The Speech of Thượng Sanh Cao HĂČai Sang / Leader of the Temporal Realm 21st May 1964 / 10th Day of the Fourth Lunar Month, Year of the Dragon (repeated by Thượng TĂĄm Thanh at the Internment of the earthly remains of His Holiness Hộ PhĂĄp Phạm CĂŽng Tắc, 5th December 2006, TĂąy Ninh)
As a representative of the Hiệp ThiĂȘn ĐĂ i I would like to read the biography of HH Hộ PhĂĄp, who was a great dignitary, a heavenly appointed one, a man who has made a great contribution to the Caodaist Religion. If we read about him we read about his great spiritual contributions, his great building works, that is, the construction of both the concrete and spiritual forms of our religion, forms which make the reputation of our faith resound throughout the world. If without the grace of HH Hộ PhĂĄp Phạm CĂŽng Tắc, he who exhausted himself both with his heart and with his thoughts, at this moment Vietnam would not yet have a Great Way which is this Great Way for the Third Universal Amnesty (ÄáșĄi-ÄáșĄo Tam-Kỳ Phá»-Äá» / 性éäžææźćșŠ). This religion now has more than 2 million believers, its majestic and solemn Great Divine Temple and other magnificent buildings both in the urban areas of TĂąy Ninh and the outlying parts of the Holy See constitute a significant part of TĂąy Ninh Province.
Although the biography of HH Hộ PhĂĄp has been published as book at the Holy See on 24 June 1955, I thought we should at least mention once more the brief summary of his role in establishing this religion so that believers can remember his deeds and keep in the depths of their hearts his sublime and supra-earthly example. He was an extraordinary Being who dedicated his entire life to the service of humanity.
HH Hộ PhĂĄp was born into the Phạm family on the 5th day of the fifth lunar month year of the Tiger (1890) at An HĂČa village in the Trảng BĂ ng District of TĂąy Ninh Province. He attended the college of Chasseloup-Laubat, which is often referred to as our national school.
During his 20s he worked for the Customs Department; with intelligence, honesty and an uncorrupt character. He shouldered many important responsibilities, however, he was not like other government officers who used their positions in order to threaten and press the common folk for bribes and favours . His purpose was not to take advantage of officialdom in order to create happiness for himself alone, or to glorify his name or for the advancement of his family, rather, his intent was to seek out like-minded spirits around him and make close friendships. He sought to reveal his soul to his friends in discussions that went far into the quiet of the night. In sharing these friendship, Phạm CĂŽng Tắc and his companions worried about the destiny of their nation and of the people who were then under the oppression of the autocratic government ruling over them at that time.
They witnessed first hand how the French colonial authorities were rapidly increasing their power, alas, the Vietnamese intelligentsia were still trapped within a cycle of gaining benefiting from selling their good name.
Phạm CĂŽng Tắc and his comrades felt hopeless and together they deeply resented the state of the nation. They shared each others sorrows, complaints and lamentations.
During this time he tried to find oblivion in the elevated pastimes of the cultural life, sometimes he joined his friends in playing music, or reciting poetry or sometimes just conversation and drinking.
Money was not plentiful, but he was always generous and chivalrous to those who were poor, in fact he gave succor to anyone who was made miserable by earthly concerns or beset by misfortune or the general hardships of life. To these people Phạm CĂŽng Tắc and his comrades would always try to find a way to offer help.
In his simple life, he was always a great admirer of nature, and would delight in a cool breeze, a bright moon, the scenery of the mountains and rivers, a stroll in the countryside, or just wandering about contemplating his dreams, despite these joys he always carried in his heart concerns for the future of his country. One night he said to his two close friends,
âA life where you are focused on money makes you obsessed with the smell of material things. We must look for temples and sek to practice the Way. We must do this in order to avoid seeing again and again these stories that break our hearts with a pain so intense that we forever wish to turn our eyes from such injustices.â
In about June 1925, after a discussion with close friends with whom he had intellectual discussions and played music, there was one companion who told the group about a number of intellectuals in Phnom Penh who, at that time, were regularly experimenting with table tipping (séance). They invited the spirits of those who had passed away to come and speak with them. This person also explained how one should use a three-legged table and he showed them the methods of communicating with the spirits in the invisible realm.
HH Hộ PhĂĄp and his friends tried to remember this method and after a few weeks they began experimenting. This was done together with Mr Cao Quỳnh Cư, Mr Cao Quỳnh DiĂȘu, Mr VĂ” Văn NguyĂȘn, and Mr Cao HĂČai Sang. They began to practice table tipping at the house in Darras Street near the ThĂĄi BĂŹnh Market (Saigon).
