3. A CONCISE CAODAI HISTORY: THE EARLIEST BEGINNINGS 1920-1926

INTRODUCTION

In the 1920s, a new religion came into being in Vietnam under the name Đại Đạo Tam Kỳ Phổ Độ (the Third Universalism of the Great Dao), or Caodaism for short. Its leading principle or guideline is known as Tam Giáo quy Nguyên, Ngũ Chi phục Nhất (The Three Teachings return to Origin, and the Five Branches return to One).^([1])

The Three Teachings refer to Confucianism, Daoism, and Buddhism.

The Five Branches are mankind’s five ways of self-cultivation including the Human Way, the Deity Way, the Saint Way, the Immortal Way, and the Buddha Way.

Besides its own identity, the new religion advocates a syncretistic combination of essential religious teachings under the motto Crystallising the quintessence of past and present, and harmonising East and West. That is why Western scholars are often apt to regard Caodaism as a syncretistic religion.

The term Tam Kỳ (Three Eras) implies that the history of mankind’s philosophy and religion is divided into three great spans:

- The First Universalism stretched from ancient times to around the middle of the 7th century BC (circa 650 BC).

- The Second Universalism spread from around the middle of the 7th century BC to around the middle of the 19th century (from circa 650 BC to circa 1850 AD).⁽[2]⁾

- The Third Universalism commenced in around the middle of the 19th century.

THE FIRST UNIVERSALISM bears some philosophical and religious features as follows:

In ancient China, the eight trigrams were developed into the sixty-four hexagrams. Each hexagram consists of six lines; so, there are in all three hundred and eighty-four lines, each of which is either unbroken  or broken . King Wen of Zhou (1152-1056 BC, reigned 1099-1050 BC) wrote interpretations of the sixty-four hexagrams. His son, Duke Zhou, wrote interpretations of the three hundred and eighty-four lines. Consequently, the early basis of Yi Jing (the Book of Change) was created.

In ancient India, Brahmanism came into existence. Indian thought in the First Universalism consists of two major ages: the Vedic age (circa 1500-600 BC); the Epic age (roughly 1000-600 BC). The Upanishads were compiled (approximately between 800-600 BC).

According to Caodai teaching, Brahmanism belongs to the Way of Buddhas in the First Universalism. The Buddhas in this Era include Dipankara the Ancient Buddha, Brahma Buddha, Shiva Buddha, and Krishna Buddha, etc.

Parallel to Brahmanism in ancient India was another system of thought handed down through twenty-three patriarchs. In the time of the twenty-fourth and also the last patriarch (in the Second Universalism), the said thought was reformed and turned into Jainism.

In Palestine, Judaism was founded. Based on the event of the Ten Commandments bestowed upon Moses on mount Sinai, the ancient faith of the Hebrews is believed to begin roughly in 1300 BC.

THE SECOND UNIVERSALISM bears some philosophical and religious features as follows:

In China, Confucianism and Daoism began in the 6th century BC.

In India, Brahmanism still prevailed. Shakyamunism arose in the 6th century BC. At the same time, Vardhamana (599-527 BC, alias Mahavira) reformed an ancient religion of Indians into Jainism. In the 15th century Nanak (1469-1539) founded Sikhism.

In Palestine, Judaism still persisted. Jesus Christ was born and later Christianity was formed.

In Arab, in the 7th century AD, Prophet Muhammad established Islam.

In Persia (Iran today), Zoroaster (also known as Zarathustra) founded Zoroastrianism some time before the 6th century BC.

Greek philosophy emerged in the 6th century BC and continued to flourish. According to Caodai teaching, Pythagoreanism belongs to the Way of Buddhas in the Second Universalism.

THE THIRD UNIVERSALISM bears some philosophical and religious features as follows:

In the two previous eras, such above-mentioned philosophies and religions were confined to specific geographical locations. In the Third Universalism, the world becomes closer and closer when humans have succeeded in bridging geographical distances. The more and more development of transport means, multimedia communications, and information technology have contributed to bringing various systems of thoughts closer and helped people discover similarity in diversity. Therefore, a feature unique to the Third Universalism is its tendency to harmonise and syncretistically combine the past and present thoughts of the East and the West.

