
En terres, en
végétaux, en animaux ou en chair;
Les plus denses
en air et les purs en éther.
L’ intellect est
donc donné à toutes créatures,
Suivant leurs
états, une dose plus ou moins pure.
L’ âme est ainsi
créée, tandis que le corps,
C’ est la
vitalité qui détermine leurs sorts.
Vous avez
compris le reste,
C’ est ici que
je m’ arrête.
HỘ PHÁP : - Pardon, si tout vient de notre Maỵtre, tout doit être
parfait. Pourquoi pouvons- nous encore constater les imperfections de la nature ?
Quelles sont ces
imperfections ?
Pourrai-je vous
donner des explications ?
HỘ PHÁP : - La méchanceté et l’inutilité des
êtres.
Aussi bien les hommes que les animaux ou les
végétaux, leur morale ne peut être raisonnablement appréciée.
Rien n’ est
méchant ou inutile dans la nature,
Por se
conserver, il faut la nourriture.
Notre Bon Dieu
aime ardement ses enfants.
Dans son grand
amour, il leur procure des moyens.
Pour leur
progrès, il leur crée des souffrances;
Il leur faut
également des moyens de défense.
Avez-vous vu en
ce monde un homme vraiment pieux ?
S’ils sont
méchants pour nous, ils sont utiles pour eux !
Comment peuvent
devenir nos grands sages ?
Que contient
l’histoire humaine dans ses pages?
Une lutte
acharnée entre faibles et puissants,
Les plus forts
sont souvent les plus grands.
L’opposition des
deux donne la marche ascendante,
Des idées et des
réalisations savantes.
Notre cher monde
est purement relatif,
Méchants et
inutiles ne sont que qualificatifs.
Sur ce globe,
chacun de nous a une place;
Les mondes des
autres cieux sont des classes.
L’ Univers est
donc une école pour les esprits,
Qui la
fréquentent pour être encore plus érudits.
Ceux qui font
souvent l’école buissonnière,
Doivent doubler
leurs années et reprennent leurs matières.
Toutes les âmes
espèrent lire ce livre éternel,
Qui contient le
secret à se faire immortel.
Le but est d’
achever notre rude carrière;
Il faut de
temps, des conditions et des
manières.
De l’ immonde
matière à la pure divinité,
On fait son
chemin en tenant l’éternité.
Le résultat est
d’ apprendre à se connaỵtre,
Et connaỵtre
ensuite, par conscience, l’ Homme qui doit être.
La différence
des caractères a sa raison,
Elle nous aide à faire la comparaison.
Mettez une large
tolérance dans vos études,
Classez les
esprits suivant leurs aptitudes.
Séparez
simplement ceux qui sont humains,
De ceux qui sont
déjà un peu divins.
Donnez au
sacerdoce des meilleurs modèles,
Enseignez par
tous vos moyens vos infidèles,
Ne les détestez
pas parce qu’ ils sont infâmes.
Et ne regardez
que le salut de leurs âmes !
Aimez toujours
pour donner à L’ Humanite,ù
Ces deux Vérités
: AMOUR et ÉTERNITÉ.
- Tệ đệ xin lược
dịch ra đây, nhờ mấy vị cao minh chỉnh lại giùm những điều sai sót :
Ngày 20 tháng
4 năm 1930 (1 giờ khuya).
Kính chào Hộ
Pháp,
Người đương xúm
nói hành quí vị,
Dục chư huynh
quá lý từ đây.
Tưởng là mưu hại
đặng Ngài,
Nào dè xúm đỡ
danh Ngài thêm cao.
Gần kẻ phản biết bao khó chịu,
Gẫm thật ra bởi
đấy mình Thầy,
Thôi thì ta cũng
bỏ khuây,
Hỏi chi xin khá
tỏ bày cùng tôi.
HỘ PHÁP : - Xin cho tôi hiểu nguyên thỉ của Thầy
chúng ta và quyền hành của người.
Hiểu cho đặng
huyền vi khó nổi,
Tra khuôn hồng tỏ
mối không minh.
Theo tôi
nghĩ thế giới mình,
Ngoài ra còn có
lắm hình càn khôn.
Nhiều thế khác
biệt phân lớn nhỏ,
Sinh tồn loài vật rõ y
nhau.
Một ngôi nào đó
nên cao,
Về thần hồn với
về loài nhơn sanh.
Cũng có lúc giống
mình như hệt,
Tấn hóa nâng khí
phách nên hiền.
Máy trời đẹp vẻ
thiên nhiên,
Vật loài đều hưởng
trọn quyền Chí Linh.
Các địa quả thái
bình an tịnh,
Cả chúng
sanh dốt tánh can qua.
Tương đối dứt, tuyệt đối ra,
Chơn hồn tranh đấu
về khoa tánh lành.
Sanh chi cũng
ngoan minh cách trí,
Quyền linh hồn
chủ quỉ phàm tâm.
Thế hèn luật
cũng không cần,
Tương thân chỉ cậy
nhờ phần đức tin.
Cái chết bị tâm
linh đánh bại,
Sống chết dường
trái phải không phân.
Thương sanh truyền
phép xa gần,
Hồn và người vốn
Thánh Thần hiển nhiên.
Nhiều thế giới
càn khôn ta có,
Sanh hoạt nầy quả
cớ nên nhiều,
Địa cầu chừng đặng
cao siêu,
Các Ngài rõ giá
những điều phân phô.
HỘ PHÁP : - Chừng nào trái địa cầu nầy đặng hưởng
điều ấy ?
Thần linh dụng
tiếng làm Ngài hiểu,
Cho tỏ tường phẩm
hiệu dường bao.
Qua luyện tội
Thánh cảnh vào,
Còn lâu nữa mới
làm trào Phật Tiên.
Muốn biết đặng
căn nguyên Từ Phụ,
Ở cùng người hoặc
đủ hiểu Người.
Chẳng hồn nào
quyết định lời,
Thích Ca thì
cũng để lời phỏng ngôn.
Chớ coi trọng lời
tôi bày tỏ,
Tôi thuật lời tưởng
ngỡ như linh.
Tỷ như lúc trước
Chí Linh,
Có sanh ở một cảnh
hình càn khôn.
Người cũng đứng
phẩm hồn hậu bổ,
Vật nên người,
người trở nên Hiền.
Lần hồi lên phẩm
thiêng liêng,
Khai Thiên người
mới đoạt quyền Chí Linh.
Đã chịu lắm sinh
sinh tử tử,
Đủ huyền linh
làm chủ trí khôn.
Lại hay thâu phục
chơn hồn,
Đặng làm Thần đệ
vĩnh tồn triều nghi.
Đài Thiên cảnh vừa
khi đặng lớn,
Dắt triều đình
vào chốn không trung.
HỘ PHÁP : - Vậy chớ khi ấy Người đã có Thiên cung
riêng của Người rồi hay sao ?
Phải, mỗi đứa
riêng trong cảnh giái,
Của chúng ta tạo
tại linh hồn.
Hồn, người, do bởi
giác hồn,
Tạo nên cảnh giới
cộng làm chánh chung.
Trong các Đấng lòng trung vẫn ít,
Phần đông
do kẻ nghịch oan khiên.
Tu chơn bỏ máy diệu huyền,
Thì ta mở lối cảnh
Thiên quỉ vào.
Quỉ vương hỏi
nơi nào mà đến,
Cứ tầm chơn đừng
đếm giả truyền,
Chắc do trong
đám triều Thiên,
Chí Linh khó sửa
cho tuyền Thánh tâm.
Ta hằng bị tình
thâm phản nghịch,
Đố kỵ, cùng vui
thích hại ta.
Hộ Pháp, tay
Ngài tê quá thay là,
Đêm mai tôi tiếp nói qua việc nầy.
Ngày 21 tháng 4 năm 1930 (10 giờ tối).
Lời ác cảm ngày nay còn tiếp,
Bây giờ đây cậy pháp danh Thầy.
Đừng lo kẻ dữ làm chi,
Biết khôn đó cũng có ngày ăn năn.
Tôi tiếp chuyện khai Thiên tôi nhận,
Cũng kỉnh phương
học vấn của Ngài.
Chí Tôn tới chốn
dạ đài,
Bình an phẳng lặng không loài động
sanh.
Trong thứ
khí không danh mây nước,
Vật chất
sanh ngủ ước vô chừng.
Hào quang
bao phủ mấy vầng,
Vật không
biến hóa, thú ngừng không sanh.
HỘ PHÁP : - Thưa phải là hình ảnh của nước trong
Sám truyền đạo
Thánh đã có nói đó hay không ?
Phải, thứ khí
kêu danh thủy khí,
Đông đặc nhiều
xem kỹ đứng đầu.
Rằng Trời mặt nước
ngự chầu,
Thì là phải hiểu
cao sâu thế nầy.
Chơn thần người
dẫy đầy ánh sáng,
Lấy dương quang ấp
đảng vô năng,
Sanh lằn hỏa khí
bao giăng,
m Dương tương khắc nổ lằn Thiên thinh.
Thái Cực nở với
hình nguơn thủy,
Hai quyền năng dục
khí hóa cơ.
Vật tiêu hóa
khí, khí nhơ,
Tiêu thành nguơn
khí bấy giờ sanh quang.
Khí sanh quang ấy
toàn linh cảm,
Định linh hồn chết
sống nơi tay.
Dị thường sanh
hóa rất hay,
Sau nầy ta cũng
thấy hoài huyền linh.
Vật chi tại tài
tình Sư Phụ,
Ta không phương
hiểu thấu cho cùng.
Lửa Thái Cực lớn
vô chừng,
Rảy cùng thế giới
muôn trùng hỏa tinh.
Phân phát quá rồi
hình phải tuyệt,
Cùng càn khôn rảy
riết không ngằn.
Hỏa tinh lớn hóa
nhựt quang,
Nhựt tinh nguội
lập cả hàng thế gian.
Nơi nào ánh linh
quang chiếu diệu,
Vạn vật toàn đại
tiểu đều thông.
Chí Linh tánh đức
bao trùm,
Hữu sanh ai cũng
do cùng Nhứt Linh.
Các nguơn khí
ánh linh chiếu thấu,
Chi trược ngưng
thứ xấu biến thạch hình.
Thổ, mộc, thú,
nhơn, vạn linh,
Bán thanh sanh
khí, thanh thành hạo nhiên.
Khối linh cảm
ban tuyền vạn loại,
Tùy theo hàng phẩm
thảy vừa chừng,
Hồn linh sanh hưởng
hồng ân,
Còn bên thể
phách về phần sanh quang.
Ngài đủ rõ hành
tàng sót lại,
Tới đây tôi đành
phải ngưng văn.
HỘ PHÁP : - Kiếu lỗi Ngài, nhưng quả mọi việc đều
do nơi Sư Phụ thì tức nhiên nó phải tận thiện tận mỹ mới phải, cớ sao chúng tôi
lại còn thấy đặng nhiều điều sai sót của cơ Tạo hóa vậy ?
Những điều chi sơ sót gọi rằng,
Hoặc khi tôi có
cớ bằng giải khuyên.
HỘ PHÁP : - Sự hung ác và sự vô ích của cả loài
người loài vật và thảo mộc. Cái tánh đức của vạn loại khó lấy trí khôn người mà
định khen cho đặng.
Không vô ích dữ
hiền mặt thế,
Sống phải toan
kiếm kế nuôi thân.
Chí Tôn con cái
đều cần,
Lòng thương kia
phải dành phần lợi sanh.
Cho tấn hóa, người
hành đau thảm,
Người phải cho
mô phạm bảo thân.
Dưới đời mấy mặt
hiền nhân,
Với ta gọi dữ họ
cần ích riêng.
Sao đặng tiếng
Thánh hiền các Đấng,
Sử nhơn gian nào
chứng chép ghi.
Đấu tranh mạnh yếu
thường khi,
Xem ra thấy mạnh
cũng thì phần hơn.
Lẽ mạnh yếu thiệt
hơn chiến đấu,
Nâng trí mưu cơ
xảo nên hay.
Cảnh phàm tương
đối là đây,
Dữ, vô dụng, ấy
là lời bia danh.
Nơi hoàn võ cá nhân có chỗ,
Các Trời kia lớp
ngõ học đường.
Càn khôn thế giới
là trường,
Chư hồn đến học
cho thường mới hay.
Kẻ nào nhẫng bỏ
bài trốn mãi,
Không đặng lên, học lại bài xưa.
Các hồn ai cũng
mến ưa,
Sách thiêng
liêng đọc mấy tờ vĩnh sanh.
Ai cũng ước công
thành danh toại,
Phải nhiều thời
nhiều phép nhiều kinh.
Vật hèn tới phẩm
tối linh,
Con đường đi biết
mấy nghìn thời gian.
Chung cuộc hiểu
hành tàng ta đã,
Sau mới tường
căn quả Chí Linh.
Biệt phân đẳng cấp
tánh linh,
Là phương dành để
cho mình sánh cân.
Trong học thức
Ngài cần quảng đại,
Phân tánh người
tùy cái tài ba.
