NGÔ VĂN CHIÊU’S DELIVERANCE BY CAODAI GOD
Before starting its exotericism, Caodaism had built up
its esoteric basis in the years 1920-1924 with the crucial role of Ngô Văn
Chiêu (1878-1932), the first disciple of Caodai God.([1])
Born on Thursday 28 February 1878, Ngô Văn Chiêu was the only
child of an honest and poor couple working at a rice mill in Bình Tây district.
His father was Ngô Văn Xuân. His mother was Lâm Thị Quý (1858-1919), also
called Lâm Thị Tiền, from Bình Tây district, Chợ Lớn province.
Chiêu attended collège Chasseloup-Laubat, a junior high school in Saigon,
and graduated with diplôme d’études
primaires supérieures, which qualified him for the civil service in Saigon in 1899. Later, he worked consecutively in Tân An
province (1909), Hà Tiên province (1920), and on Phú Quốc island (1920). He
returned to Saigon (1924), then retired (1931)
and spent his last days in Cần Thơ province.
Below are some key landmarks in his
spiritual life during the years 1920-1925:
1. Hearing the name Caodai
the first time (1920)
At his house in Tân An province, circa
January-February 1920, Ngô Văn Chiêu held an evocation seance in company with Nguyễn Thiên(g) Kim (1870-1946),
Lê Kiển Thọ (1879-1946, village registrar), Nguyễn Văn Vân (1893-1981,
elementary teacher), and Trần Phong Sắc (1873-1928, elementary teacher and
writer). Chiêu was độc giả (dictator),
who dictated spirit messages. Kim was điển
ký (transcriber), who made full written copies of spirit messages. Thọ was
the yin medium and Vân, the yang. Sắc was pháp
đàn (seance master), who protected the evocation against evil interference.
At the said seance, they contacted a divinity who descended under the name Cao Đài Tiên Ông (Caodai the Immortal).
2. Hearing the name Caodai
the second time (1920)
In Hà Tiên province, on Sunday mid-autumn
night 26 September 1920, at Lâm Tấn Đức’s home,([2]) Ngô Văn Chiêu held an
evocation seance together with Cao Văn Sự and Nguyễn Thành Diêu. Caodai God
bestowed them four lines including their names. The opening line literally
reads, “Cao Đài minh nguyệt [bright
moon] Ngô Văn Chiêu…”
3. Beginning meditation
practice (1921)
Around the end of 1920, an evocation
seance was held at a Minh Sư priests’ pagoda named Quan Âm (Guanyin) on Dương Đông mountain (Phú Quốc
island). Then, a hidden-named immortal descended, requesting Ngô Văn Chiêu to
become his disciple.
On the first day of the new lunar year
(Tuesday 08 February 1921), at Quan Âm pagoda, the immortal commanded, “Chiêu, perpetually follow vegetarianism for
three years!” Thereafter, Chiêu commenced perpetual vegetarianism along
with meditation practice.
4. The God Eye’s
appearance (April 1921)
The hidden-named immortal requested Ngô
Văn Chiêu to devise a sacred symbol for the new faith. At first he suggested a
cross 十 but the immortal asked him
to think of another symbol. After one week, he still failed to meet the
request.
On Wednesday morning 20 April 1920,
around 8.00 am, sitting in a hammock slung at the rear of his residence and
looking out to the open sea, suddenly he caught sight of a large lifelike left
eye encircled by radiant beams in the sky and full of splendour. Frightened by
such a vision, he hid his eyes in his hands. After a while, he removed his
hands and still saw the same sight. Then, he joined his hands praying to the
immortal for making the eye disappear if he was to worship it. Thereafter, its
brightness gradually waned and finally faded away. However, he still hesitated
to worship the eye. The same eye came to sight again some days later and would
not disappear until he prayed and promised to worship it.
5. Hearing the name Caodai
the third time (April 1921)
A few days after the second appearance of
the God’s Eye, Ngô Văn Chiêu attended an evocation seance at Quan Âm pagoda.
The immortal requested him to draw what he had seen for worship.([3]) The immortal also revealed
his name Cao Đài Tiên Ông Đại Bồ Tát Ma
Ha Tát (Caodai the Immortal Mahabodhisattva Mahasattva), and told Chiêu to
address Him as Thầy (Master). In
Vietnamese, thầy is the title
addressed to a male teacher, to a father, and to a servant’s master.
The said evocation seance established
indispensable factors of a religion as follows:
- Founder
(spiritual): God, under the name Caodai the Immortal Mahabodhisattva
Mahasattva.
- First
disciple: Ngô Văn Chiêu.
- Esoteric
teaching: Caodai meditation method.
- Holy
icon: The God’s Eye.
- Philosophy:
The name Caodai the Immortal Maha-bodhisattva Mahasattva presents the
syncretistic combination of Confucianism (Caodai),
Daoism (Immortal), and Buddhism (Mahabodhisattva Mahasattva).
6. A hermit life in Saigon (1924-1925)
After three years (1921-1924) piously devoting
himself to meditation practice under Caodai God’s teaching on Phú Quốc island,
on Tuesday 29 July 1924, Ngô Văn Chiêu left for Saigon ,
where he led a hermit life while fulfilling his daily duties of an
administrative official. Caodai God did not let him start diffusing the new
faith until the beginning of 1926.
HUỆ KHẢI