In addition to the founding of Caodaism in Vietnam in 1926, listed below are a number of events reflecting the said tendency of the Third Universalism:

In 1863, Bahá’u’lláh (1817-1892) founded Bahaism in Iran (formerly Persia). This faith asserts that all world religions originated from the single God, and hence there is an underlying unity among them.

In 1875 Madame Blavatsky (Ukrainian, 1831-1891) and others founded the Theosophical Society in New York City (the USA). In 1879 the headquarters of Theosophy moved to Adyar (India). Under the motto There is no religion higher than Truth, Theosophy gives prominence to the truth of great unity, and leads people to transcend the shell of religion so that they can attain the Great Dao.

Philosophers and scholars started a movement for comparing and syncretistically combining religious and philosophical thoughts in an attempt to bring humans closer in the spirit of great unity. At the end of the 19th century occurred two remarkable events:

- In 1893, the World’s Parliament of Religions was first held in Chicago (Illinois, the USA). At the age of thirty, as a Hindu delegate to the Parliament, Swami Vivekananda (Indian, 1863-1902) first visited the United States.

- In 1900, the First International Congress for the History of Religions was organised in Paris (France) under the presidency of Professor Albert Réville (French Christian theologian, 1826-1906).^([3])

These two events paved the way for activities in the subsequent decades which aimed at supporting the ideal of harmonising religions. For instance:

- In 1904, the Second International Congress for the History of Religions was held in Basel (Switzerland) under the presidency of Professor Conrad C. von Orelli.

- In 1908, the Third International Congress for the History of Religions was held at the Oxford University (England).

- In 1939, Radhakrishnan (Indian, 1888-1975) began lecturing Comparative Religion at the Oxford University.

- In 1955, the Conference of World Religionists was held in Tokyo (Japan) from the 1st to the 5th of August. Both the Caodai Holy Assembly in Tây Ninh and the Caodai Missionary Organ in Đà Nẵng (later called the Caodai Missionary Holy Assembly) sent senior dignitaries to the Conference.⁽[4]⁾

- In 1959, the French Cultural Institute and the University of Paris cooperated to establish the Faculty of Comparative Religion.

- In 1960, the Tenth International Congress for the History of Religions was held at the Marburg University (Germany).

- In 1961, the University of Chicago and the Yale University published periodicals as forums for religious and philosophical studies, comparison, and synthesis.

- In 1963, the Sorbonne University (France) opened the Faculty of Comparative Philosophy.

- The Second Vatican Council, which Pope John XXIII opened on 11 October 1962 and which Pope Paul VI closed on 08 December 1965, should be considered the most significant event because it invited interfaith dialogues between Catholicism and other religions in the world.⁽[5]⁾

On Pentecost Sunday, 17 May 1964, Pope Paul VI instituted a special department of the Roman Curia for relations with the people of other religions. Known at first as the Secretariat for Non-Christians, it was renamed the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue (PCID) in 1988.

In Vatican on 28 October 1965, Pope Paul VI proclaimed Nostra Aetate (In our Times), also known as The Second Vatican Council’s Declaration on the Relations of the Church with Non-Christian Religions.

- In the late 20th century and the early 21st century, both international and multinational, numerous similar events of interfaith dialogues can be mentioned. To end the list, two more events should be referred to:

* The 34th World Religions Conference was held on 28 September 2014 in Guelph, a city southwest of Ontario, Canada. Scholars and leaders of various philosophical traditions and religious beliefs gathered in the spirit of tolerance, peace, cooperation, and understanding to explore “the Pathway to Peace”, the theme of this Conference.

