Part of the list of 245 Caodaists’ signatures
The Caodai Inauguration Day was officially opened from midnight of
Thursday, 18 November 1926 (at the dawn of the fifteenth of the tenth lunar month), to ordain the earliest dignitaries of
the fledgling Caodai Church.
To have a site for the ceremony, the early Caodai Church had borrowed Thiền
Lâm pagoda 禪林寺 from monk Như Nhãn, say Thích Từ Phong, whose secular
name was Nguyễn Văn Tường (1864-1938). Built in late 1925 and also called Gò
Kén pagoda, it is still seen in Long Trung hamlet, Long Thành Trung commune,
Hòa Thành district, Tây Ninh province.
The ceremony permit was signed by the Colonial Government on 07 November
1926.[1] Due to a non-stop tide of pious people from other
provinces crowding in Gò Kén pagoda for initiation into the new religion, the
inauguration ceremony was prolonged for three months rather than three days as
projected by the Caodai Church.
Since then, the fifteenth of the tenth lunar month, say November, has
become an anniversary venerated by all Caodai temples and organizations. As a
result, the Caodai year commenced from that day of 1926.
In the autumn of 1970, a spirit message [2] named the above-mentioned ceremony Khai minh Đại đạo (Caodai Inauguration Day). The same spirit
message named another event Khai tịch Đạo
(Caodai Foundation Day), which occurred in Saigon on 29 September 1926 (the twenty-third
of the eighth lunar month of the year Tiger) in order to complete necessary
formalities for the Caodai legal entity.
I. THE MEETING IN PREPARATION FOR THE DECLARATION OF
THE FOUNDATION OF CAODAISM
At 8 p.m. on Wednesday night of 29 September 1926 (say the twenty-third
of the eighth lunar month of the year Tiger), there was a large meeting in preparation
for legal registration of Caodaism at the residence of a
disciple named Nguyễn Văn Tường (1887-1939, also
called Võ Văn Tường), in an alley at 237 bis Gallieni street,
Saigon (today 208 Cô Bắc street, district 1). Right before the meeting, a
torrential rain poured down long hours and flooded many parts of the
surrounding area. The meeting was therefore isolated from the curious
outsiders, especially the colonial police.
Co-chaired by Mr. Lê Văn Trung (say Cardinal
Thượng Trung Nhựt, 1876-1934, later known as Acting Pope), Mr. Lê Văn Lịch (say
Cardinal Ngọc Lịch Nguyệt, 1890-1947), and Mr. Cao Quỳnh
Cư (Thượng phẩm, 1888-1929), the historic meeting was attended by hundreds
of the earliest Caodai dignitaries and followers.
As a result, a list of 245 Caodaists’ signatures was
enclosed with the registration file whereas the declaration text in French
dated 07 October 1926 was signed by 28 Caodaists. Then Cardinal Thượng Trung Nhựt
himself took all the documents to Cochinchina Governor's Palace (today the
Municipal Museum at 65 Lý Tự Trọng street, district 1) to submit to Acting
Governor Le Fol. Its translation reads as follows:
Dear
Mr. Governor,
The
undersigned are honoured to
respectfully inform you of the following:
In Indochina there have been Three religions (Buddhism,
Daoism, Confucianism). Our ancestors religiously practiced these three
teachings and they thus lived a happy life strictly obeying the good precepts
taught by these Three teachings founders.
The
ancients were so carefree that they could sleep without locking their doors and
they did not pick up objects fallen on roads. “Gia vô bế hộ, lộ bất thập di 家 無 閉 户,路 不 拾 遺” is
the saying recorded in our annals.
Alas!
That wonderful era no longer exists due to the following reasons:
1.
The followers of the Three religions have intended to separate themselves from
one another while the purpose of all religions is the same, that is, doing good
deeds and avoiding evil ones, and piously worshipping the Creator.
2.
They have completely distorted the signification of these sacred and precious
teachings.
3.
The rush for worldly comfort and honour, and ambition are also the main causes
of the today divergences of opinions. The present Vietnamese people have
completely abandoned their good customs and traditions handed down from ancient
times.
Facing
these heartbreaking situations, a group of Vietnamese, fervent traditionalists
and religious, has revised and recast these religions into a sole and unique
one called Caodaism or Đại đạo (the Great
Way
The
name ĐẠI ĐẠO TAM KỲ PHỔ ĐỘ (say the Third Universal Amnesty) ([3]) was granted by the Supreme Being, who descended on
earth to help the undersigned establish this new religion.
God has come to this secular world under the name of
NGỌC HOÀNG THƯỢNG ĐẾ (the Jade Emperor),
say CAODAI or “God, the Supreme, the Omnipotent”.
Through
mediums at spirits evoking séances, NGỌC HOÀNG THƯỢNG ĐẾ has bestowed upon the
undersigned holy messages in order to crystalize and teach the noble truth of
the ancient Three religions.
This
new religion will teach people:
1. The sublime moral principles taught by Confucius.
2.