Đem người
phàm tánh cho ra,
Ngoài vòng
Thánh chất, chánh tà phân minh.
Lấy gương tốt để dành Hội Thánh,
Năng dạy khuyên
các nhánh bất trung.
Đừng thèm ghét kẻ
gian hùng,
Coi phần hồn trọng
độ giùm là hay.
Cứ thương mãi đặng
cho nhơn loại,
Chơn lý kia cạn
giải đôi lời :
TỪ BI, BÁC ÁI và
TRỜI.
English
Translation
Your
Holiness Hộ Pháp,
Some
people are slandering you
To push
our brothers into the worst again.
They
intend to make you unhappy,
They will,
on the contrary, enhance your honor.
Oh ! how
embarrassing it is to be near traitors!
But they
are also children of our Master.
Hộ Pháp,
let's move on,
Ask me
your questions.
Hộ Pháp - I want to be educated on the
origin of our Master and His power.
It’s not
easy to know this mystery.
Eternal investigations
into this point have proved fruitless.
He may
have, in my opinion,
Other
universes than ours, in the infinite.
They would
be more or less huge,
But life
and beings would have the same forms.
One of
these would be more advanced,
From the
point of view of souls and humanity.
At one
stage, it looked very much like ours,
With
progress, it then becomes more advanced.
In all its
heaven, beauty would reign.
Its beings
would have a great deal of divinity.
Peace and
harmony would rule its lands,
Its creatures
would ignore the word “war”.
Nothing is
relative, everything is absolute;
Great
souls would compete in virtue.
Any
production would be from science and wisdom.
The
strength of souls overcomes human weakness,
Its worlds
would need no law,
The union
would be done under the divine faith.
Death
would be defeated by high consciousness.
Dead and
alive would have no difference.
The love
of sentient beings is proclaimed everywhere,
Souls and
men would all be saintly.
There are
such worlds,
Where this
kind of life is fruitful.
You may
one day appreciate its great value,
When your
earth goes to the next level.
HỘ PHÁP: - When will the earth have this
profit?
To make
you aware of your merits,
I will use
a spiritistic expression.
A
purgatory, which begins with the rank of the blessed,
Will take
a long time to be the land of gods.
If we want
to know the origin of our Master,
We have to
be with or understand Him.
No one has
ever had a very clear opinion,
Buddha
himself only makes assumptions.
Don't
consider my instructions important,
I only
repeat what other divine beings think of.
For
example, our Creator, at the beginning,
Really
lived in one of those universes.
His soul
also had to do a long internship;
From
matter, he became a man then a sage,
In
spiritual classes, he climbed the ladder;
He finally
entered the age of Creation.
Through
his successive lives, He had enough power,
Which
makes Him master of wisdom and science.
He also
knows how to surround Himself with the best souls,
Who formed
his court of servants and friends.
Once His
heaven was strong enough,
He
traveled endlessly with His escorts.
HỘ PHÁP: - So He had a heaven of His own?
Yes, each
of us has a defined domain
That we
make with the strength of our soul.
The souls
and beings from our karmic states
Form our
sky or our republic.
Those who
populate it are hardly loyal to us.
Many of
them come from our original mistakes
As long as
we neglect the right process of purification.
Or as long
as we open our sky to these terrible demons.
That is
how Satan, the great devil, comes in.
If we were
looking for the truth and not the fables,
We’ll see
that Satan surely comes from the divine beings,
That our
Creator could not make truly holy.
It is,
therefore, the rule that our loved ones betray us
Out of
jealousy, envy or pure whim.
You have,
Hộ-Pháp, a cramp in your hand, [54]
Let's
postpone our chat until tomorrow.
Do you
know that the same backbiting continues,
Now our
Divine Master is brought into view?
Don't
worry about bad people;
They will
come back when they have common sense.
I continue
my point of view on the genesis
While
really respecting the knowledge you have.
God then
arrives in a dark place
So
stagnant, tranquil and peaceful that nothing moves,
In a gas
that is neither vapor nor liquid,
Germs are
in a lethargic sleep;
And
finally wrapped in a frightful cold.
No
creature lives, no matter grows.
HỘ PHÁP: - Is this the form of the water
mentioned in
the
Christian genesis?
Yes, this
is the kind of gas we call hydrogen,
More or
less dense, which is the healthiest part.
It is
often said that the Spirit of God is swimming in the water.
It is in
this sense that we must understand the word.
God’s
astral body is made of light
And the
light animates these inert materials with its warmth.
A layer of
produced oxygen is put into action.
The
contact of the two gases gives a detonation;
Divine
fire is born and sacred water is formed,
Under the
effect of the two elements everything is transformed:
Burnt
materials form gases, burnt gases
Produce
fluids, pure fluids are vitality.
That
vitality has a power
To give
all beings death and birth.
What
marvels we witnessed
And what
mysteries will be kept for us
come from
the hand of our Master.
And it is
very difficult for us to know them all.
This
divine fire fueled, grew,
And threw
its nebulae into infinity.
Throughout
the Universe this fire is sown;
It is
distributed until it decomposes itself.
Its
nebulae are growing in the form of suns,
Creating
worlds and worlds with all their details
Where the
consciousness of God and His light animates,
The beings
are all created, even the most minute.
The divine
spirit has spread everywhere,
Those who
have life all come from this.
From these
fluids radiated from His divine light,
The more
impure transform into stones,
Dirt,
plants, animals or the flesh;
The denser
into air and the purer into ether.
Intellect
is then given to all creatures,
Depending
on their condition, a more or less pure dose.
The soul
is thus created, while the body,
It is
vitality that determines its destiny.
You
understood the rest,
This is
where I stop.
HỘ PHÁP: - Sorry, if everything comes from
our Master,
everything
must be perfect. Why can we still notice the imperfections of nature ?
What are
these imperfections?
Can I give
you an explanation?
HỘ PHÁP: - The wickedness and uselessness
of sentient beings. As for humans, animals and plants, their morality cannot be
reasonably appreciated.
Nothing is
mean or useless in nature,
To be
alive, you need to fight for food.
Our Lord
ardently loves His children.
In his
great love, He provides them with means.
For their
progress, He makes them suffer;
He must
also give them means of defenses.
Have you
seen a truly pious man in this world?
If someone
is mean to us, he is useful to himself!
How can
our great sages become?
What does
human history contain in its pages?
A fierce
struggle between the weak and the powerful,
The
strongest are often the winners.
The
opposition of the two gives the upward march,
Scholarly
ideas and achievements.
Our dear
world is purely relative,
Evil and
useless are only qualifiers.
On this
globe, each of us has a place;
The worlds
of other heavens are classes.
The
universe is therefore a school for souls,
Who
frequent it to be even more erudite.
Those who
often skip school,
Must
double their years and resume their subjects.
All souls
hope to read this eternal book,
Which
contains the secret to make yourself immortal.
The goal
is to end our rough career;
It takes
time, conditions and manners.
From
filthy matter to pure divinity,
We make
our way holding on to eternity.
The result
is to get to know each other,
And then
to know, by conscience, the Man who must be.
The
difference in characters has its reason,
It helps
us make the comparison.
Put a
large tolerance in your studies,
Rank the
souls according to their abilities.
Just
separate those who are human,
From those
who are already a little divine.
Give the
priesthood the best models,
Teach your
infidels by all your means,
Don't hate
them because they are infamous.
And look
only at the salvation of their souls!
Always
love to give humanity
These two
truths: LOVE and ETERNITY.
Reading
these verses in depth, we realize that no divine beings have comprehended the
origin of God. Even the Buddha could only take a guess! Therefore, you will
commit the sin of pride, thinking yourselves more knowledgeable than the Buddha
if keeping discussing that issue.
However,
we further understand the secret message from God “Children, I am you; you are
Myself” and “You can evolve up to My level” or “I would demean Myself so that
you can climb even higher”.
Oh! How
great the grace of God! The more I ponder, the more I love God. He always wants
to share His divine power with His children, even the traitors.
No wonder
a human father also does the same for his children. Despite difficulties and
suffering, he just wants his children to grow up to become good adults, who can
develop the family career.
One day, I
asked His Holiness Nguyệt Tâm Chơn Nhơn [55] why God the Father calls Himself Master.
That’s confusing because father and master are different.
He answered:
Il est même
temps Père et Maỵtre,
Parce que c’ est
de LUI vient tout notre être.
Il nourrit notre
corps de ce qui est sain,
Et fabrique
notre esprit de ce qui est divin.
En LUI tout est
Science et Sagesse;
Le progrès de l’
âme est son oeuvre sans cesse,
Les viles
matières sont joyaux à ses yeux;
De vils esprits,
IL en fait des dieux.
Sa Loi est
Amourr, sa Puissance est Justice.
IL ne connaỵt
que la vertu et non le vice,
PÈRE : IL donne
à ses enfants sa VITALITÉ,
MAỴTRE : IL leur lègue sa propre DIVINITÉ.
Vietnamese :
Người cũng vẫn
Cha Thầy luôn một,
Cả chơn linh hài
cốt tay Người.
Nuôi mình dùng vật
thanh tươi,
Tạo hồn lấy phép
tột vời Chí Linh.
Nơi Người vốn
quang minh cách trí,
Tấn hóa hồn phép
quí không ngưng.
Vật hèn trước mắt
thành trân,
Hồn hèn Người lại
dành phần Phật Tiên.
Luật thương yêu,
quyền là ngay chánh,
Gần thiện căn xa
lánh phàm tâm.
Làm Cha nuôi sống
âm thầm,
Làm Thầy lại nhượng
phẩm Thần ngôi Thiên.
English
He is Father and
Master at the same time
Because it’s
from Him that our soul and body comes.
He nourishes our
body with what is healthy,
And makes up our
mind from what is divine.
In Him
everything is science and wisdom;
The progress of
the soul is unceasing work,
The vile
materials are jewels in His eyes;
He makes gods
out of vile spirits.
His Law is Love,
his Power is Justice.
He only knows
virtue, not vice,
As a father: He
gives his children vitality,
As a master: He
bequeaths them his own divinity.
Generally, it is
common for parents on earth to consider their children’s education a top
priority. They always think it is lucky if their children are more educated
than they are. As a result, they select the best school with the most qualified
teachers for their children.
Similarly, the
universe is the school of God for souls to attain more knowledge. They need to
learn, first, in order to know themselves, second, to know others and finally
to evolve by means of rebirths in the world of suffering. When they
achieve the highest level of divinity,
they will gain a thorough insight into the divine secret of the universe and
achieve eternal life.
It is not
unrealistic for you, one day, to achieve what God has achieved today by the
process of self-perfection. The space is vast enough for all souls to establish
what is called the personal realm.
Both the divine
and the earthly laws are alike. They are the cycles of birth and death and of
establishment and destruction. In order to become a Creator, souls have to incarnate on earth
numerous times. They build their material world to achieve their spiritual
world.
That rule is
very much in force among souls, who incarnate on earth, without any exceptions.
Souls have to keep learning the lesson of God eternally though they know the
material world will be destroyed sooner or later. As long as they still
breathe, they keep trying harder and harder.
If asked whether
someone has mastered that secret power of creation or whether everyone has to
be subjected to it, God will answer, “Everyone should share the suffering of
life so that the next incarnations will be better. That is why everyone is
forced to learn to become a Creator although they might not achieve it”.
If God, the
Being of Infinite Love, decides that we are responsible for people’s souls,
that is too difficult for us.
Being a common
father, you can make any sacrifices, even your life, so that your children can
have a better life. Being a Creator or a God (Father of all souls) can be more
miserable because you want your children to become Buddhas or Gods, but they
only want to be ghosts or evils. How disappointed!
Think about it!
You and your spouse day and night worry about your children’s future. You
always hope they will work as a governmental official or become a well-to-do
person. Unfortunately, they grow up to become bad people in the lower class. It
is terribly disappointed, isn’t it?
Similarly, our
Master expects humanity will have a really bright future by painfully sending
them to the world of suffering to learn. He only wants humankind to pass the
examination of morality and achieve the position of the Divine Beings. It would
be so painful for Him to know they are hopelessly trapped in the sea of
suffering.
Establishing
Caodaism here, God the Father resembles a human father, who sends his son
abroad for higher education. He hopes the boy will graduate, returning home to
continue the ancestral line. Unexpectedly, the boy only parties instead.
Spending too much, he even asks for more money. If visited, he pretends to
study hard. Staying abroad for a long time, he has neither got any worthy
qualifications, replied to his mail nor returned home. Being so angry, the
father wants to disown his child.
However, seeing
the boy’s belongings around, the father misses him so much that he, at last,
has to go overseas to visit him.
Nỗi đường trường
diệu viễn nước non,
Ai biết mặt
phòng toan kỉnh trọng,
Lại sang cả danh
nêu lọng lọng,
Xưng thiệt danh
người cũng không tin,
Nương gậy lê lữ thứ một mình,
Đòi phen chịu
người khinh kẻ nhục.
Nào dè đâu !