The first time they tried, a single spirit entered into the sĂ©ance and transmitted a (Đường Luật) poem. This first spirit was quite senior â it was that of Cao Quỳnh TuĂąn who was the father of HH Cao Thượng Phẩm. The Hộ PhĂĄp was very happy with this result. Subsequently, every night they held meetings and carried out table tipping for entertainment. Over time more people came into the group such as Mr Nguyễn Trung Hậu, Mr Trương Hữu Đức, Mr Trần Duy Nghĩa, Mr Trương Văn TrĂ ng, and Mr LĂȘ Thế Vĩnh. Amongst the Beings who descended and transmitted poems, there was one Being who did not want to present his name but was recongised only by [the first three vowels of Vietnamese] A, A, A. This Being offered to come every night and teach the group about various religious writings and doctrine and to speak about many things beyond the knowledge of those present. This made Hộ PhĂĄp and his friends display a very special respect for this âvoice.â
On the night of the 24 December 1925 the Venerable âA Ă Ăâ came to reveal to us all that He was no other than the Supreme Being who had now come to Vietnam to establish the foundation of the Great Way, and that this Way would liberate humanity during the Third Amnesty. He undertook the holy name of Cao ĐĂ i TiĂȘn Ăng Đại Bồ TĂĄt Ma Ha TĂĄt. Since that time HH Phạm CĂŽng Tắc, together with his friends, showed the deepest respect, worshipping the Supreme Being, Jade Emperor of Heaven. It was in this manner that they became believers in the Caodaist Religion.
Not long after this night in 1927 Phạm CĂŽng Tắc was appointed Hộ PhĂĄp by Heaven, head of the Hiệp ThiĂȘn ĐĂ i. Directly under his authority were the Thượng Phẩm (Leader of the Spiritual realm) and Thượng Sanh (Leader of the Temporal Realm). He was the first person appointed by Heavenly Command. After this, many of his friends in the sĂ©ance group were also given Heavenly appointments in the Hierarchy of the 12 Zodiacal Lords of the Hiệp ThiĂȘn ĐĂ i of the Great Way for the Third Universal Amnesty.
His Holiness is the one who unveils the Mystery of the Invisible and is the maintainer of the rules and laws of the New Religion. He is the one who pronounces judgments on dignitaries and disciples alike. He elevates the dignity of the fervent through their merit and brings sanctions against those who have committed faults. In order to keep the dignitaries and adepts free of the sufferings inflicted by the laws of karma, he keeps an impartial heart in order to propagate the Way. He used the mysterious and secret dharma to guide all the evolved souls towards entering the BĂĄt QuĂĄi ĐĂ i [the Council of the Great Spirits which heads the Eight States of Soul, the Eight-sided Palace of God's presence, the Eight Trigrams Palace] to unite there with the Genies, Saints, Immortals and Buddhas.
In the year 1934, the Acting Pope LĂȘ Văn Trung discarnated and returned to the immortal realm. After the memorial service that celebrated the Đại Tường / (greater mourning period - 581 days after the date of death) for the deceased Acting Pope, a great meeting of all believers was held and additionally a Sacerdotal Council was convened. This was called to resolve business left outstanding from the Acting Popeâs death and was held on the 8th November 1935 [other source cited : 6th day -11th lunar month â year of the Dog / GiĂĄp Tuất (12th -Dec-1934). The whole meeting with one voice elected His Holiness to hold the unified religious powers [of the Religion] until the Cardinals were officially appointed. From this time HH remained in charge of the two powers of the faith â the leadership of the Cửu TrĂčng ĐĂ i and the leadership of the Hiệp ThiĂȘn ĐĂ i. With his whole heart he now worked even more intensely for the Way.
The point to which we should pay most attention is the way this venerable soul has offered every part of his profound heart and all of his goodwill. He has overcome many difficulties because of his love for humanity. He carried the Divine Will for the world and so the world will now be blessed by the Supreme Being. Alas, he was unable to escape the disasters that would follow. And he would come across so many horrible ordeals that to hear them recounted once more makes our tears gush.
Because the French Colonial forces were in doubt about the aims of the Caodaist Religion, and because they suspected that His Holiness was seeking to build another country within the larger nation, and, also, because they suspected he intended to liberate the Vietnamese people, His Holiness and a number of the hierarchy of the Sacerdotal Council were arrested on the 4 June 1941, the year of the Snake (Canh Tỵ), and on the 27th July 1941 they were exiled to the island of Madagascar. They were forced into exile from their homeland for a period of five years and two months.