* As mentioned above, the World’s Parliament of Religions was first held in Chicago (Illinois, the USA, 1893), and thereafter it was repeated several times: 1993 in Chicago again; 1999 in Cape Town (South Africa); 2004 in Barcelona (Spain); 2009 in Melbourne (Australia); 2015 in Salt Lake (Utah, the USA)…

Numerous books have been published for the similar purpose. One of the remarkable authors is Professor Archie John Bahm (1907-1996),⁽[6]⁾ teaching philosophy and comparative religion at the University of New Mexico, author of The World’s Living Religions (New York: Dell Pub. Co., 1964).

Professor Bahm’s viewpoint indicates the most important change in the course of mankind’s thinking is that humans in the Third Universalism have come to the following realisation:

- The world today is brought closer and closer together; cross-cultural exchange becomes more and more popular, convenient, and natural. Unlike their ancestors, humans of the Third Universalism no longer live in isolation, within their indigenous civilisations. Known as former Dean of the Faculty of Philosophy at Rajasthan University, P.T. Raju says, “... we now live in a world, not just in a civilization, and we need to understand ourselves as world citizens.” ^([7]) Raju also asserts, “despite all their differences, religions have something in common, namely, man.” ^([8])

- Bahm observes “that each religion naturally seeks to become universal and that (...) world religions will tend toward one world religion.” ^([9])

- Bahm writes, “Yet mankind lacks a world religion in the sense that it is in fact the only one or only true one and in the sense that it is superior to others because it embodies within itself the virtues of all other religions.” ^([10])

“We are not yet ready to develop a ‘world religion’ incorporating the virtues of all of man’s religions. But surely it is time for us to become more fully aware of the problem as a problem.” ^([11])

- Besides a “world religion” for all mankind, the problem of modernising religion arises. Bahm writes, “The particular forms, doctrines, and institutions through which the religious needs and experiences of some people have been expressed may become obsolete, and their continuance often becomes detrimental to healthy religion.” ^([12])

Bahm argues, “But just as automobile and jet plane have replaced ox and horse, skyscrapers have supplanted caves, and wash-and-wear fabrics have superseded animal skins, so we should expect the modes of expression serving our religious needs in cosmopolitan society to be different from those which inspired the fearful shepherd, Moses, on a fiery mountainside or the wondering camel driver, Mohammed, in a Meccan cave.” ^([13])

Cognition of religion has been changing. What is said about a modern and global religion reflects mankind’s thirst for a faith of great unity which transcends any boundary and race.

In the 20th century, there were lots of activities supporting that ideal in several countries. Each of such activities might be regarded as a link in the chain of the movement for seeking a Great Dao for mankind. The above-listed worldwide events (from 1893 till 2015) are obvious proofs.

Particularly in Vietnam during the years 1920-1926, God under the name Caodai gradually gathered chosen missioners to build up the primary foundation of the Third Universalism of the Great Dao, i.e., Caodai religion or Caodaism for short.

The Great Dao 大道 implies something transcending any available form of religion which mankind has got accustomed to. In other words, the Great Dao is above and beyond religion.

Universalism (or universal salvation: phổ độ 普度) means all living beings will finally be saved.

Though the Great Dao is above and beyond religion, the initial steps of building up its infrastructure cannot help borrowing a religion form. Similarly, though Universalism is not confined to any boundary nor race, its primary foundation cannot help borrowing and using a country or a nation as a cradle for every future growth.

Starting the beginning of the Third Universalism of the Great Dao, God established Caodaism in the chosen land of Vietnam, not elsewhere. Hence, in the words of Archimedes,^([14]) Vietnam may be regarded as the fulcrum for the Third Universalism of the Great Dao.

The Third Universalism of the Great Dao started with a religion form named Caodaism in Vietnam, a country lying at the intersection of Eastern and Western thoughts, past and present. For about nineteen centuries before the advent of Caodaism, Vietnam had been imbued with the spirit of Tam Giáo đồng nguyên (the Three Teachings have the same origin).

Vietnam is also a country where cultural features of India, China, and the Occident can be found. A.J. Bahm judges, “The three greatest civilizations of mankind are the Hindu, the Chinese, and the European or Western.” ^([15])

Consequently, Vietnam has such favourable pre-conditions for being bestowed the truth of great unity by God under the name Caodai. It is reasonable to say that Caodaism and Vietnam as its cradle are the means to achieve the ultimate goal of the Third Universalism of the Great Dao.