Nghe tin trẻ
trong vòng khổ cực,
Nỗi thê nhi đùm
bọc dắt dìu,
Nỗi gia đình chẳng
đủ chi tiêu,
Làm thuê mướn
mơi chiều thiếu bữa.
Mảng nghèo khó xứ
người lận đận,
Phải làm thân
trâu ngựa người dùng.
Sự học hành xưa
chẳng chí công,
Thả trôi chảy
theo dòng khổ thủy.
Lại thêm nhiễm
những lời ma mị,
Oán thân sinh chẳng
nghĩ thâm tình,
Đói khó thân dầu
phải ăn xin,
Cũng chí quyết
không nhìn đến ổng.
Nơi đất khách đã
đành gởi sống,
Nào kể chi cái đống
xương tàn.
Oán anh em, oán
họ oán hàng,
Oán xứ sở, oán
làng oán tổng.
Nghe quê cũ như
dường nằm mộng,
Nợ nần thâu thân
sống chẳng cho về,
Thôi đã đành bỏ
dứt từ quê,
Còn chi kể lời
chê tiếng nhục.
Ơn sanh dục dầu
còn biết Đạo,
Muốn lo đền hiếu
thảo cũng vô phương,
Ngày những đêm
khổ não đoạn trường,
Đã quên hẳn Tông
đường sang cả.
Lại đành chịu
làm ma xứ lạ,
Phú thân hồn đày
đọa tại tay người.
Áo Tô Tần một mảnh
tả tơi,
Chịu lao khổ
sương mơi nắng tối.
Già khi đã dò
đon lặn lội,
Nương gậy lê đến
tới nhà con.
Thấy hình hài
con đã hao mòn,
Thêm nỗi vợ nỗi
con đói khát.
Ăn thiếu bữa cơm
không đầy bát,
Uống nước cho đã
khát chén không đầy.
Thân không nhà
rày đó mai đây,
Ở chung chạ cùng
bầy trộm cướp.
Con dò dọc tèm
lem tuốc luốc,
Học nói năng nhơ
nhớp thấy mà kinh.
Nỗi bất hòa chồng
vợ không tình,
Nỗi bạn tác chê
khinh đều lánh.
Gần hung ác tập
rèn quen tánh,
Chỉn lấy thân yếu
mạnh so đời.
Không lương tâm
nào biết ngó Trời,
Theo thân thể trọn
đời thờ quỉ.
Thấy như thế,
Già tuôn giọt lụy,
Lại hiểu con chẳng
nghĩ đến mình,
Gạt lụy rơi về tạm
Khách Đình,
Chẳng cho trẻ biết
hình biết dạng.
Thấy con trẻ làm
nhà buôn bán,
Đem tiền ra lập
hãng lập chành.
Nghe con làm thợ
đá có danh,
Lập hãng lãnh cất
dinh cất phủ.
Nghe con có làm
bồi nhà ngủ,
Lập nên nhà
khách ngụ nhà hàng,
Nghe con hay làm
mướn nhà quan,
Cho con đặng vào
hàng ấm tử.
Lập gia nghiệp
cho con vừa đủ,
Dạy, khuyên,
nuôi dưỡng lũ cháu thơ,
Bèn làm cho đủ
giấy đủ tờ,
Cả của cải đều
cho con hưởng.
Thơ một bức dặn
con thương tưởng,
Phải giữ căn bền
hưởng ân hồng.
Nhớ cội nguồn đừng
phế đừng vong,
Nơi quê cũ Cha
trông thấy trẻ.
Nay đã đặng giàu
sang đủ lẽ,
Gắng giữ gìn
danh thể Tổ tông.
Gia tộc con cả
giống dài dòng,
Đều sang cả chớ
không hèn hạ.
Ở xứ lạ dầu nên
nghiệp cả,
Học hành thêm để
dạ cần chuyên.
Nhà cửa ta chẳng
kể của tiền,
Duy trông trẻ
nên Hiền nên Thánh.
E con thẹn nên
Cha phải lánh,
E trẻ phiền Cha
tránh mặt con.
Con khá nhìn lấy
nước lấy non,
Còn non nước Cha con còn gặp. (là Thầy muốn
độ mình hồi cựu vị.)
English
Being a
stranger in a distant country,
The father
is respected by no-one
Though in
his native home
He is a
top political leader.
Traveling
alone,
He is
sometimes scorned by some people.
He is so
surprised
To find
out his son is living in poverty,
Everyday
struggling with the family.
The son is
usually broke,
Having a
part-time job here and there.
Sometimes
he has to fight
For a
filthy manual work.
He didn’t
study hard at college,
Dropping
out only after some months.
Yet
persuaded by some bad guys,
He blamed
his dad for his bad situation
And vowed
to reject the father despite his poverty.
He decided
to live far from home
And to die
abroad.
He blamed
his brothers, relatives,
Country
and hometown.
He never
dreamed of his distant hometown
Because of
his too many debts to return.
Resigning
himself to being exiled to a foreign country,
He tried
to ignore all insults.
Now he
knows he has to offer
Due
compensation to parents, but he cannot.
Day and
night he suffers
Because he
had to leave his wealthy clan.
In the
future
He will
surely die miserably far from home.
Wearing
raggedy clothes,
Walking in
the bad weather
And asking
everyone for directions, the father
Comes to
the boy’s house with a walking stick.
He then
finds out that the son is too scrawny
And that
there is not enough food for his family,
Not enough
rice
Nor enough
water.
Being
homeless,
The son
has to live among bandits.
The
grandchildren are both dirty
And
terribly foul-mouthed.
Having
frequent disagreements with his wife,
He is also
shied away by his friends.
Frequently
living among scoundrels,
He is used
to solving social problems with muscles.
Ignoring
conscience or God,
He worships
Satan instead.
Seeing
that, the father cannot help but cry
And thinks
the son has abandoned his dad.
He
secretly returns to the hotel
Without
letting the son know he has come.
If the son
can do business,
He helps
build a large firm.
If the son
is a builder,
He helps
build a construction company.
If the son
is a bellboy,
He helps
build a hotel.
If the son
is a part-time worker,
He gives
him a happier life instead.
He gives
the son a good career
So that
the grandchildren can live better.
He even
files to get enough required documents
For the
son to be the official boss.
Finally,
the father writes a letter
Telling
the son to work hard to develop that career
And not to
reject his origin.
In the
original hometown, the father hopes
The son,
now being well-to-do enough,
Will try
to live so as to be worthy
Of the
names of his ancestors,
Who were
all wealthy and reputable,
And, will
try to further his education
Though
being a boss now
Because
the family only wants sages,
Not the
money.
Being
afraid that the son can feel embarrassed,
The father
decides to avoid public appearances,
But tells
the son to remember that
The father
will see the child again in their hometown.
(i.e. God
wants us to reattain our previous divine positions)
Caodaist
believers, try to think twice to comprehend the meaning of the above poem,
please!
I have
just told the story of a human father, who is so wise and who ardently loves
his children. He makes plan to help his son succeed in life. That is absolutely
similar to the story of our God the Father, who established Caodaism in the
Third Age of Salvation to help the original souls reattain their former divine
positions.
If
witnessing such a father on earth, you must really be so fond of him and,
conversely, seriously criticize the son. That father is our God the Father and
the son represents all living beings, or more exactly humanity. Understanding
that, you now know how much serious the sin you commit is. I myself cried while
writing this sermon.
Oh! My
colleagues and I (i.e. the current Caodaist dignitaries) have been frequently
and diligently taught by God since the beginning of Caodaism. We have not seen
His face, but had abundant evidence for His existence, which are the lessons on
the noble ideas of justice and love.
While
teaching us, He only made appeasements or lamented, but never get mad. Since we
used to struggle for life in society, not practice a religion, we did not
understand His lessons at all. What bad students!
The
incident in the Gò Kén Pagoda [56] happened due to our stupidity, but,
fortunately, God only lamented, not punish. He knows for sure we are still
foolish and unfamiliar with practicing a religion. Since then He tried harder
to teach us until we are assigned to His Holiness Li Bai [57]. Thanks to those lessons, we fairly
understand what the Đạo is and can spread Caodaism to the public.
Actually,
we only took orders from God, but not spread Caodaism for our own power or
higher ranks. We all try to fulfill our responsibilities, ignoring any
criticism and slander.
I myself
least believed in spiritualism, so I curiously tried to test the mediums
several times. Being afraid that I could fall into sin, I prayed that I would
be punished by God. God, however, would never punish me, but just smiled.
Doubting
the honesty of the mediums, furthermore, I decided to perform automatic writing
by myself at home. Sitting alone at night, raising a pen, I waited for God. At
last, I was moved to tears when God came and taught me lots of thing. At the
beginning of Caodaism, I usually judged someone because God said I am
responsible for the scale of justice on earth [58]. I still do not know how to use
that scale! Especially when there was a disagreement between the Hiệp Thiên Đài
and Cửu Trùng Đài or when the Thập Nhị Thời Quân [59] did not complete their assignments, I
presented a petition with the names of the failing dignitaries to God,
requesting that they be punished.
Here is
His answer: “Being a human, you have a divine responsibility. I assign each of
you a different task according to your ability. I do not force the talented to
carry out the easy tasks and vice versa. Even the untalented are necessary. I
have innumerable ways for task assignment because I know you all, but you
cannot. If you assign the weak a heavy workload, you’ll be responsible for
their failure, even their death sometimes.”
Now,
brothers and sisters, what would you do with my “scale of justice”?
Once, our
doctrine was criticized by non-Caodaist people. They even wanted to destroyed
Caodaism. Again, I presented another petition to God, asking Him to punish
them.
God then
asked me,“ Supposing you had some children, the older of whom are so wise and
pious and the younger of whom are too cheeky and immoral due to their
stupidity, then what would you do?”
I
answered, “I’d resort to advice and punishment. If failing, I’d resign myself
to disown them”.
He said, “Disown?”
Smiled He, “While they are too young? You can’t because you are a good father!”
After some
seconds of silence, He asked, “Why don’t you say ‘Kill them!’?”
I immediately
recalled what I have written in my petition and felt really frightened. Seeing
that, He further explained, “Whenever I come to earth to establish a religion,
they always satirically criticize myself, even kill myself. However, they,
afterward, recognize their fault and join the religion. They always do! So,
don’t be angry! They blaspheme just because they don’t know what they’re
doing.”
Brothers
and sisters, you can see how much mercy God have on mankind and how hard it is
for me to work as the Judge of the Caodaist Tribunal.
Oddly
enough, the religion established by such a Being (i.e. Caodaism) can result in
a schism [60] whose
“God” rebukes other people. I’ll let you judge whether those words are spoken
by a genuine or a fake God!
Hence, we
consider God the Supreme Being based on our belief. You Caodaists may give more
explanations, for example other peoples also worship God, who they call various
names, and everyone acknowledges that the Supreme Being, the Lord of all souls,
surely exists.
All souls
evolve on the divine hierarchy until they get to the highest rank, which is as
high as that of God. They have to pass lots of hells, innumerable levels, and
various incarnations in different earths before entering the spiritual realm
for a position of Genie, Saint, Immortal or Buddha.
Each soul
independently evolves for his own higher divine status. Only after death will
you be able to know whether your divine rank is high or low. Thus, it is too
late for those who did not lead a moral life or who did not believe in God
while living on earth. Not having attained any divine positions, they have to
reincarnate, telling themselves to fix things this time. However, they forget
everything after coming down to earth. Like ordinary earthly people, they keep
pursuing fame and benefit so much that they sometimes ruin the religions
established by God!
It is
miraculous that everyone forgets their previous lives, which is the keystone of
rebirth. Otherwise, there would be no people on earth or no Đạo (religions) for
salvation.
The divine
mechanism or Đạo is powerful enough to give birth to Siddhartha Gautama [61], who taught people how to free
themselves from the cycle of rebirth. It might help the advanced souls, who are
about to become Buddhas, not all living beings. As a result, there are still
people on earth.
According
to what we think of God’s divine mechanism,
or Đạo, it can be described as: Thanks to the sun heat, water transforms
into clouds. Clouds freeze and transform back into water, which fills the
earth, seeps into the ground and dissolves salt. The salty solution then moves
to springs, rivers and oceans to nourish all beings. In this cycle, the sun
heat is God, water is humanity, clouds are divine beings (Genii, Saints,
Immortals and Buddhas), springs and rivers are religions, oceans are the
universe and salt is life.
According
to their responsibilities, all living beings create and perfect the world so
that it can be the classrooms for souls to evolve and evil spirits to do
penance.
Karmic
debts run this divine mechanism. It is similar to what the ancient Vietnamese
Kings did. They allowed prisoners to explore, develop wasteland and become
residents there afterwards.
The souls
incarnating in this world are of many kinds, most of whom have lots of karmic
debts to pay. Only a minority of them are volunteers, who come to get a higher
divine status. Thanks to them the earth can develop into a more advanced
planet. All souls have contributed to develop the earth in order to reduce
human suffering no matter why they incarnate.
According
to their own levels, each soul incarnating on earth has different level of
intellect that is predetermined by God.