This test was so onerous that whoever was placed in a similar situation would find their strength and their determination flee from them. Even the will of a great hero would falter. But because His Holiness could communicate with the Divine Beings through the agency of automatic writing, though his body was tortured and maltreated, his spirit nevertheless overflowed with an incomprehensible belief. His brain and his nerves remained bright and clear and he kept all his faith in the Supreme Being. For a Vietnamese man Madagascar was beyond the horizons, a place where the water was like poison and the forests impenetrable, often death hung close by. But with the power and protection of the Divine Beings His Holiness avoided all sorts of misfortunes.
Retuning home in 1946 His Holiness had to face numerous and almost-unsolvable problems. These included those believers who were terrorised in goal. Moreover the Colonial French were taking advantage of the presence of the British Army and sought to use these forces to reclaim Vietnam for themselves. The nationalist parties were divided in the face of their enemies and the resistance movement was burning for action. These divisions were at the time hidden, but thankfully with his prestige and his brilliant thinking His Holiness was able to calm the nationalist parties and reorganise the Caodai army. He did this so that it could protect the Holy lands and reclaim some sense of certainty and happiness for all the believers of the religion.
His work led to the building of the Great Divine Temple. This has become a significant modern work. He did this not only to make foreign visitors praise this complex, but also for architects who now admire it so much. Such a great work! But His Holiness used only the contribution of the believers in the religion to build it. The financial means and the building materials were very hard to come by. It is thanks to the kindness of the Spiritual Pope, LĂœ ThĂĄi Bạch (Li Tai Pei), who through sĂ©ance, gave step-by-step instructions and models from the start through to the time of the buildingâs completion.
The foundation had been laid in 1933, and up to 1936 the construction had begun. In 1941 the external construction was completed but the Great Divine Temple was not decorated by the time His Holiness was exiled. The work came to a halt.
In 1946 His Holiness returned to Vietnam and continued to prepare the construction according to his wishes. The Great Divine Temple was open in 1947 but it was not until 1954 that the last works on the building were completed. Finally the inauguration ceremony was held in the first month of the year âẤt MĂčiâ (Year of the Goat) / 1955.
The length of the Great Divine Temple is 145 metres long, its width is 40 metres, and its height at the Hiệp ThiĂȘn ĐĂ i is 36 metres. At the Cửu TrĂčng ĐĂ i the height is 30 metres. The Great Divine Temple faces the West and shows the charm and beauty of the emblems of the Three Religions and the Five Levels (of spiritual attainment). Such a great construction! But His Holiness was very modest in speaking of it. He said that he only obeyed the instructions of the Supreme Being and the Great Immortal (Chinese Poet) Li Po / Li Tai Pei, but that He himself made no contribution to the building whatsoever.
There was a friend of his who is a dignitary of the Hiệp ThiĂȘn ĐĂ i. He wrote a poem in honour of His Holiness. The Hộ PhĂĄp exchanged poems with this man with a very modest tone.
Your piety is drenched through with the dyes of divine nature - brilliant colourings, Celebrated or hated for your good deeds or bad - their judgments are earth-bound. Banishment cannot effect your dignity Wealth and reputation would only make you laugh Your life has galloped down such treacherous paths - But battered by tail winds, carried by head winds the crane still flies on. Although you wish to repay all the debts you owe to your nation Just try paying one â and forget about the interest.
In the hope of spreading the Way overseas, His Holiness worked very hard to devise a plan for achieving this goal. This depended on his diplomacy, his skills and his fondness for good and talented people. Because of his efforts, today the Caodaist Religion has worthy representatives, especially at international conferences regarding religion and theology, for example Mr Gabriel Gabron has been appointed as an Instructor of the faith (Tiếp Dẫn Đạo Nhơn). He has represented the Caodaist Religion firstly at the International Spiritualistic Congress of Barcelona in 1934, secondly at the World Congress of Religions, London, 1936, thirdly at the International Spiritualistic Congress of Glasgow, 1937, and at the World Congress of Beliefs in Paris, 1939. In this way the Holy Name of the Caodaist Religion has spread all around the world.
After the inauguration ceremony of the Great Divine Temple (1955), His Holiness Hộ PhĂĄp needed to develop and alter the internal affairs of of the religion. The most pressing area was to develop the Charity Body (Phước Thiện) to give it a more organised form and then help this organisation become stable and independent and, finally, to serve the charity affairs of not only the religion, but also society at large. Another great work of his, one that we should recognise, was his efforts in building the Long Hoa market. Disregarding the difficulties and the hard labour, every day he appeared at the building site to personally direct those who were contributing to this construction. This work remained on schedule until changes were made that left the construction incomplete. These events made the hierarchy and the believers bitter.
