 |
|
|
It is hoped that this booklet can serve as a brief but considered explanation of this religion and its building for those who visit the Temple. Nevertheless, I look forward to the day when the young Caodaists of New South Wales, who love their Temple and their religion so deeply, will have the time and acquire the learning to write their own.
CBH
Note: For the sake of reducing printing costs, no photos of the Temple have been reproduced in this book. I direct the reader to the Web-site 'Sydney Centre for Studies in Caodaism' where over 1150 photos of the NSW Temple and other Caodaist temples have been collated by Dao, Cong Tam.
Vietnamese words have been presented in italics. Chinese characters have been spelled out in the pin yin system. Both are rendered without diacriticals. 'BCE' (Before the Common Era) refers to dates before year one, 'CE' (Common Era) to dates following.
Dao Cao Dai (Caodaism) is a religion that, having manifested in Vietnam, is spreading across the planet with currently up to six million followers. Caodaists believe their faith ushers in a new period of religious activity which is called Tam Ky Pho Do or the Third Period of Salvation, a period marked by direct revelation between heaven and earth. Caodaism is the Dai Dao or great religion of this period. Looking through its Scriptures, one sees that Caodaism offers many answers to the major questions that have beset humanity throughout the ages and especially throughout the twentieth century. Moreover, Caodaism is an answer proffered to a nation that has suffered some of the most profoundly disturbing wars and unrest of recent times. This section hopes to provide a brief explanation of the religion.
Dao Cao Dai which has been rendered in English as 'Caodaism' (Cao Dai Religion) means the Way of 'Cao Dai'. This is the most important, but not only term, the religion uses to address what Western monotheists might call Yahweh, God or Allah. It is a term that avoids attributing gender, personality or other earthly traits to this Supreme Reality. 'Cao' and 'Dai' are the Vietnamese pronunciations of two Chinese characters 'Gao' and 'Tai' literally meaning 'high tower' or more metaphorically: the place in the heavens where the Supreme Being resides. Caodaism was officially inaugurated as a religion in 1926 having been announced through seance communications received, so it is said, from heaven on Christmas Eve 1925. Thus one might think of Caodaism as a new religious movement. These dates however, often obscure the fact that as a syncretic religion, the origins of Caodaism span the centuries.
(1)This is a very brief summary, see also Victor Oliver: Caodai Spiritism, Leiden, E. J. Brill, 1976, and Sergei Blagov: The Cao Dai a New Religious Movement. Moscow, The Institute of Oriental Studies, 1999.
(2)- The importance of these books cannot be overstressed and they formed the basis for all study in China. Being able to quote from them was a sign of superiority. At times it was considered that the whole plan of the cosmos was contained in the five classics. They are: The Shu Jing or Book of Documents; The Shi Jing, or Book of Odes; The Yi Jing or Book of Changes; The Li Ji or Book of Rites; and The Yi Li or Book of Ceremonies.
(3)- Keith Weller Taylor: op cit, 83.
Similarly the practices of Hau Bong or spirit mediums taken by trance in a shamanic fashion, pervaded Vietnam as they did in China and Korea. It is no surprise to learn that when the French invaded and colonised the nation in the late 19th Century, bringing with them new European trends for seance and spiritism, that these indigenous mediumistic traditions would connect with and reinforce the more recent European trends. In fact these Eastern and Western traditions would, in time, seem to be the best grounds upon which a heavenly reconciliation between East and West could be effected. Caodaists see spiritism as a new religious technology, heaven sent to improve communication with the spirits and gods. Prophets and their messages are regarded as culture-bound. Now, as a Caodaist document puts it, 'heaven speaks directly to humanity'. (4) It was to be the start of a new era of religiousness, one that would see the repair of a horribly bifurcated world.
(4) Dai Dao Tam Ky Pho Do: The Third Universal Amnesty, Washington, Caodai Overseas Missionary, n/d.