Therefore,
since time immemorial the only thing divine beings have tried to do is to help
living beings become more advanced or more moral though they committed lots of
sins.
Consequently,
we Caodaist dignitaries always tell ourselves that we have an important
responsibility assigned by God. God usually instructs: “People suffer because I
use unhappiness to make their minds evolve. You should praise the successful
people and pity the unsuccessful ones because even the worst ones can help me
perfect life.
It’s good
to fulfill your responsibilities without committing a crime and it’s good to do the right things with a clean
conscience. You should act based on your good mind. I hope you will return to
me one day while people love each other, which satisfies me most”.
God wants
us to have mercy on living beings as He does. Though observing the Caodaist
law, we should pity the people who have the lower social status by treating
them fairly.
Being
reincarnated on earth, people have a body, which is materially equal. If we
want to be Caodaist dignitaries, we have to try to become sages all our life.
That is so difficult while struggling to survive those earthly societies. We
always examine and ask ourselves not to lie to others. To perfect ourselves, we
do not lie to, criticize or mock anyone.
We
Caodaists practice Caodaism based on faith in God while other political parties
worship intellect and conscience. That is just another version of the Đạo. God
knows that, so He provides His eye (the Divine Eye) as their Conscience God.
Our Divine Eye and theirs are actually not alike.
Reasoning
that the created statues of Divine Beings, including Buddha and God, can
control people’s mind, they make lots of such statues to cheat people while
they themselves never believe in those Divine Beings. Based on their earthly
thoughts, they mold the shape of God. As a result, their “God” resembles a
human in both form and characteristics. That is why their “God” can get mad,
hate, grumble, scold, imitate, etc. We Caodaists cannot believe such a God, can
we?
Some
rebellious Caodaists, who left and formed Caodaist schisms, used to be our
incompetent senior dignitaries. They have gone, but left a debt of some
thousand đồng [62] for the Caodaist Sacerdotal Council to pay. The evidence is still kept
here. They surely know that the Caodaist believers’ donation is not very
generous because Vietnamese are generally poor. Yet the Sacerdotal Council has
to feed believers and people, especially the Cambodian adherents. A rough
calculation shows we have spent approximately 200,000 đ so far.
In
addition, the expense on missionary work, especially in France Tây Ninh Temple
In fact,
the Caodaist Temple Paris , France
Hence, the
slander of the rebellious schisms will be fairly judged by people’s conscience.
The budget
of our Caodaism is still very tight. It mostly comes from the donations of our
elder brothers, some of whom had to sell their houses or rice fields. Fellow
believers, be cautious about the rebellious schisms’ craftiness, please! They
viciously intended to cut the financial support of Caodaism, but as the saying
goes “Man proposes, God disposes”, they have failed. I can conclusively say
that the Satan’s incitement has failed.
Personally,
I would like to say something to those rebellious schismatic Caodaists. When I
previously led a secular life I never exploited anyone, took a bribe or
sabotaged any religions. In my free time I always tried to support as many
fellow countrymen as I could. I would like to give some explanations here
because their accusation against myself seemed reasonable.
They
accused myself of establishing Phạm Môn, Phạm Từ and Phạm Nghiệp. Fortunately,
everyone knows that I am really honest.
What I have done is for the underprivileged, not a richer Sacerdotal Council. I
have put all that in my will and send to the Sacerdotal Council.
At the
beginning of Caodaism, His Holiness Cao Thượng Phẩm and I tried hard for our
community to have a rather large budget and the properties are now obviously
seen. I can now swear to the Caodaist Sacerdotal Council I have never wrongly
taken any money. I have never interfered in the Caodaist administration and
finance, which are the responsibility of the Cửu Trùng Đài [64] .
Since I
quit my job and went to Tây Ninh to join Caodaism, my family expenses have been
covered by my personal savings. However, there were anonymous letters insulting
myself, saying my family becomes well-to-do thanks to Caodaism! They wanted to
drive myself out of the Holy Temple
Those dishonest
people even took me to court over my properties, which I bought with my own
money. For example, I established Phạm Nghiệp [65] with my own money and some loans from my
relatives. It is used as a vocational school for everyone. Phạm Từ [66], an ancestral temple of my family in Cẩm
Giang, was built with my brothers’ money. The money left over from this
construction was used for a small Caodaist Temple in Cẩm Giang [67], which is also the wharf for Caodaist
believers from the Southern provinces.
Additionally,
God usually tells me to take care of the elderly, disabled, homeless, orphaned,
poor, jobless, etc. Therefore, I established a nursing home called Phạm Môn on
a 3-acre plot of land offered by the Chánh Phối Sư [68] and bought another
8-acre plot of land for the Hiệp Thiên Đài dignitaries to build their homes.
The term Phạm is supposedly said to be my family name by the Caodaist
schismatic critics, but it is not. Phạm Môn (梵門 in Chinese) is the entrance to Buddhism. Below is
some more work I have done for our community.
I have
established an orphanage called Cấp Cô Độc Viên [69], but it has not finished due to a lack of money.
I also
built a vocational school called Quảng Nghệ [70] for poor children on the 80-acre
plot of land called Thái Bình Thánh Địa [71].
I bought
another piece of land from Lễ Sanh Cẩn, who is a dignitary under the Sacerdotal
Council of Kiêm Biên [72] and built what was called Nữ Công Nghệ [73] for female believers to earn a
living.
Having
begged the Cửu Trùng Đài Sacerdotal Council to build a Khách Đình (bungalow)
for the wealthy intellectuals to stay while studying Caodaism in vain, I had
one built for Vietnamese and one for Cambodian. I think we should not let the
intellectuals live among the uneducated dignitaries because they might think
poorly of our community.
I had to
resort to various loans for those constructions without any support of the Caodaist
Sacerdotal Council. All of them are for people’s benefit, but the rebellious
Caodaists deceitfully accused me of “stealing from people”. Let it be fairly
judged by everyone!
In
whatever way they could, they tried to discredit me. They even falsely accused
me of committing adultery!
Nevertheless,
do not be annoyed, brothers and sisters! Everyone practices a religion in their
own way. At last, we have to admit that our God is different from theirs,
perhaps and beg them for no more false accusations.
In this
age of salvation, people have to struggle for life, so there is a lot of hatred
of all kinds in the world. People are very good at inhumanly fighting with each
other. Whenever they take a break or encounter a sad situation, they ponder
over their fate and know this struggling age is going to an end.
That is
why God taught us to have mercy over and love people when He came. Mercy and
love have been what all people worship, so Caodaism attracted a large number of
followers at that time.
Unfortunately,
the appearance of the Minh Chơn Lý [74], who promote rebellious techniques
to gain their power, caused disagreements among Caodaist believers. As a
result, anger and hatred have dominated our religious community. They have
ruined the organization God established. What a sabotage! You will see their
appropriate punishment in the future.
For some
years, we Caodaist dignitaries have endured that sabotage, thinking whatever
they did is a way to spread Caodaism and glorify God’s name. We were ready to
suffer unjustly and only begged them to reduce their hatred. Contrary to our
wish, they increasingly hated us and used every cunning means to attack us.
They even sued us.
Fortunately,
God has granted Caodaist believers enough intelligence to judge, so only a few
believers have followed them. In addition, the French government, who respects
democracy, has judged everything based on law. Therefore, they realized that we
are religiously honest. If we had been under the Nguyễn Dynasty, we would have
been beheaded.
Brothers
and sisters,
Why did the
rebellious schisms want to ruin Caodaism?
Why did
they form schismatic groups?
Why did
they falsely accuse Caodaist dignitaries?
What did
they denounce the doctrine of Caodaism for?
Who did
they work for?
It is
impossible to bring them to a Caodaist trial because they themselves made
Caodaist laws and a special exception for themselves at the same time. They
already had a plan to avoid being convicted. Hence, we Caodaist dignitaries are
unable to bring them to a Caodaist trial. The case will be left to the next
generations.
Take care
of yourselves and keep practicing Caodaism to keep the oath you swore to our
God the Father, brothers and sisters.
Tây Ninh, July
27th 1932
PHẠM CÔNG TẮC
Signature
Instinctive
goodness - Sermon by His Holiness Hộ-Pháp
15th of
the 8th lunar month, Year of the Rooster
Gregory
Calendar: 4th October 1933
Sermon
By His
Holiness Phạm Hộ Pháp
In Tây Ninh Temple
Translator:
* Từ Chơn
Generally,
earthly mortal beings are born by God and the natural law forces them to
morally evolve till the end of their life. Consequently, life gets better and
things become more beautiful. Though the law of conservation makes animals kill
each other for survival, they only do so when they are grown-up. They are,
however, instinctively good when they are newborn babies.
Except
nonintellectual materials and plants, both animals and human beings are not
killers when they are at birth. That is why our sages said, "People at birth are instinctively good" [75].
Where does that
human instinctively goodness come from? From each individual conscience.
Being the wisest
in the world of animals thanks to the instructions of conscience, human beings
know what life-and-death is. They know they come from emptiness. Life is sắc
(form) and death is không (emptiness). Those two states come consecutively and
endlessly. Life is so short and only a few can live up to 100 years.
In life, you
always get more pains than joys. The longer you live, the sadder you feel. Only
when you understand that death ends all unhappiness can you realize the divine
scales of justice is always precise.
Being alive, you
have to struggle for life, but you become an inanimate thing when you stop
breathing! That is why everyone thinks about life and considers it a street
market, crowded with people in the early morning, but empty at noon day in day
out. Years, centuries and millenniums elapse and the street market still
operates. Humankind is like the vendors of all kinds, who go to great lengths
to obtain profits. Alas! How hard you struggle for life, you surely die
empty-handed. Then the fame and fortune earned while you are alive will
gradually die down and vanish without a trace.
Therefore, great
people, who thoroughly examined life, have bequeathed humankind lots of models,
which can be summarized as “good and evil behaviors”. We can see there are more
evil behaviors than the good ones because material desires usually overpower
spiritual ones. As a result, there are always fewer moral people than the evil
ones.
Whether one’s
behaviors are good or bad can only be judged when he/she is about to die. That
is God’s time of judgement. Since most evil behaviors come from the struggle
for survival in the society, you need to avoid that struggle if you want to
preserve your instinctive goodness. Only a few people, especially the Saints or
religious founders, can do that. Therefore, their doctrines mainly focus on
“Waking people up and telling them to preserve their instinctive goodness”.
I do not suggest
a retreat from reality, doing esoteric practice or performing magic things.
Those practices have proved so impractical and superstitious. What I mean is
that you should follow your conscience and preserve your instinctive goodness
all your life.
Beat your
material desires
To keep morally
clean and worthy.
Help the
sufferers
And create more
ethical people.
You should sail
the Prajna boat
To save people
in the sea of sorrow.
Perfect your
religious spirit,
Clear the
earthly ways for people to walk,
Give sad people
happiness,
Beat suffering
with your goodness,
Spread the holy
water the world over,
And cut the
karmic debts with the Prajna sword.
Endure earthly
pains to save people,
Overcome all
hardships to teach them all.
You should
consider fame and fortune a game,
Riches the
harmful bait,
Love your
religious poems,
And humaneness
your prayers.
You should
imitate the way God reigns the universe
And treat all
humans like your brothers.
Give the
sufferers some happiness
And bless the
underprivileged.
Respect life and
build a harmonious world.
Respect animals
and save the world.
In the whole
world, all famous great people of whatever races are the ones who lead an
ethical life without a religiously moral education. They know what instinctive
goodness is and try to perfect themselves to have a clear conscience. They live
in accordance with that and become Saints.
With their
instinctive goodness, they know themselves and others, so they cannot be blind
to others’ unhappiness or hurt others. They always want to live among and share
sorrows with others. Their principle of life is "What you do not wish for yourself, do not do to
others." [76]
Instinctive
goodness is always with everyone, but whatever you do depends on whether you
follow your conscience or not. However good or bad they are, the secular laws
to rule a human society mainly concentrate on one basic thing: following human
conscience. Politics means forcing people to follow that instinctive goodness.
With conscience,
you know what responsibilities you have in life are. With instinctive goodness,
you love other people. Without them, you only selfishly protect yourselves,
ignoring others. Life would then be a tough battle, where people could kill
each other for their own benefit.
The harder life
is,
The more
powerful material temptations are.
It is more
difficult for you
To survive the
chaotic world.
You have to work
hard for food
And fulfill
moral responsibilities as well
While the body
you try to keep alive
Is nothing in
the struggling world.
You must try to
survive
Though you
cannot have a better life.
Busy working all
your life,
Have no time to
ask where you’re from
Or to study the
law of the Creator,
You must keep
surviving the changing world.
Life and death
is now not very important.
They are all
handled in the material world.
Money and social
status
Are what you try
to pursue,
So you quickly
accustom yourself
To hatred and
anger.
Getting caught
up in the rat race,
You get more and
more karmic debts.
So busy pursuing
fame and fortune,
You forget your
instinctive goodness.