In other words, if religious colours have ever appeared during the preliminary span of the Third Universalism of the Great Dao in Vietnam, such a manifestation is natural and reasonable in terms of the relationship between the means and the end.

There is not a single reason to explain why Vietnam is God’s chosen land for Caodaism. My bilingual book entitled The Three Teachings of Vietnam as an Ideological Precondition for the Foundation of Caodaism ^([16]) is an initial attempt to deal with the question in terms of ideology.

Besides, if the geographical and cultural aspects of the issue are of interest to the reader, my second bilingual book entitled Cochinchina as a Cultural Precondition for the Foundation of Caodaism ^([17]) might offer some necessary information for objective consideration.

The very cradle of Caodaism is southern Vietnam, once called Cochinchine by French colonialists. Why not Tonkin or Annam (northern or central Vietnam)? In order to suggest a satisfactory answer in both historical and legal terms, a trilingual booklet of mine entitled Cochinchina as a Legal Precondition for the Foundation of Caodaism ^([18]) might be suitable for reference.

Caodaism arose in Cochinchina under the yoke of French colonialism. To understand a then religion like Caodaism as well as the psychology of its earliest adherents, a brief survey of Cochinchinese historical and socio-political background is truly necessary. Hence, the said trilingual booklet saves more than twenty pages for such a survey which is not repeated in the present book.⁽[19]⁾

The history of Caodaism includes its earliest beginnings six years long so that its earliest apostles and other essential factors for an organised or institutional religion could be well prepared. Its earliest beginnings (or its latent years) commenced in 1920, when the name Caodai was first revealed to apostle Ngô Văn Chiêu (1878-1932) at an evocation seance in Tân An province (Long An province today). Nevertheless, the following chapter narrates neither apostle Chiêu’s complete biography nor his spiritual journey to Caodai faith. A detailed account of this historical personage is provided in another bilingual book of mine entitled Ngô Văn Chiêu – the First Caodai Disciple.^([20])

HUỆ KHẢI

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^([1]) Both Origin and One mean Dao (the Way), that is to say, the common origin of all religions in the world.

⁽[2]⁾ Coined by German philosopher Karl Jaspers (1883-1969), the term Achsenzeit (Axial Age, Axial Period, or Axis Time) is to some extent similar to the Second Universalism as conceived by Caodaism.

⁽[3]⁾ See Plate 1, Plate 2.

⁽[4]⁾ See Plate 3.

⁽[5]⁾ Pope John XXIII was canonised on 27 April 2014 and Pope Paul VI was beatified on 19 October 2014.

⁽[6]⁾ See Plate 1.

^([7]) [Archie J. Bahm 1964: 358-359]. This footnote indicates that the above information is from a book by A.J. Bahm, published in 1964, pages 358-359. For the related source in details, see Bibliography at the end of the present book (page 193).

^([8]) [Archie J. Bahm 1964: 359]

^([9]) [Archie J. Bahm 1964: 354]

^([10]) [Archie J. Bahm 1964: 353]

^([11]) [Archie J. Bahm 1964: 33]

⁽[12]⁾ [Archie J. Bahm 1964: 14]

⁽[13]⁾ [Archie J. Bahm 1964: 14]

^([14]) Archimedes (Greek, circa 287-212 BC) said, “Give me a lever long enough and a fulcrum on which to place it, and I shall move the earth.”

⁽[15]⁾ [Archie J. Bahm 1964: 32]

^([16]) [Huệ Khải 2010]

^([17]) [Huệ Khải 2008b]

⁽[18]⁾ [Huệ Khải 2008a]

⁽[19]⁾ However, “more than twenty pages for such a survey” have not been put into English or French. It is certainly so inconvenient for majority of foreign readers.

⁽[20]⁾ [Huệ Khải 2008c]