The next morning in Ho Chi Minh City, we got up early and immediately signed up for a tour package offered through our Lucky Hotel. It was about a four-hour mini-van trip away from the city, northwest into the Mekong Delta, to see two sites. One: Cao Dai Temple, a very unique religious village/compound. And two: the Cu Chi Tunnels, one of the famous sites from the Vietnam War. This full-day excursion cost $8 (160,000 VTD), plus lunch (68,000 VTD) and the entrance ticket to the Cu Chi Tunnels (80,000 VTD). These two sites showed radically different aspects of Vietnam that gave me a lot to think about and share. Because of that, they will each require their own blog post!
I would begin describing the Cao Dai Religion by mentioning its focal point, but it was hard to find one. I knew that Caodaism is a syncretistic religion that combines elements of Geniism (an indigenous religion of Vietnam), Buddhism, Hinduism, Confucianism, Christianity, Islam, Judaism and Taoism. But with our guide staying back at the mini-van, I found myself walking in circles through the temple, pondering and taking pictures of various strong, colorful images, and wishing I could attain a better understanding. It was like reading the first paragraph of each chapter in a 10-chapter book. And then stopping there. I noticed the noticeable without absorbing the details or even getting the gist.
So, as I’m writing this blogpost, I’m filling in some blanks with information from a website (http://www.religioustolerance.org/caodaism.htm ), which is quite helpful. Just try to imagine how much there is to “see,” let alone “understand,” in a large, unfamiliar, ornate hall such as this:
What you can’t see in the picture above, which is located at the front, is the object/image that I would most safely choose as representing the central theme in Caodaism: the Eye of God (or, “God, as symbolized by the Divine Eye”).
Does God have eyes, or “an” eye for that matter? The eye is the physical centerpiece of the gathering area, looking out at all. Look closely, is it the left eye or the right eye? I’ll give you a hint, it’s the one closer to the heart.
You can see from the rear view of the Eye of God celestial orb that some offerings of fruits have been made. I was allowed to take pictures of anything inside the hall, but not a picture of myself standing in front of the Eye.
I found the reference to Victor Hugo a bit odd, actually. But I did my best to suspend judgment. As I was contemplating the painting and its meaning, the entryway was getting more and more full with followers awaiting the 2pm service.
Men on one side……………………………………...........and women on the other.
I find it hard to believe that devotees open their holy space to “visitors,” particularly during a service. There must have been over 50 of us tourists, walking up and down the hall, quietly and respectfully, but nudged to keep moving along and take only respectful pictures by followers who seemed very accustomed to this daily routine. We weren’t given much information (via signs or speech), nor were we asked to pay admission or offer a donation (though I did put some money in an offering box). There was no compulsion to learn anything. At one moment, one of the women smiled and insisted that I stand in the middle of the hall so I could get a nice shot of the whole area (fourth picture in the post).
As it neared 2pm, we were all ushered into the raised inner balcony area to have a birds-eye view of the ceremony, free to make our own true or untrue assumptions about the religion and its followers.
As music played and a choir sang from the balcony, incense burned, and the followers filed into the hall with form and solemnity. There was a clear hierarchy, with the colored robes being reserved for those who held some kind of position. I noticed the lack of any females in the higher strata. [Caodaism recognizes 9 ranks of members: Pope, Censor Cardinal, Cardinal, Archbishop Bishop, Priest, Student Priest, Subdignitaries and Followers. Women are limited to the level of Cardinal and below.]
I couldn’t understand a word of what was being said. I didn’t even know what language they were using. Vietnamese? Bali? Chinese? A combination? I wondered what thoughts were in their minds. How did they feel? What mix of devotion, duty, fulfillment, yearning, seeking and finding did they experience?
Followers are required to attend at least one of these services every day. At this 2pm service, the majority of the followers were older, as the younger ones were at work. I was told by someone afterwards that there are larger numbers of followers of all ages.
The yellow represents Buddhism. The blue represents Daoism. And the red represents Confucianism.
Cao Daiism was founded in 1926 by Ngo Won Ju. It has over 7,000,000 followers in Vietnam, plus 30,000 overseas. Additionally, there are more than 400 Cao Dai temples in Vietnam. What prompted Ngo to found this religion? According to my guide (who gave this tidbit of information back in the minivan), Ngo saw that the people of his time had no religion and were very poor. He thought that if he gave them something to believe in, their lives would be better.
After reading a little bit more online, I found this direct quotation from Ngo, which I believe is what my guide was referencing: "“Formerly people of the world lacked means of transportation, therefore they did not know each other. Nowadays, all parts of the world are explored: humanity, knowing itself better, aspires to real peace. But because of the very multiplicity of religions, humanity does not always live in harmony. That is why I decided to unite all these religions into one to bring them back to the primordial unity.” (1926)
Trying to grasp a decent understanding of any religion is no easy task. I'm not sure if I'll do any more research on Cao Daism, but as a point of summary, I'll leave you with one quote and a link for more information if you're interested. :)
"As a religious synthesis, Caodaism aims to harmonize all human beings with the only Spiritual Laws of the Unique Creator. It constitutes a sincere and fraternal religious, philosophical, mystical, exoteric or esoteric. Love (God) is the central point of Caodaism. Like fruits of a single tree, flowers of a single garden, human beings are the beloved children of a Single Father whose name is Love. According to Caodaism, the religion of God must be the Unique Religion and all the Prophets have taught it, but it is alive and growing. The teaching of Moses is the bud; Christ’s is the flower and Cao Dai’s is the fruit. So there is no destruction but fulfillment."
Now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face....
1 comment:
I was in the Cao Dai temple, but Cu Chi tunnels have made me much more impressive. This place everyone must visit while in Saigon.
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