Although you are
frequently overwhelmed by material desires, the seed of instinctive goodness
that has been sown in your mind ever since is still waiting to sprout. Under
favorable conditions, it will sprout and grow up to become an old tree
providing shade for people.
Siddhartha (also
called Shakyamuni or the Sage of the Shakyas), who promotes humaneness,
discovered the truth of life and founded Buddhism to help people escape the
cycle of rebirth. Thanks to witnessing the suffering from birth, aging, illness
and death, he, based on his instinctive goodness, discovered the path of
liberation for humanity.
Laozi (also Lao Tzu or Lao-Tze) has mercy on
mankind, so he discovered and taught people the way to overcome the material
desires by fully retreating from the messy society. It is the frightening
warfare in the Chinese Warring States period that helped wake up his
instinctive goodness.
Jesus of
Nazareth or Jesus Christ
wanted to save the world, so he founded Christianity. On behalf of God, he
teaches people the truth, helps the poor and corrects the villains. He always
instructs that earthly pain is what humankind has to bear in order to have the
true liberation.
At his time,
Joseph ben Caiaphas, the Jewish high priest, was very powerful, but there were
lots of cults that spread heresies in the Jewish society. Furthermore, Jewish
people suffered greatly under the harsh totalitarian rule exercised by Roman
authorities. The situation woke up Jesus’ instinctive goodness, so he
voluntarily endured the pain of humankind by facing execution.
Ziang Ziya, who was bestowed upon by Yuanshi Tianzun [77] (the Celestial Venerable of the Primordial
Beginning or the Primeval Lord of Heaven) to help kings
Wen and Wu of Zhou
(good) overthrow the Shang
(evil) in ancient China and who was responsible
for the Fengshen Bang [78], showed how people were praised for
loyalty and punished for wickedness by the divine power. That helps people
perfectly rule their world. He shows that villains can never get away with
their crimes, even after death. Besides, investing the gods of Heaven, he
fairly deified not only the heroes of Zhou but also some of their fallen
enemies from Shang. Therefore, everyone recognizes the justice of the Fengshen
Bang though there are lots of superstition in the story. That earned him the
title of the Founder of the Doctrine of Genies.
Witnessing the
cruel chaos of the Chinese society in the Spring and Autumn period, Confucius
set out the fundamental ethical norms of the human society. Being enlightened,
he knows that everyone and everything in the universe have to evolve to the
highest level of goodness and beauty respectively. His doctrine relies on
practical human actions, not the magical practices too incomprehensible for
ordinary people.
According to
him, a human society should be ruled by a king, a queen or a political force.
Similarly, the spiritual world is ruled by the Supreme Being called Nhứt Đại [79], who has authority over both your body
and your spirit. That is where the doctrine of “Man and God reign the world
together” comes from.
Due to people’s
corporal and mental activities, he decides that a law system is used for social
security and the doctrine of righteousness to control people’s mind. He tried
to spread that doctrine throughout China at that time. Despite his hard work,
the Chinese kings, who preferred armed forces, ignored it. Finally, he had to
retreat to his hometown and worked as a teacher. So disappointed was he that he
wrote the poem of self-pity “Chi Lan” [80] that has touched people’s hearts.
Fortunately, Khổng
Cấp [81] (Tử Tư), his grandson, had a student named Mạnh Tử [82], who is described as the “second” Sage,
only after Confucius. He kept on developing and spreading Confucianism
throughout China. His philosophy is “Đại học chi đạo, tại minh minh đức, tại
thân dân, tại chỉ ư chí thiện” [83] . “A gentleman should morally perfects himself, loves people and achieves
the highest level of ethics”. Actually, most societies in East Asia have
acknowledged his thought a lot.
Here is the
conversation between Mạnh Tử and Tề Tuyên Vương [84] that shows how he taught his philosophy to
the ancient Chinese rulers.
In
Sino-Vietnamese:
“ Thần văn chi Hồ
Ngột viết : Vương tọa ư đường thượng, hữu khiên ngưu nhi quá đường hạ giả,
vương kiến chi, viết : " Ngưu hà chi ? "
Đối viết : "Tương dĩ hấn chung".
Vương viết : Xả
chi, ngô bất nhẫn kỳ hộc tốc, nhược vô tội nhi tựu tử địa.
Đối viết : Nhiên, tắc phế hấn chung dư ?
Viết : Hà khả phế
dã ? Dĩ dương dịch chi. Bất thức hữu chư.
Viết : Hữu chi.
Viết : Thị tâm
túc dĩ vượng hỷ ! Bá tánh giai dĩ vương vi ái dã, thần cố tri vương chi bất nhẫn
dã.
Vương viết :
Nhiên. Thành hữu bá tánh giả. Tề quốc tuy biển tiểu, ngô hà ái nhất ngưu ? Tức
bất nhẫn kỳ hộc tốc nhược vô tội nhi tựu tử địa, cố dĩ dương dịch chi dã.
Viết : Vương vô
dị ư bá tánh chi dĩ vương vi ái dã. Dĩ
tiểu dịch đại, bỉ ô tri chi ? Vương nhược
ẩn kỳ vô tội nhi tựu tử địa, tắc ngưu dương hà trạch yên ?
Vương tiếu viết
: Thị thành hà tâm tai ? Ngã phi ái kỳ tài, nhi dịch chi dĩ dương dã. Nghi hồ
bá tánh chi vị ngã ái dã.
Viết : Vô thương
dã ! Thị nãi nhân thuật dã ! Kiến ngưu vị kiến dương dã. Quân tử chi ư cầm thú,
kiến kỳ sanh bất nhẫn kiến kỳ tử, văn kỳ thanh bất nhẫn thực kỳ nhục. Thị dĩ
quân tử viễn bào trù dã.
Vương duyệt viết
: Thi vân : Tha nhân hữu tâm, dư thổn đạc chi. Phu tử chi vị dã. Phù ngã nãi
hành chi, phản nhi cầu chi, bất đắc ngô tâm. Phu tử ngôn chi, ư ngã tâm hữu
thích thích yên. Thử tâm chi sở dĩ hợp ư
vượng giả, hà dã ?
In Vietnamese :
Hạ thần nghe ông
Hồ Ngột nói chuyện lại rằng:
Một ngày kia vua
đương ngồi nơi thềm nhà, có kẻ dắt trâu đi ngang qua. Vua thấy liền hỏi rằng :
Dắt trâu đi đâu ?
Kẻ kia thưa rằng
: Dắt đi giết đặng bôi chuông.
Vua bảo rằng :
Tha đi, ta không nỡ thấy nó sợ hãi vì vô tội mà đến chỗ chết.
Kẻ kia thưa lại
rằng : Vậy phải bỏ phép bôi chuông chăng ?
Bệ hạ lại nói :
Bỏ sao đặng, phải bắt dê mà thế cho nó.
Chuyện ấy chẳng
biết có không ?
Tuyên Vương nói
: Có.
Mạnh Tử lại rằng
: Một tấm lòng ấy cũng đủ làm đạo vua rồi. Trăm họ đều cho Bệ hạ tiếc con trâu,
nhưng hạ thần đây thì lại biết Bệ hạ vì thương không nỡ giết.
Tuyên Vương đáp
rằng : Phải, trăm họ cho như vậy cũng thật, nhưng nước Tề nầy dầu bé nhỏ, Trẫm
lại tiếc gì lấy một con trâu.
Mạnh Tử nói : Bệ
hạ cũng chẳng nên lấy làm lạ rằng, bá tánh cho Bệ hạ tiếc của, vì đem dê nhỏ mà
đổi trâu lớn thì biểu bá tánh hiểu sao ? Nếu vua thương là vô tội mà phải bị chết
thì trâu với dê có khác gì nhau.
Vua Tuyên Vương
cười rằng : Nào bụng Trẫm có gì khác nữa đâu, nhưng nếu không phải là tiếc của
thì sao lại biểu đem dê mà đổi, trách sao bá tánh không cho Trẫm như vậy.
Thầy Mạnh Tử lại
rằng : Không hại gì, vì đấy cũng là một điều nhơn. Trông thấy trâu sợ mà chưa
trông thấy dê nên mới vậy. Người quân tử đối với thú cầm, thấy sự sống mà không
nỡ trông thấy chết, nghe tiếng kêu la rên siết nên không nỡ ăn thịt. Bởi cớ nên người quân tử hằng lánh xa lò bếp.
Vua Tuyên Vương
rằng : Ở trong Kinh Thi có câu : Người khác có lòng ta đo đặng đấy, ấy chính thầy
như thế đó. Than ôi, việc ấy Trẫm làm đã đặng xong rồi, mà đến lúc hỏi lại, bụng
Trẫm thì thật không biết tả tại làm sao. Nay khanh nói như vậy, lòng Trẫm thỏa
thích vô cùng, nhưng không biết rằng, tấm lòng ấy sở dĩ đã hiệp với vương đạo
nơi đâu ?
Tiếp sau thì Đức
Mạnh Tử luận qua Vương đạo.
In English:
Mencius:
Your Majesty, I’ve heard a story about you. Once you asked a man taking a water
buffalo while sitting on the doorsteps, “Where are you taking the water buffalo
to?”. The man answered, “To be sacrificed, Your Majesty.” You said, “Set him
free. I can’t bear you killing that innocent frightened animal.” “The ritual
should be abandoned then?” Asked the man. “No, it shouldn’t. Sacrifice a goat
instead.” You said. Is that story true, Your Majesty?
King Xuan
of Qi: Yes, it’s true.
Mencius:
Such pity is what a noble king needs. They say that you were thrifty, but I
know you had pity on the water buffalo.
King Xuan
of Qi: People may think so, but I’m not too thrifty though my kingdom is small.
Mencius:
It’s not strange that your subjects say you are thrifty because you wanted to
replace the water buffalo with a smaller goat. Both animals should have been
equally pitiful.
King Xuan
of Qi smiled: Pity was my only feeling then. Now I know why they say I am
thrifty, so I don’t blame them at all.
Mencius:
It doesn’t matter. You love animals after all. The trouble is you may have seen
a frightened water buffalo before, not a frightened goat to show your mercy.
Gentlemen cannot have the heart to witness the death of an animal or eat its
flesh. That is why gentlemen always stay away from kitchen stoves.
King Xuan
of Qi: I’ve read in the Kinh Thi [85] that there is someone who has profound insight
into human hearts. You are such a man! I did take pity on animals, but cannot
describe it to others. What you just told me satisfies me most, but I still
don’t know how I can be a good king with that pity.
(Then
Mencius tells the King how).
It is so
hilarious to think about Tề Tuyên Vương’s situation. He dared not abandon the sacrifice, but told the man to
kill a goat instead because he had pity on the water buffalo. What would he
have done if he had known the goat was also frightened? That is why his
subjects considered him a miser.
Oh! It is hard
to rule a country, isn’t it? Without law, a country cannot be kept in order,
but hard and fast rules may dissatisfy some subjects. As a result, great people
much prefer education to politics. All current and ancient religious doctrines
try to teach people how to lead a moral life to fit their innate virtue, which
religions call the Đạo.
Whenever the
innate goodness overwhelms your mind, you can build a good family, contribute
to develop your country and even create the Great Unity [86] .
In ancient
India, polytheism was the major belief because nature was comparable to a human
society. Consequently, divine beings have the same characteristics as humans
do. Later, that changed to monotheism, which is the fundamental doctrine of the
Bà La Môn [87], who worship the Trimurti, the triple
deity of supreme divinity (Brahma the creator, Vishnu the preserver and Shiva
the destroyer). According to this doctrine, reincarnation is imperative so that
all souls can evolve until they attain the highest level. The Bà La Môn teaches
its adherents noble thoughts, modesty, patience, tolerance, politeness, etc.
Unfortunately, there was a schism within such a noble religion and then the
Buddha came and founded a new religion, Buddhism.
Zoroaster, the
founder of Zoroastrianism in Ancient Persia, did not believe there is only one
God’s power that creates the universe. Life and the universe come from dualism,
which includes light and darkness, truth and untruth or good and evil. These
two powers combine to transform into everything. Ormuzd and Ahriman are the
respective representatives of good and evil. Ormuzd must improve until it beats
Ahriman at last.
Based on that
thought, Zoroastrianism maintains that goodness is the truth that is
represented by good deeds and good words. That is why the people in Ancient
Persia respected honesty and fire was chosen to be the symbol of their
religion.
In ancient
Celtic cultures, religious leaders called Druids were respected. They spread
the philosophy that promoted the Gaulish qualities, such as humanity,
compassion and knightliness. These resemble some parts of the contemporary
Confucianism.
The Hebrew
people, an ancient race of people living in what is now Israel and Palestine,
believed God is personal and omnipotent. God intentionally creates the
universe. Similarly, humans can choose to obey or disobey Him. Everything is,
however, predetermined by God. The Hebrew philosophy teaches people love,
humanity and justice based on the principle “What you do not wish for yourself,
do not do to others”.
In ancient
Greece there were sophists, Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, Epicurus, Zeno of
Citium, the School of Alexander and Christians.