The virtues taught in Buddhism and Daoism. These virtues include doing good
deeds and avoiding evil ones, loving mankind, living in harmony with others,
and completely avoiding dissension and war.
The undersigned are
honoured to enclose herewith:
1.
Some excerpts from the collection of Holy Sayings by the Jade Emperor. His
teachings are considered more valuable than any existence on earth.
2.
The translation of some passages from the prayers that NGỌC HOÀNG THƯỢNG ĐẾ has
taught us.
The
objective of the undersigned is to bring the human being back to their ancient
days of peace and harmony. Thus, one will aim at a new era of indescribable
happiness.
On behalf of the majority of the Vietnamese who
entirely approve these studies and whose list is enclosed, the undersigned have
the honour to declare that we will diffuse this sacred teaching to the whole
humanity.
Persuaded
in advance that this new religion will bring all of us peace and harmony, the
undersigned request you to receive their declaration officially.
The
undersigned would like to ask you, Mr. Governor, to acknowledge their respect
and sincerity.
ORIGINAL TEXT IN FRENCH:
Saigon,
le 7 Octobre 1926
Monsieur le Gouverneur,
Les soussignés,
Ont l’honneur de venir
respectueusement vous faire connaître ce qui suit:
Il existait en Indochine trois
Religions (Bouddhisme, Taoïsme, Confucianisme). Nos ancêtres pratiquaient
religieusement ces trois doctrines et vivaient heureux en suivant strictement
les beaux préceptes dictés par les Créateurs de ces religions.
On était, pendant cet ancien temps,
tellement insoucieux qu’on pouvait dormir sans fermer les portes et qu’on
dédaignait même de ramasser les objets tombés dans la rue (Gia vô bế hộ, lộ bất thập di, tel est l’adage inscrit dans nos annales).
Hélas! Ce beau temps n’existe plus
pour les raisons suivantes:
1. Les pratiquants de ces religions
ont cherché à se diviser tandis que le but de toutes les religions est le même:
faire le bien et éviter le mal, adorer pieusement le Créateur.
2. Ils ont dénaturé complètement la
signification de ces saintes et précieuses doctrines.
3. La course au confort, à l’honneur,
l’ambition des gens, sont aussi des causes principales des divergences
d’opinions actuelles. Les Annamites de nos jours ont complètement abandonné les
bonnes mœurs et traditions de l’ancien temps.
Écœurés de cet état de choses, un
groupe d’Annamites, fervents traditionalistes et religieux, ont étudié la
refonte de toutes ces religions, pour n’en former qu’une seule et unique
appelée CAODAÏSME ou ĐẠI ĐẠO.
Le nom “ĐẠI ĐẠO TAM KỲ PHỔ ĐỘ”, qui
signifie la troisième Amnistie générale, est donné par l’Esprit Suprême qui est
venu aider les soussignés à fonder cette nouvelle religion.
L’Esprit Suprême est venu sous le nom
de NGỌC HOÀNG THƯỢNG ĐẾ dit CAO ĐÀI ou “LE TRÈS HAUT, DIEU TOUT PUISSANT”.
Par l’intermédiaire de médiums
écrivants, NGỌC HOÀNG THƯỢNG ĐẾ transmet aux soussignés des enseignements
divins ayant pour but de concentrer et d’enseigner les beaux préceptes de ces
trois anciennes Religions.
La Nouvelle Doctrine enseignera aux
peuples:
1. la haute morale de Confucius;
2. les vertus dictées dans les
religions bouddhique et taoïque, ces vertus consistant à faire le bien et éviter
le mal, aimer l’humanité, pratiquer la concorde, éviter totalement la
dissension et la guerre.
Les soussignés ont l’honneur de vous
soumettre:
1. quelques extraits du recueil des
“Saintes paroles’ de NGỌC HOÀNG THƯỢNG ĐẾ, paroles estimées plus précieuses que
tout ce qui existe ici-bas.
2. la traduction de quelques passages
du livre de prières que NGỌC HOÀNG THƯỢNG ĐẾ nous a enseignées.
Le but poursuivi par les soussignés
est de ramener les peuples à l’ancien temps de paix et de concorde. On sera
ainsi dirigé vers une époque nouvelle tellement heureuse qu’il est difficile de
la décrire.
Au nom de
très nombreux Annamites qui ont entièrement approuvé ces études et dont la
liste est ci-jointe, les soussignés ont l’honneur de venir respectueusement
vous déclarer qu’ils vont propager à l’humanité entière cette Sainte Doctrine.
Persuadés d’avance que cette nouvelle
religion apportera à nous tous la paix et la concorde, les soussignés vous
prient de recevoir officiellement leur déclaration.
Les soussignés vous prient d’agréer,
Monsieur le Gouverneur, l’assurance de leurs sentiments respectueux et
dévoués.” [4]
HUỆ KHẢI
[1] [CQPTGL 2005, 323]. This footnote indicates that the above
information is from a book published in 2005 by Cơ
quan Phổ thông Giáo lý, page 323. For the related source in details, see
“Bibliography” at the end of this monograph.
