An Introduction
A belief and philosophy comprising of some of
the major religions of the world including Christianity,
Buddhism, Islam, Confucianism, Hinduism, Genism
as well as Taoism, the Cao Dia set of beliefs
emerged amidst an environment which focused on
the family life, society, and the world at large
in the Southern regions of Vietnam in the decade
of the 1920s. Though the Cao Dai as both a religion
and philosophy only entered the lives of the people
of Vietnam some six years later in 1926, the focal
point of this belief as the individual's function
within the context of the community has been in
practice from a much earlier period by the regions
of the people.
According to the writings of one Tay Ninh Holy
See in her article titled "Third Universal
Amnesty of God" Caodism: A Brief History
and Philosophy", it was Le Van Trung of Saigon,
Vietnam who upon receipt of instructions from
one Pho Loan joined hands and went on to form
and lay the foundations of this religion. Since
the set of instructions were requested by Duc
Cao Dai, thus the name of the religion as Cao
Diaism. From the brief study of this religion,
it is observed that it contains some elements
of the famous belief of Confucianism practiced
and followed in major parts of Southeast Asia.
Other elements included in Cao Dia belief and
philosophy are influences taken from the beliefs
of both Buddhism and Hinduism wherein the followers
give up their materialistic values, which in turn
provides for their spiritual growth. In similar
context to that of Buddhism and Hinduism, the
Cao Dia belief also perceives that the material
world is a mere distraction, as compared to the
'goal of enlightenment'. Another important similarity
found in the Cao Dia belief is the strength and
perception of Karma found and practiced in the
Hindu religion.
Perhaps one of the most important modes of spreading
the belief of Cao Dia was its spiritual mediums
and channels, somewhat similar to that of Buddhism
wherein due guidance is taken from the departed
souls, in particular close family members and
those who were famous as wise men in their lives.
Important leaders and thinkers of the western
world including but not limited to Joan of Arc,
Rene Descartes, William Shakespeare, Victor Hugo,
Louis Pasteur and Vladimir Lenin. (Chuck and Browns,
2004)
Hence, the religion of Cao Dia not only includes
a multitude of religious concepts taken from an
equally varied group of religions, it also includes
different 'cultures and cosmologies', in particular
those found in the global religions of Islam and
Hinduism. In addition, the belief of Caodism also
includes the golden principles of morality, ethics,
and a lifestyle that is a clear manifestation
of some of the monotheistic religions and their
followers across the globe. (Hurtney, 2003; See,
2004)
In the context of the present day beliefs, the
belief of Cao Dia is also perceived as a combination
of both the eastern concepts of monotheism as
well as that of the western traditions of belief
in the Prophets. Emerging in Vietnam, a country
where a number of religions clashed and an equally
number of traditions merged after the beginning
of 20th century, in turn providing for a birth
of a set of beliefs that not only manifested but
proved to the world merger of some of the major
religions of the world was inevitable. Being an
oppressed state, Vietnam perhaps provided one
of the most fertile grounds for a religion that
encompassed some of the oldest faiths and religions
found on the face of the earth. Thus the emergence
of Caodism in the 1920s as also reiterated in
the opening lines of this paper.
The literal meaning of Cao Dism, meaning a high
tower or palace is also evidence to the set of
beliefs which leads the individual to the higher
emblem of spiritual growth, a factor common in
majority of the monotheist religions of the world.
Though this is not the only meaning of Cao Diasm,
the important factor to note that somewhat similar
to the other monotheist religions of the world
where terms such as Yahweh, God, and Allah are
commonly used for addressing their Supreme Beings,
Cao Dia too does not specify a gender, personality,
or any other earthly traits. Instead, it takes
the religion in the purely metamorphic sense of
the heavens, where the Supreme Being actually
resides. (Hurtney, 2003; See, 2004)
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