Among the
philosophers of the Ionian School [88], who tried to explain the nature of matter, using abstract reasoning,
Heraclitus believed that change is real, and stability illusory. For Heraclitus
"Everything flows, nothing stands still." He is also famous for
saying: "No man can cross the same river twice, because neither the man
nor the river are the same."
Our soul, a spot
of spiritual light from God, can reason and represent the truth when attaining
the same level as that of the universe, or God. We humanity are told to be
patient and suffer. That is the natural way to deal with life. Our physical bodies
die on earth, but our souls eternally live in heaven. All earthly laws should
be made based on the political situations of the universe.
Anaxagora [89] sasserted that mind or reason is independent from matter and can rule all
the forms of life. Mind is intelligent enough to know all present and future
facts, so he said it is possessed of all knowledge and power.
Pythagoras [90] taught people how to think properly. He held that the endless number of
things has been accumulated for a long time. Souls, which are parts of it, can
be active independently. Ethics is good behaviors, laws are mutual agents and
friendship is equality.
The sophists’
philosophy replaces relativity and regulations with absolutes and truths. They
asserted that the truth is made by people who know how to make it true. In
fact, there is no truth. As for customs and cultures, they replace absolute
morality with relatively nice behaviors. In politics, they replace absolute
power with relatively forced execution. The sophists were led by Protagoras and
Gorgias [91] .
Like Anaxagoras,
Socrates, who had been a chemist and astronomer during his younger years, held
that the reality of the universe is created by mind, not facts. More profoundly
than Anaxagoras, he affirmed that intelligent people only find the source of
goodness. That is also his fundamental philosophy and his spiritual practice
includes two ways of practice:
- Comparing the weirdness of fake doctrines
and the excellence of genuine ones.
- Practicing what is called Thần Sản (mental
development).
The latter
teaches people how to learn so that one’s hidden mind shows by
self-investigating or having someone question oneself. This can be achieved by
publicly tests and summations.
Being a great
thinker, Socrates attached great importance
to thoughts. Thoughts create actions and then build social customs and
cultures. Those who act appropriately based on their thinking will never oppose
thoughts in daily activities. Consequently, they always follow their own
thoughts in any judgment.
He affirmed that
everything in life is caused by mental ability and no one really wants to
become evildoers. He always advised people to learn from moral role models and
thought good education can produce good people.
In spite of
various forms, Đạo [92] comes from only one source. Only wise and
intelligent people are brave and moderate enough to have a sense of justice.
Those people then do charity work (Đạo for human society) and gradually develop
humanity (genuine Đạo).
He also held
that governing laws should be based on natural or spiritual laws, which are
decided by God. As a result, they are hardly erroneous. That is why the
sophists always create human laws based on the laws of the universe.
True laws are
natural life or one’s wisdom. Philanthropy comes from fair judgment. Evil
should not be oppressed by another evil, but by morality. Humanity should be
considered our best friends.
In a family the
wife and the husband should be equal partners. Though having different responsibilities,
the wife knows how to morally behave better than the husband.
In ancient
times, manual work had been considered lowly jobs, but he thought it was noble
and admirable. This thought later led to the emancipation of slaves.
Politics should
be for justice and public services. Only moral and talented people should work
as political leaders. Evils and luck-seekers can ruin good politics. Wise
people should not rule others with power, but convince them (i.e. he promoted
democracy).
Plato [93] asserted that earthly desires are
unrealistic. The seven emotions only [94] show us unreal facts. Only the mind
gradually develops from the unreal mortal world to the real spiritual world.
(Form is emptiness, emptiness is form. Likewise feeling, perception, mental
imaging, and consciousness are equally empty) [95].
According to
Plato, activities come from thoughts. People act to satisfy their thoughts.
Everyone lives, following what the whole humanity think as if they are the
copies of a document.
He also held
that beautiful appearance results in love and a beautiful mind results in
nobility.
In morally
perfecting someone, he said the mind should follow the soul, creating proper
characteristics because the soul naturally resembles God. Kindness, courage and
peacefulness produce a calm soul, which he called fairness. Fairness results in
humanitarianism.
According to
him, politics should make people kind and happy. That is why he affirmed that
national power should be more important than the rights of citizens. The
citizens should sacrifice their benefits for their country. (His thought sounds
like communism!).
At last, he
thought law is made for punishment.
Unlike Plato,
Aristotle [96] said human life does not come from a universal principle, but from itself. Humans
produce thoughts which explain facts and show themselves how to act. One’s
genuine activities not only benefit himself and produce common happiness but
also carry out what his mind decides.
Aristotle’s
doctrine includes:
1 . Consideration. First, people need to
consider facts.
2 . Action. Then, they need to act according
to social regulations. They should choose the moderate way, for example courage
is the centrist course between boldness and cowardice. This virtue forces
people to struggle for survival and helps experience facts peacefully.
As for society,
he held that love and human relations are very important. It’s better to love
people than to wait for them to love yourself and to do the right things than
to wait for others to do them. He preferred friendship to justice.
According to
him, there are two kinds of justice. First, justice in distribution is used to
give assignments to people according to their talent and morality. Second,
justice in trade is used in commerce.
As for politics,
Aristotle held that nation is the union of free and equal subjects. He
disproves Plato’s communism, saying communists’ assets are hardly preserved
because they are not so many as those of bourgeois’.
According to
him, the society includes free people and slaves. Slaves are predetermined by
God. To include, he said authority belongs to everyone. Hence, whether there is
true equality or not will lead to either democracy or anarchism.
Pyrrho of Elisheld [97] skepticism, saying it is wiser not to frequently make judgement or adopt
any attitude towards facts.
Epicuru [98] smaintained that human five senses result
in emotions, so life comes from materials. Goodness is created by sustainable
happiness, not temporary one or death. Divine beings are excluded from the universe.
He taught you’d better know how to attain happiness.
Zeno of Citiumand [99] students spread Stoicism, saying that spirit and intellect are active, but
matter is not.
Their teachings
include:
- Freedom: everyone is instinctively free,
so they really want to overcome what prevents freedom. One of those obstacles
may come from ourselves, for example our great will which contains our innate
virtue. Our desire will decide which one is good. Some, however, do not come
from ourselves, for example wealth, health and thoughts, which we prefer. We
cannot decide which one of those is good.
- Fellow citizens and justice: freedom or
intelligence belongs to everyone’s virtue. That can unite the whole humankind,
which is like a big family. Authority is the foundation of justice and is
created by intelligence. Bad application of authority can cause over-authority
and slaves.
- Goodness: everyone should find happiness
themselves. Only a sage is free from unhappiness like a divine being.
The doctrine
helps people stay away from earthly desires and passions. Zeno’s friends and
supporters were Gléanthe and Chrysippe, who collaborated to build churches like
Ariston in Ohio, Hérille in Carthage, Diogène in Sélencie, Sénex, Epictète and
Marc-Aurèle.
In the West
there are more philosophers in France, England and Germany such as Descartes,
Pascal, Diderot, La Mettrie, Voltaire, Buffon, Montesquieu, Turgot, Rousseau,
Victor Hugo, Condorcet, Auguste Comte, Saint Simon, Fourier, Léon Bourgeois,
Bacon, Hobbes, Locke, Adam Smith, Bentham, Stuart Mill, Darwin, Herbert
Spencer, Nietzsche, Schopenhauer, Luther, Kant, Fichte, Schelling, Hegel,
Goethe, etc.
In the East,
especially in Vietnam, whose culture comes from Confucianism, Confucius’
students, such as the Thirty Six Saints and the Seventy Two Sages are widely
known. Besides, Laozi, Mozi, Zhuangzi and Zhu Xi also spread teachings to
contribute to the world.
All sages in the
world have been studying to find out how humanity deal with everything in the
universe. They investigated their own emotions to know those of mankind, so
they know that everyone must finally become virtuous by following their
inherent goodness. Therefore, despite their differences in thoughts, they all
want to find out what instinctive goodness is and build their temples on
righteousness for everlasting beliefs.
What is instinctive goodness?
It is our
conscience. Commonly, it is impossible for people to know the spiritual light
and instinctive goodness are the two special functions of a soul, so they call
both of them conscience.
Philosophically,
conscience is our instinctive fast awareness and other secret activities of our
soul. All of our characteristics,
emotions, thoughts and virtues come from our conscience.
Conscience is
granted by God to instruct and help us humans survive. Sometimes we are given
lots of instructions too confusing (sometimes less intelligent) to follow. That
is because we do know how to act based on its changes. If we wholeheartedly pay
attention to each situation, we will know what to do. Watching something, or
understanding something we should put our whole mind into it so as to memorize
it.
With conscience,
we can naturally understand an idea, fact or emotions without any physical
contacts. Conscience does not show us something magical like the anticipation
of an accident. Conscience helps us deal with an obvious situation ourselves.
Thus, conscience is our real self.
Thanks to
conscience, we know both our exterior and interior and we can intrude on and
actually unite with it.
If we ignore the
advice of conscience due to suspicion, nothing else can give us a better one.
Conscience
alone, however, cannot give you perfect advice, but needs your five senses
(sight, hearing, smell, taste and touch) to communicate with the outside. The
advice given will be perfect unless the outside is kept unchanged.
The function of
memory is to keep and recover things as they originally appeared. All memories
are then categorized according to priority, which is another function of
thought: arrangement. Next, intelligence creates consciousness including
speculation, enlightenment, consideration, etc.
Whether they are
emotional or intellectual activities, they should follow intelligence, the
principle of mortality, the principle of retribution, the ties of
characteristics and the truth.
Finally, after
one gets through those processes, one will transmit information by means of
gestures, signs and languages.
What other
religious doctrines usually call, such as “Linh Tâm”, [100] “Linh Quang, [101] “Tánh Linh” [102] or “Thiên Mạng” [103], is called “Chơn Linh” [104] by Caodaism.
Our soul is wise
enough to guide, protect, instruct, deter, and control our body so that we can
live righteously. (That is why Christians call it angel). That wisdom comes
from what we could accumulate from all of our past reincarnations. We have had
numerous times of birth and death in order to train our soul for the union with
God.
Both
comprehensible and incomprehensible supernatural forces are for the purpose of
helping all souls evolve until they achieve the position equal to that of God.
Thus, God the Father said, “ Children, I am you and you are Myself”.
Buddhism says,
“Everyone will become Buddhas”. That quotation with a deep meaning can be
understood as:
We have
inherited a soul from God, so we have to practice religion, training that soul
to be as great as God Himself. What God has is ours and what we have is God’s.
Hence, the
Highest or God the Father extracts a spiritual spot (our soul) from Himself for
us, so we are God and God are ourselves provided we do not commit moral
mistakes that can completely destroy us.
Our soul can
never be overpowered by our body because the soul really is the owner whose
activities are independent. It is the soul that helps our body evolve from the
level of animals to that of humans. Without a soul our body is an animal.
Despite our
body’s aggressiveness and stubbornness and lots of earthly temptations, our
soul never gives up. Alas! Those who have been punished by conscience once will
understand how mighty God is. No judges on earth are stricter and more powerful
than conscience who returns an exact verdict without examining the case or the
evidence. In a usual trial on earth, your lawyer helps defend yourself, but
there are no lawyers in a trial where you yourself are the judge!
A human
always has two powers:
1 - The goodness of his soul.
2 - The violence of his body.
If the soul
wins, he becomes saintly. Otherwise, he will be punished. All religious
doctrines on earth are based on the victory or failure of soul. Soul keeps
following the instinctive goodness in order to reach the destination that is
the highest level in heaven.
Generally,
religions describe soul as gaseous, light, shaped or shapeless. Their
descriptions are partly true. In fact, soul is a mass of human thoughts (mind)
that has been developing through innumerable incarnations. Soul exists either
on earth or unites with the universe.
If we practice
religion successfully, we have enough power to create the spiritually gaseous
human form, which the soul can enter to make a divine body. How the soul enters
the body in rebirth resembles how it enters the divine body. That process is
called “heavenly resurrection”. (Jesus Christ was resurrected on earth).
According to religious history, the Buddha and Laozi could be resurrected like
that.
Soul comes from
God, so a human is often spiritual. Animals are less spiritual than humans and
the spiritual levels are used to categorize all living beings. Thanks to it,
soul can see what your naked eyes cannot.
Knowledge, which
is the fundamentals of human spirit, is accumulated by your eyes and your mind.
Hence, conscience (also called spiritual mind or soul) is the Divine Eye for
humanity. That is why God instructs us to worship the Divine Eye. It represents
the conscience of humanity, which is the foundation of Caodaism. It is the
divine temple or the great belief in God on earth, like what was said in Victor
Hugo’ verses:
L’ oeil mystique seul verra la religion nouvelle,
La grande foi gite dans la conscience universelle.
Có Thiên Nhãn mới tường chánh giáo,
Tin Cao Đài do đạo lương tâm.
The Divine Eye represents the new religion,
Which is the great belief in conscience or God.
Thus,
worshipping the Divine Eye or your life and God is worshiping all humanity’s
conscience.