(5)- The literati of Vietnam was a class apart. As Nguyen Khac Vien states '...the people of my generation still got a first-hand knowledge of this Confucian man, the scholar. With his black tuban, ceremonial gestures and flowery manner of speech, the exact opposite of the peasant, worker or the laborer, or the debonaire young man, he elicited repulsion as well as respect. We were repulsed by the outmoded, fossilized side of his character, but we respected him for something undefinable, something that those of us educated in the Western school felt we lacked, not understanding precisely why.'see, Nguyen Khac Vien: Tradition And Revolution (trans Linda Yarr, Jayne Werner, Tran Tuong Nhu) Berkeley, London, Indochina Resource Centre 1975, p.16-17
(6)- see Ichisada Miyazaki: China's Examination Hell: The Civil Service Examinations of Imperial China (trans Conrad Schirokauer) New Haven and London, Yale University Press, 1976. The Vietnamese Imperial system worked in almost the same way as the Chinese system and in fact outlived the Chinese system by a number of years
(7)- Sergei Blagov: op cit, 6.
(8)- ibid, 7.
(9)- Hue Tam Hoi Tai: Millenarianism and Peasant Politics in Vietnam Cambridge Massachusetts and London, Harvard University Press, 1983, 84.
(10)- Translated by dignitaries into French as 'L'immortal Cao Dai, grand Bodhisattva et Grand Sauver'. In English: The Immortal Cao Dai, Great Bodhisattva and Great Saviour.
A slightly younger generation of the French-speaking administrative class also turned towards spiritism. They are referred to most often as the Pho Loan group. (11) This group included the future Ho Phap (or guard of the religious laws) and acting pope Pham Cong Tac [1890-1959]. This group came together in 1925(12) at a time when many French-language newspapers in Saigon were carrying stories regarding trends in European spiritism. The Pho Loan group were not using ancient Chinese methods of mediumship but European and American methods of spirit communication, in particular table-tipping. This process involves a table that has one leg purposefully uneven. As the members of the seance place their hands on the table, the shortened leg taps out a morse-code style message. It is a very cumbersome system of divination. Following a similar pattern to Ngo Minh Chieu the members of the Pho Loan were led, after some false starts, to the familiar voice of Pho Loan member Cao Quynh Cu's deceased father. Eventually these lesser spirit voices introduced to the group a supremely profound and philosophical voice who revealed himself under the pseudonym of AAA These are the first three letters of the Romanised Vietnamese alphabet which are demarcated by additional diacritical marks.
(11)- Werner explains the term as pho meaning to assist and loan the phoenix - a reference perhaps to the bird carved on the top of the corbeille a bec or seance writing instrument. Werner, op cit, 20.
(12)- Gabriel Gobron: Histoire et Philosophie du Caodaïsme, Paris, Dervy, 1949, 23.
(12)- Literally 'basket with beak'
(14)- Oliver, op cit, 37
Le Van Trung [1876-1934] had also attended the Collège Chausseloup-Laubat, graduating six years before Ngo Minh Chieu. He went into the French colonial service, but then pursued business interests. As a prominent businessman Le Van Trung was appointed to a number of quasi-democratic bodies in the colony, finally serving on the Superior Council of Indochina - an advisory body to the Governor General. Unfortunately, by the early twenties, as Duc Nguyen writes, '...the business of Le Van Trung faced ongoing difficulties and by 1924 he was nearly bankrupt and being depressed, became an opium addict.'(15) After 1924, As his life continued to spiral downwards, a cousin invited Le Van Trung into a Minh Ly group where seances were held. These Minh groups were semi-secret associations, syncretic in their nature and received prophetic and political messages from the spirit world. (16) At a seance, the Chinese Tang Dynasty poet Li Po(17) was said to explain to Le Van Trung his religious destiny. Hearing this he immediately reformed his life. (18) He took up vegetarianism, his eyesight improved and he broke his opium habit.
(15)- Duc Nguyen: Danh Nhan Dai Dao np, nd, 15 - translation offered by Dao, Cong Tam.
(16)- It seems as though they are based on similar Chinese groups called 'Ming' which wanted to see the restoration of the Ming dynasty as a way of expelling the (barbarian) Qin dynasty who were not Chinese but Manchurian.
