Cao Dai (Cao Đài) is a relatively new, officially established in Tay Ninh, southern Vietnam, in 1926 based on messages revealed in seances to Ngo Minh Chieu. Đạo Cao Đài is the religion's shortened name, the full name is Đại Đạo Tam Kỳ Phổ Độ (Great Religion [of The] Third Period [of] Revelation [and] Salvation).
The term Cao Đài literally means "high place." Figuratively, it means that highest place where God reigns. It is also the abbreviated name for God, the creator of the universe, whose full title is Cao Đài Tiên Ông Đại Bồ Tát Ma-ha-tát.
Caodaiists credit God as the religion's founder. They believe the teachings, symbolism and organization were communicated directly from Đức (means Venerable) Cao Đài. Even the construction of the Tay Ninh Holy See had divine guidance.
Cao Đài's first disciples Ngô Văn Chiêu, Cao Quỳnh Cư, Phạm Công Tắc, and Cao Hoài Sang claimed to have received direct communications from God, who gave them explicit instructions for establishing a new religion that would combine the major religions of the world, which He has created.
Adherents engage in ethical practices such as prayer, veneration of ancestors, nonviolence, and vegetarianism with the minimum goal of rejoining God the Father in Heaven and the ultimate goal of freedom from the cycle of birth and death.
Estimates of the number of Cao Đài adherents in Vietnam vary, but most sources give two to three million. Some estimates are as high as eight million adherents in Vietnam. An additional 30,000 (primarily ethnic Vietnamese) in the United States, Europe, and Australia.
Origin of God and the Universe
Before God existed, there was the Tao -- that nameless, formless, eternal source referenced in the Tao Te Ching. At some point, a Big Bang occurred, and out of which, God was born. The Universe cannot be formed yet for God represented Yang. Therefore, He shed a part of himself and created the Goddess, the Yin. In the presence of Yin and Yang, the Universe was materialized. The Goddess is, literally, the Mother of the myriad of things in the Universe. Thus, Cadaiists not only worship God, the Father, but also the Mother Goddess.
Scriptures
The Tay Ninh Holy See recognizes three main scriptures:
- 1. Thánh Ngôn Hiệp Tuyển
- 2. Pháp Chánh Truyền (The Religious Constitution of Caodaiism)
- 3. Kinh Thiên Đạo Và Thế Đạo
Symbolism
God is symbolized by the Divine Eye, specifically the left eye because God is Yang, and Yang is the left side.
The Three Teachings
In the order of most to least difficult, the Three Teachings within Caodaiism are:
- The Teachings of Buddhas
- The Teachings of Sages
- The Teachings of Saints.
The Three Teachings represent levels of spiritual attainment, with Buddha as the highest. Saints and Sages may have, accordingly, long and extremely long life in the realms of Heaven, and only Buddhas are free from the cycle of birth and death.
Religious Constitution and Organization
Americans may be surprised to find that they are more familiar with Caodaiism's organizational structure than they realize. Caodaiism's governing body consists of three branches that are functionally equivalent to the U.S.'s Legislative, Executive and Judicial Branch.
The head of the Executive Branch is called "Giáo Tông," which means leader or head of a philosophical or religious organization. Similarities between the hierarchy of Caodaiism's dignitaries and those of the Roman Catholic Church have led translators to borrow terminologies such as pope, cardinals, bishops, priests, etc. In practice, Caodaiism has more ranks and titles of which there are no official English translation as of yet. The actual Vietnamese term for Pope, as in the Catholic Pope, is "Giáo Hoàng."
Caodaiism stresses equality among men and women. Ordained women may attain ranks up to cardinal. The reason a woman cannot be pope will be discussed later.
Schism
Caodaiism has also suffered from schisms like other religions. Some of the Cao Dai sects that have broken away from the Tay Ninh Holy See are Chiếu Minh, Bến Tre and Đà Nẵng.
Chiếu Minh - founded by Ngô Văn Chiêu. Mr. Chiêu refused his appointment as Caodaiism's first Pope and was neither involved in the religion's official establishment in 1926 nor the Tay Ninh Holy See. He accepted another entity as Đức Cao Đài and the Chiếu Minh sect of Caodaiism was formed.
Saints
Although various sects of Caodaiism claim to have received messages from numerous saints, the Tay Ninh Holy See acknowledges much fewer, mainly three, who are depicted in the painting of The Three Saints, signing a covenant between God and mankind. They are: Sun Yat Sen, Nguyen Binh Khiem and Victor Hugo.
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