Like I said,
religions chiefly teach humans to follow their instinctive goodness. However,
humanity’s instinctive goodness is now too weak due to earthly temptations.
People seem too sluggish as if they are in an unrealistic dream though all
religions have gone to extraordinary lengths to wake them up.
God the Father
now comes to found Caodaism, holding a brilliant lamp and waking everyone.
Unfortunately, there is too much long-standing evil, deceitfulness, violence,
cruelty and hatred for people to become righteous again.
God comes,
showing us how to watch our life, telling us to ease people’s suffering by
following our instinctive goodness, instructing us to learn love and humaneness
from Him and giving us divine positions as awards provided we spread Caodaism
on earth.
Consequently,
God instructs me to prepare the Caodaist
merit badges to encourage people to do charity work. The awards will be
granted to whoever (Caodaists or non-Caodaists) wholeheartedly does charity
work. The Council of Vạn Linh [105] will be assigned to take care of it with an exception: some Caodaist
leaders, who sacrificed their lives for Caodaism, will be rewarded by the Giáo
Tông and the Hộ Pháp [106].
The awards
includes these Caodaist titles:
1 . Thính thiện.
(Ethic Learner)
2 . Hành Thiện. (Ethic
Practitioner)
3 . Giáo Thiện. (Ethic
Teacher)
4 . Chí Thiện. (Really
Ethical Person)
5 . Đạo Nhơn.
(Religious Person)
6 . Chơn Nhơn.
(Enlightened Person)
7 . Hiền Nhơn. (Sage)
8 . Thánh Nhơn.
(Saint)
9 . Tiên Tử.
(Immortal)
10 . Phật Tử. (Buddha)
Thính Thiện,
Hành Thiện, Giáo Thiện, Chí Thiện, Đạo Nhơn and Chơn Nhơn are responsible for
practicing exoteric doctrine, helping the Caodaist Sacerdotal Council spread
Caodaism. They do have the same executive powers as those of the Dignitaries of
the Cửu Trùng Đài if recognized by the Council of Quyền Vạn Linh.
Believers from
other religions, even the Caodaist sects, can have the same power and status as
those of Caodaist dignitaries of the Cửu Trùng Đài [107] if they are recognized by the Council of
Quyền Vạn Linh or Quyền Chí Tôn [108].
Hiền Nhơn, Thánh
Nhơn, Tiên Tử and Phật Tử take care of the Caodaist esoteric practice together
with the Hiệp Thiên Đài [109]. They do have the same executive powers
as those of the Dignitaries of the Hiệp Thiên Đài if recognized by the Council
of Quyền Vạn Linh in spite of their different religious origins.
That is what we
hope to be in theory. In reality, the Caodaist Sacerdotal Council will
officially started the program after the approval of the Council of Quyền Vạn
Linh or God (the unanimous decision of the Giáo Tông and the Hộ Pháp).
Hence, God the
Father has come to establish Caodaism. He guides good people to a glorious
place, telling them to climb to the top to see the whole world, ponder to reach
their own final decision and then change the world, together with Himself. He
also grants us material awards and His divine power and says, “This is
attractive enough to convince humanity to follow their instinctive goodness. Children,
you can give the greedy people, who only pursue earthly fame and fortune,
divine statuses in order to wake them up. That is how to save them”.
Looking at the
Five Religious Branches (Buddhism, Taoism, Christianity, Shintoism and
Confucianism), we can see that they seem to be the five horses struggling for
the leading position, yet God tells us to be the judge. As a judge, we do not
follow any religions, but practice what God has taught and raise the value of
true Buddhism.
In the past, we
already knew the advantages and disadvantages of the Five Religious Branches
and whether the religious leaders are good or bad. Any good doctrines which
were slightly varied by some human beings become less saintly and the evil
sects are the worst. As the judge, we should try to be fair enough in all
activities to unite those religions.
We have seen
lots of bad results from fake religions. Some people followed Confucianism, but
they buried their subjects alive or forced them to work in cold weather instead
of supporting them. Others Shintoism, but made war instead of waking up people.
Others Christianity, but criticized people instead of loving them. Others
Taoism, but aided and abetted fights instead of reconciliation. The others
Buddhism, but made people suffer more instead of saving them. Alas! It was like
a rat race!
Tired of those
situations, we chose to follow God to discover the truth. However, I can hardly
understand why some Caodaist Senior Dignitaries, who had a chance to
communicate with and learn from God, changed their mind to join those fake
religions. I am so surprised that they only wanted to be a servant instead of a
boss. God has selected good people, forming the Caodaist Sacerdotal Council,
which represents Himself. It possesses enough power to govern the Caodaist
community in order to protect God’s children and prevent schisms. (God said,
“Those who cause a schism within Caodaism are My enemies”) God’s enemies are
also the Caodaist Sacerdotal Council and humanity’s adversaries. Generally,
people behave badly towards their enemies, so it is commonplace to see some
disagreement between some Caodaist dignitaries. Forgive them, please!
It is unexpected
that the Caodaist Law, which creates attractive authority to some fame-seekers,
causes fierce fighting among believers instead of encouraging all Caodaist
followers to unite. Oh! You do not know how much disappointed God now feels!
Since we,
unluckily, have been spreading Caodaism for 8 years, followers are not informed
enough of the Caodaist Law. Consequently, they are tempted by dishonest people
to follow fake doctrines.
In fact, people
have not really follow God. They only listen to the Caodaist dignitaries’
sermons without understanding what Đạo is. That is why there is schism within
our community.
Worst of all,
some Caodaist dignitaries only want to pursue fame and title without caring
whether or not the religion develops. I still wonder whose responsibility it
would be if Caodaism failed!
Now, true
Caodaist believers, what do you say?
Remember to
ignore what the adversaries have done to sabotage our religion. Those saboteurs,
who are a senior Caodaist dignitary and his partners, will be the sinners to
humanity! You know who they are, don’t you?
I have heard
some Caodaist renegades go around, criticizing the Caodaist Canonical Codes in
southern provinces. They say the codes contain lots of disadvantages. They,
however, cannot point out what they are if asked.
Similarly, I
also want to know those disadvantages. Are they disadvantageous because all
followers are given the right to oppose the Caodaist Sacerdotal Council? Why
should I let them have it if I want to impose my dictatorial views??
Actually,
according to the codes, Chánh Trị Sự, Phó Trị Sự and Thông Sự [110] are allowed to act as Đầu Sư, Giáo Tông
and Hộ Pháp [111], respectively, in their villages.
Additionally,
there are three different powers that make laws for the Caodaist community:
1 .The Council of Quyền Nhơn Sanh [112]. This council includes Lễ Sanh, Chánh Trị
Sự, Phó Trị Sự, Thông Sự and Caodaist representatives. This council makes
Caodaist Laws and is presided at by the Thượng Chánh Phối Sư.
2 . The Council of Quyền Hội Thánh [113]. This includes Thập Nhị Thời Quân, Chánh
Phối Sư, Phối Sư, Giáo Sư and Giáo Hữu. Caodaist Laws are executed by these
dignitaries under the Thái Chánh Phối Sư.
3 . The Council of Quyền Thượng Hội [114], which is presided at by both the Hộ Pháp
and the Giáo Tông. This council includes Hộ Pháp, Thượng Phẩm, Thượng Sanh,
Giáo Tông, Chưởng Pháp and Đầu Sư, who govern the Caodaist community according
to the Caodaist Law. This council can only execute the laws, not punish anyone.
An exception is the Đầu Sư may be the Caodaist top leader if allowed by the Quyền
Vạn Linh, Giáo Tông and Hộ Pháp if there is an unsolved disagreement between
the Caodaist Sacerdotal Council and Hội Nhơn Sanh.
A Caodaist law
will be executed if it is unanimously approved by the three councils with an
exception: the Giáo Tông, together with the Hộ Pháp, can represent God and
decide some law on earth.
Hence, there is
only Quyền Vạn linh (Power of Living
Things), not Hội Vạn linh (Council
of Living Things). With this knowledge, you Caodaists may think it is too
ridiculous that the Đầu Sư Ngọc Trang Thanh [115] held what he called Hội Vạn Linh once [116].
In addition, the
Hội Nhơn Sanh, which is one of the three powers of the Quyền Vạn Linh, should
be strong enough to protect Caodaist law.
Alas! Many
religions have looked down on people and people have belittled religions
because there are no similar organizations.
I remember lots
of senior Caodaist dignitaries of the Cửu Trùng Đài were very disappointed when
the Caodaist Constitution was introduced. Especially, Cụ Lớn [117] had someone found a sect to criticize the
Caodaist Law, wanting to eliminate the authority of Chánh Trị Sự, Phó Trị Sự
and Thông Sự or the power of people. Fortunately, thanks to God’s support, they
failed and the sect broke up.
I find it
humorous that they, at last, found out how to cheat people. Actually, they
tricked Caodaist believers into committing suicide. That sect was bold enough
to strip a petty Caodaist dignitary of his badge and sash while he was performing
a ritual without being prevented!
The harder I
have tried to protect those dignitaries’ authority, the more I have been
attacked by them. O! How ungrateful those coreligionists are!
They ignore the
fact that there are laws, titles and power when they practice exoteric
practice, but everyone is spiritually equal when practicing esoteric practice.
All souls are at the same level.
I heard some
Caodaist petty dignitaries in the South say that they get such humble statuses
that they dare not argue with the Caodaist senior dignitaries. This is my
point: it is those junior dignitaries that make a significant contribution to
Caodaism, so they have their right to freedom of expression. Brothers and
sisters, read Caodaist Law more frequently and try to understand it, please!
Without the knowledge of Caodaist Law, you easily permit Caodaist senior
dignitaries to do what they want.
As for the level
of importance, we never think what part of our body is more important.
Similarly, all Caodaist believers are equally important. No ranks are more
important. Those ranks are created to satisfy the people’s strong desires for power and fame.
God instructs us
to spread Caodaism according to different cultures on earth. God grants divine
titles (Immortal, Buddha, etc.) because humans like them.
Once, God
lamented that He has no other ways to communicate with humanity except ouija
board and automatic writing, through which He teaches the true doctrines of the
Five Religions [118] so that people can understand what Đạo is. However, ouija board and
automatic writing are both advantageous and disadvantageous. For those who
prefer titles and superstition, they are extremely disadvantageous [119].
God’s prophecies
are now fulfilled. Lots of people in the Caodaist sects are called Immortals,
Saints and Buddhas!
So brothers and
sisters, let’s ponder what God really wants us to do. Certainly, the answer is
God wants us to become righteous and to practice the true religions in order to
be the role models for society to aspire to. Otherwise, we follow Satan, not
God.
It is hard to
practice religion and it is extremely hard to prevent a doctrine from being
varied, so the Caodaist Sacerdotal Council has a very essential responsibility.
There are always gaps between the Caodaist Law and people’s desires. You cannot
both execute the law and meet the followers’ demands. Thus, what should the
Caodaist Sacerdotal Council do? I do not answer this question, but let you do
it.
Many religions
have failed because they wanted to create satisfaction for people. Should we
avoid or do the same thing? That is the problem too hard to solve.
You should be
intelligent and wise enough to balance the two opposite extremes without
messing up the whole system. If security is not improved, the Caodaist Sacerdotal
Council cannot do anything despite how powerful their authority granted by God
is. Thus, Caodaist Law is created for security so that dignitaries can improve
the religion.
What did those
saboteurs really want to do? I am sure you Caodaists will unanimously agree
with me that they deliberately wanted to eliminate our religion. Indeed they
did! Since the Caodaist Sacerdotal Council will be powerless if Caodaist Law is
nullified, they went to extraordinary lengths to ruin that law system.
Should the Hiệp
Thiên Đài, which is responsible for protecting the Caodaist law, allow those
dignitaries to despotically nullify the law? I will let the right-minded
believers answer that question. Caodaist senior dignitaries have
responsibilities to execute the law, not to abuse it and gain more power for
themselves.
There is lots of
backbiting without any strong evidence that I stand by someone. I have been
slandered twice, when, together with Cao Thượng Phẩm [120] and Quyền Giáo Tông [121], I was accused of connivance and injustice.
O! How malicious those rumors are! Yet people usually judge a book by its cover
without knowing which is the right thing!
My duty is to
protect the Caodaist Law for the security of the Caodaist Sacerdotal Council,
so those Caodaists abusers have to walk over my dead body before wrecking havoc
on our religion.
Unluckily, there
were lots of Caodaist followers, who not only are evil-doers but also take
advantage of my legislative protection. They have damaged my credibility many
times.
Alas! It is
never easy to dispense equal spiritual justice to all people on earth based on
God’s instructions. If you respect the spiritual side, you should impose more
corporal punishment, which causes anger and hatred. Conversely, all souls
cannot be saved, which is a sin to God.
That reminds me
of the beginning of Caodaism when God instructed us to open the door to
everyone. Other religions and cults were also so excited, but they just peddled
their esoteric practice or chanted prayers for money. That partly harmed the
prestige of Caodaism for some time! We had to spend some years trying our best
to set all things straight because the Vietnamese are so superstitious that
they easily believe charms and amulets.