At the beginning of the 8th Month, Year of the Goat, 1955, the head of the Caodaist Army, who had himself been appointed by His Holiness, was caught up in the nationalisation process of all military forces. He turned against the hierarchy and formed a committee that was dedicated to purging the Religion. By his actions many co-believers ended up in gaol. Some female co-believers were also imprisoned for a number of months. His Holiness was placed under house arrest in the Hộ PhĂĄp Đường (the Hộ PhĂĄpâs office). The army surrounded the Hộ PhĂĄp Đường from 20th day of the Eight Month, Year of the Goat (1955) to the 5th day of the First Month, Year of the Monkey, (16 February 1956). With this unbearably sad situation between believers fighting each other, His Holiness together with his entourage left the Holy See at 3AM on the morning of this last day. He traveled directly to the capital of Cambodia. His Holiness had left behind the original temple of Caodaist Religion. He carried in his heart so much bitterness and anguish because he had left behind so many of the dignitary and all of the believers who were now abandoned and helpless as if they were birds lost from their flock. The chicks had lost their mother, the brutal storm had come, there was nothing left to do but leave. Nevertheless this sublime man remained virtuous whether advancing or retreating. Seeing that he had not done anything wrong, His Holiness, to relieve the sorrow in his heart gave over both the bad and the good to the Supreme Being and he hope that He would direct His will where He might. Phnom Penh was a place where Hộ PhĂĄp had already been for a number of years to spread the Way. From that initial introduction His Holiness continued to serve humanity and to concern himself with the building of a Holy Mother Temple to guide and serve both dignitaries and believers. He tried to keep silent and waited for the political situation in Vietnam to change so that he may be able to return and undertake once more the mission entrusted to him by the Supreme Being.
He was an eagle that had flown up through many levels of clouds, over many years he had come upon many brutal storms, now was the time for him to rest his wings. His Holiness was living in a strange land. Although he was cared for by believers with the utmost diligence, and although he did take some rest and although he did take care of his health, nevertheless, with his heart full of love and yet replete with homesickness he turned, at last, toward his homeland. He worried about his countryâs troubles, he worried about the people living in misery. His soul could not avoid being stirred. His heart was always full of past concerns, it could not avoid overflowing with sadness.
This state of being careworn could only continue to grow in a person who had such a clear and patriotic vision. Perhaps the Supreme Being would like to return him to his divine position. It would be easier for him to develop and change the Dao in that place than in his earthly realm. Soon he was confined to his bed because of sickness then he departed the earth for good returning to the immortal realms at last.
His Holiness disincarnated on the 10th Day of the Fourth Month Year of the Pig (17th May 1959). By the grace of heaven he lived until his 70th year. He has left a written will which can be summarised as following:
Whenever Vietnam attains independence, and the country achieves a united existence then the Believers will move His lotus-flower coffin back to the Holy See.
How sad - the moon over the Palace of the Dao now wanes The fog obscures the heights of Mount Tuy The sound of the bejeweled flute abruptly stops Wisdom has returned to the void.
The area of the Holy Land was established by his mind and his thinking, now we will no longer see His Holiness returning to guide the children of the Supreme Being on the Holy Path of Virtue. Normally the situation of death and parting is the focus of the most suffering in our lives. But in terms of the Đạo (Way / Tao) His Holiness is an advanced Spiritual Being who has obeyed the order of Heaven to come down to the earth to establish a Religion that will now last 700, 000 years. Therefore the disincarnation of His Holiness is a spiritual or heavenly reward for a soul who has completed the responsibilities he was given. Now he returns and presents his report to the Supreme Being after having carried out his orders.
The legacy that he left behind was a series of very extraordinary works. He is an example for the dignitaries and his beloved believers about the patience and sacrifice of a great person. One who spent his whole life not caring for himself, but who instead entered many times into the circle of life and death in order to complete his mission to religion and to humanity.
Remember his gracious example! All of us dignitaries must make our minds more noble and follow the example of His Holiness more honestly, that is, we must practice altruism in order to enrich the great common work of the Đạo (Tao / Religion) and make it durable and everlasting. This is because we are standing among the Holy Body of the Supreme Being entrusted to us by His Holiness.
May the Divine Beings grant us their grace and bless all the faithful.
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