Having returned
to the Tây Ninh Temple from Thủ Đức, I witnessed a chaotic situation. Some
Caodaists followed Mr Ngọc Lịch Nguyệt [122], practicing Zen
and sleepily holding rosary beads. Others became pupils of Giác Hải (Monk Như
Nhãn) [123] , hitting bamboo tocsins and bells
and chanting Buddhist prayers. Outside the Holy Land , numerous mediums claimed that they could
communicate with the dead and some Caodaist dignitaries were fighting for their
own properties. I tried to fix everything, but then some Caodaist dignitaries
began to fight for more authority.
No
compliments or criticisms can affect me anymore because I have had enough of
them in life. I have offered my life to God, so I do not need to treat anybody
with particular respect.
Usually,
it cannot be absolutely fair for a human to judge another unless he thoroughly
knows that person. My story can be an example for that point. Once I was
transferred to a new position in Qui Nhơn [124]. After some months in Bình Định, I knew a man, who was very
handsome, educated, kind and talented. He could play musical instruments,
compose poetry and talked convincingly. Growing quite fond of him, I buddied up
with him.
One day he
came to my house and we stayed up late, talking. Suddenly he confessed that he
had been a thief! So surprised was I that I thought he was making a joke, but
he then told me the truth. He had been from Thanh Hoá [125]. His father was an ex-government
official. He lived with his father and sister because his mother died young.
His father remarried a widow from Quảng Nam
When he
was nineteen, the stepmother told his father to force him to marry a girl. Her
real purpose was to have another free female servant. It was too unlucky for
his wife, but they loved each other very much. After three years, they had
three children. Then they ran into trouble because the stepmother wanted them
to move out.
Consequently,
his family and his sister had to live in poverty. He went to work, but got no
wages because of a quarrel with his boss. Everyone had to go without any food
for five days or so. Had it not been for his wife’s prevention, he would have
committed suicide.
After
seven days without food, he had an idea. He began to break in some houses and
steal things. Thanks to his talent, he could gradually overcome the
difficulties and became wealthy. However, he said his wealth was valueless
because it was created immorally.
He said he
had stopped stealing four years ago and moved to Bình Định due to great shame.
So unhappy was he that he cried and cried. I tried to comfort him, blaming his
bad situation and saying that was not his fault. It is commonplace that good
people sometimes have to do something bad to survive!
At first,
I did not believe what he said, so I managed to talk to his wife. His sister
had got married and also lived in Bình Định. Hence, I came to his house, which
became a high society then. He held a party and everyone greatly enjoyed
themselves. After the party, I got a little drunk and managed to ask his wife.
Weeping uncontrollably, she told me that was true and added that he had run
back home one night, bleeding a lot. He had been hacked while breaking in some
house. Luckily, he had survived that injury. That was when she gave birth to
the seventh son. She said there was still a long deep scar on his back. It had
taken him over two months to get well again. She might have become a widow! Her
story frightened me a lot. What would she and her seven children have done if
he had been killed? Had the house owner known this, he would not have hacked
him like this.
This story
can be controversial because some people may think he was too incompetent to
support his whole family. He became a burglar because he was unable to get a
job. My answer is the employment in Thanh Hóa may have been too tough for him.
Others may say he should have worked as a servant instead. Yes, he did, but the
boss was a deadbeat and he got no help from anybody. Others say he should have
become a beggar instead. O! There were few philanthropists and he could hardly earn enough for his crowded family.
Others, who might not have experienced poverty, say they’d rather starve to death
than become a thief. Yet, how about his family?
Those who
want a caring and humane society may think their fate is not different from
that of the miserable thief mentioned above. Similarly, the Caodaist Sacerdotal
Council now is in the same trouble. No one sympathizes with Caodaist Senior
Dignitaries, who work only for God instead of personal benefits. They are
oppressed by earthly powers, but have great responsibilities to take care of
millions of lives.
Glancing
and checking those evildoers, I can see that they are only shirkers both in
Caodaism and in their life. They just gang together to hurt nice people because
of jealousy. They can also be the Caodaist dignitaries who really pursue fame
not only in life but also in our religious
community. They have never done anything to benefit Caodaism. How dare
they judge the Caodaist Sacerdotal Council although they have too little
knowledge of its physical and emotional suffering?
For eight
years, I have gone to all the trouble, finding out the way to protect the
Caodaist doctrine. Not only have Caodaist dignitaries been against each other
internally but also evil power have bullied externally. There have been so many
difficulties that some senior dignitaries had to give up their religious
responsibilities.
In fact,
the troubles in Caodaism were caused by its quick changes, not by those who
deliberately eliminated it. The disagreement among the senior dignitaries
resulted in non-cooperation. Some wanted to overcome difficulties, but some to
spread the doctrine to save people. However, I think they all only helped
publicize Caodaism though they made Caodaists divide into several different
groups.
It is
shameful for me not to bring about a reconciliation among those dignitaries.
After all, I cannot do it because “Nothing stings like the truth”. I do not
know how to satisfy them all at the same time. No wonder the Buddha said life
is like the Seven-Headed Serpent, which represents human seven emotions and you
need to control them all.
Had God
granted me some way to convince the Caodaist senior leaders to ignore flattery,
Caodaism would not have been in such trouble. Few followers really wanted it to
improve, but lots of them didn’t because of their pride and jealousy.
Brothers
and sisters, you should ask yourselves whether you really want to practice
Caodaism. Be kind if you really want to. Otherwise, leave it, please!
Having the
important responsibility to better life, we cannot convince people to perfect
themselves unless we become the role models.
The real
purpose of Caodaism is to encourage love because it is the only power to make
the world better. Yet some dignitaries only incite anger and hatred. How weird
they are!
Brothers
and sisters, remember my heartening words:
Having
suffered and worked really hard for eight years, we managed to establish this
religion. Please, think of the labor even though you hate us! How can we fight
against each other for a title while we were just granted a little happiness?
Even pagans know how to behave, yet we co-religionists try to mess ourselves
about. Others will disdain the Caodaist community because of that
competitiveness. Being brothers and sisters, we should not fiercely compete
against each other because that will be recorded for later generations to
judge. Please, stay away from Satan and follow God. Remember that life is so
short. Despite any malevolence, we keep practicing Caodaism. We should ignore
both thoughtful and critical comments and refuse any high-ranking posts.
Everyday,
we should remind ourselves that God borrows our bodies to represent Himself on
earth. As a result, we should act based on His principles without any changes
in order to gather His children.
Hence, I
urge both those who have made a mistake and those who have dedicated themselves
to Caodaism to unite, follow God and help each other fulfill our responsibility
which is to become the role models for mankind. We should collaborate to
improve Caodaism, making it a beautiful temple for all living beings. This
temple represents God’s body on earth.
Senior
dignitaries, if these heartening words pass unnoticed, I will wait for your
next moves before officially announcing them to everyone.
Translator
* Từ Chơn
[1] The Caodaist Executive
Body.
[2] The Caodaist Judiciary Body.
[3] Phnom Penh, Cambodia.
[4] The Caodaist Sacerdotal Council.
[5] A
dissertation in rhythmic prose.
[6] Tao - the basic principle of the
universe, according to Taoism.
[7] Buddhism, Taoism and
Confucianism.
[8] Three Bonds: (ruler to ruled,
father to son and husband to wife).
[9] The Five Constants: (humaneness,
righteousness, proper rite, knowledge and integrity)
[10] Earthly Immortals.
[11] Wu wei air - nothingness.
[12] Taiji, Tai chi, Absolute.
[13] Two forms, Yin and
Yang.
[14] Four phenomena.
[15] Ba Gua, Eight trigrams,
[16] the Doctrine of Humanity,
Confucianism.
[17] The Doctrine of Immortal,
Taoism.
[18] The Doctrine of Buddha,
Buddhism.
[19] Five religious branches.
[20] The people whose souls come
directly from God.
[21] The humans whose souls have
evolved from lower level through lots of incarnations.
[22] Cửu Thiên - nine Heavens, Khai
Hoá - education.
[23] The Supreme Leader of Caodaism.
[24] The Twelve Heavens or Heaven.
[25] The Three-Religion Court.
[26] Bagua Tower, Octagonal Tower or
the Caodaist spiritual body.
[27] Nine-Level Tower or the
Caodaist executive body.
[28] Communion Tower or the Caodaist
judiciary body.
[29] Ngọc - jewel, Hư - nothingness,
Cung - Palace.
[30] The twelve Zodiac Superiors -
the dignitaries under the Hiệp Thiên Đài.
[31] The twelve Zodiac Lords - the
Genii in heaven.
[32] 23:00 - 00:59.
[33] 01:00 - 02:59.
[34] 03:00 - 04:59.
[35] Dharma, Tao and Secularity.
[36] Inner Law, Secret
Dharma, Esoteric Practice.
[37] After being judged
by the Court of the Cửu Trùng Đài, the defendant can appeal to the Court of the
Hiệp Thiên Đài if he/she finds it unfair.
[38] Ngọc - gem, Hư - Nothingness,
Cung - Palace. The place where God and His Divine Court reigns over the
universe.
[39] The White Gem Capital - the
administrative center of the universe.
[40] The Nine-Level Tower, the
Caodaist Executive Body.
[41] The Nine Heaven.
[42] The Nine-Level Hierarchy for
divine beings.
[43] Three-Religion Court.
[44] Earthly Genii.
[45] Human Genii.
[46] Heavenly Genii.
[47] Three Heavenly Governors.
[48] Bagua Tower, Octagonal Tower,
Caodaist Spiritual Body.
[49] The utmost principle of the
universe, a religion, the way to practice a religion.
[50] A Confucian Classic, by
Zisi, a grandson of Confucius.
[51] Or Thiệu Khang Tiết, a Chinese
poet and researcher (1011-1071)
[52] Nguyệt Tâm - lunar spirit, Chơn
Nhơn - enlightened person.
[53] The moon.
[54] Hộ Pháp is performing chấp bút
(i.e. automatic writing, one of the ways to communicate with the spiritual
world).
[55] Nguyệt Tâm - lunar spirit, Chơn
Nhơn - enlightened person.
[56] Also Từ Lâm Tự, Tây Ninh, VN,
where Caodaism’s Inaugural Celebration was held.
[57] The spiritual Pope of Caodaism.
[58] According to Caodaist Canonical
Code, Hộ Pháp is the Judge of the Caodaist Tribunal.
[59] The Twelve Zodiacal Superiors –
12 dignitaries under the Hiệp Thiên Đài who assist in the direction of souls.
[60] He implies a Caodaist schism,
but not say which one.
[61] The Buddha.
[62] A rather large sum of
money at that time.
[63] A Caodaist schism that severely
attacked the Caodaist Sacerdotal Council in Tây Ninh.
[64] Cửu Trùng Đài, (九 重 臺 -
Nine-sphered palace): The executive body of Caodaism which takes charge of the
administration of the religion and its missionary activities. It also refers to
the temple of nine degrees of evolution or nine spheres palace. The palace of
nine divine planes, or the palace of nine degrees of evolution.
[65] Phạm - his family name, Nghiệp
- career.
[66] Phạm - his family name, Từ - an
ancestral temple.
[67] A village 10km from Tây Ninh.
[68] A senior dignitary under the Cửu
Trùng Đài.
[69] The garden of Anathapindika, a
generous Buddhist philanthropist.
[70] Quảng - publicizing, Nghệ -
job.
[71] Thái Bình - peace, Thánh Địa -
Holy land.
[72] Kiêm Biên - Phnom Penh.
[73] An handicraft shop for women.
[74] A Caodaist schism founded by Phối
Sư Thái Ca Thanh (Nguyễn Văn Ca) in 1931 in Mỹ Tho.
[75] “Three Character Classic”. A
Chinese textbook for children.
[76] 己所不欲，勿施於人。(Confucius)
[77] 元始天尊; pinyin: Yuánshǐ Tīanzūn,
one of the highest deities of Taoism.
[78] The Investiture of the Gods.
[79] Nhứt - First. Đại - Greatness.
[80] The name of an orchid
representing the sages.
[81] 孔伋
[82] Mencius (孟子 Mèng Zǐ)
(372 BC – 289 BC)
[83] 大學之道，在明明德，在親民，在止於至善。
[84] King Xuan of Qi (齊宣王; Qí Xuān
Wáng; died 301 BC) was from 319 to 301 BC ruler of Qi, one of the seven major
states of the Warring
States period of ancient China.
[85] Shijing or Shih-ching 詩經 Book of Songs, one of the "Five Classics"
traditionally said to have been compiled by Confucius.
[87] Brahmin (later Hinduism)
[88] The Ionian school of Pre-Socratic
philosophy was centred in Miletus, Ionia in the 6th century
BC. The Ionian School included such thinkers as Thales, Anaximander, Anaximenes,
Heraclitus, Anaxagoras, and Archelaus.
[89] A Pre-Socratic Greek
philosopher.
[90] (c. 570 –
c. 495 BC)
* tuuchoon@gmail.com
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