(17)- Li Po (701-62) was a poet of immense fame. As Arthur Cooper says'...to his contemporaries [Li Po's] talent was almost supernatural.' Li Po's work embodies much in the way of Taoist imagery and his poems lend themselves to many mystical interpretations. In Chinese folk-lore he becomes identified as an immortal and so takes on more and more religious import. As a representative of Chinese culture at its most excellent, Caodaists believe that Li Po acts as the spiritual pope of Caodaism, communicating the will of Duc Cao Dai through seance. See Li Po and Tu Fu, (trans and ed: Arthur Cooper) Harmondsworth, Penguin, 1973 and Li-Po: A New Translation (trans: Sun Yu) Hong Kong, The Commercial Press, 1982.
(18)- Blagov, op cit, 11
Soon AAA would reveal himself as, Ngoc Hoang Thuong De Viet Cao Dai Giao Dao Nam Phuong.(20) So that it now seemed obvious that the Pho Loan members and Ngo Minh Chieu were worshipping the same Supreme Being and this was, it seemed, the same Being who had incarnated as Jesus Christ. In fact it was a declaration of a new period of religious activity on a scale that few messages had yet proposed. In this way the Third Amnesty between God and humanity commenced as a great new start.
Caodaist sources suggest that on 7 January 1926, the Pho Loan received a message instructing them to visit Le Van Trung. In Saigon, the French speaking administrative class would have made for a small world. Blagov suggests that a nephew of Le Van Trung was a follower of Ngo Minh Chieu. (21) Thus there was an earthly link as well as a spiritual one between these two. Upon Le Van Trung's agreement, a seance was organised. It was at this meeting, say the Caodaist history books, that Le Van Trung was requested by (v: Duc Cao Dai) to join with the (v: Pho Loan) in the establishment of the new religion. Le Van Trung, realising that the prophecy he had received in 1924 from Li Po was coming true, dedicated himself full-time to the new religion. It was also at this time that both parties went to meet Ngo Minh Chieu and his disciples. Throughout January 1926 joint seances led to heaven instructing the new adepts on how to organise worship and install altars for a new religion.
Throughout the year the new faith continued to grow. On 7 October 1926, acting upon instructions through seance, the first adepts of Caodaism presented a petition to the French authorities informing them officially of the commencement of the new faith. There were 247 signatures on the petition, however Ngo Minh Chieu's name was not one of them. It has been suggested that as an intensely reserved man he had no intention of becoming involved with what was potentially a mass movement, preferring instead to guide a small band of enthusiastic followers. The petition offered to the French stated that present world misery was caused by the disunity that existed between religions and that Caodaism set out to perfect the Tam Giao of Vietnam. Tam Giao means 'three teachings', that is, Confucianism, Taoism and Buddhism. This statement can also be taken as a metaphor for the bringing into balance of the religions of the world. So here at the official beginning of the faith, Caodaism declared its syncretistic intentions. Its syncretism was not only aimed at Eastern faiths but as a way of bringing the great traditions of the West out of their exclusivist tendencies to share in a universal acceptance of the religious development of the world. A pantheon of Western religious figures headed by Jesus were also included in the Caodaist pantheon and messages were received by many of them including, most prominently, that French spiritualist, who is of course better known for his literary rather than his religious life, Victor Hugo.
To carry out its unifying mission, heaven decreed that Caodaism be divided into three powers. The first would be called the Bat Quai Dai or Eight Sided Temple which was to be the council of spirits, headed by Duc Cao Dai / The Supreme Being. The Tang Dynasty poet Li Po would serve as spiritual pope to this body. The Hiep Thien Dai or 'Heavenly Union Temple,' would consist of the college of mediums - headed by Pham Cong Tac, and would act as the legislative branch, responsible for the transmission and ratification of the laws of the new religion and for juridical issues. The Cuu Trung Dai or 'Nine-sphered Temple', would be reflected by a nine-leveled hierarchy of the general body of the administration. This vertical division would include adepts / Dao-Huu , student priests / Le-Sanh , priests / Giaïo-Huu , bishops / Giao-Su , archbishops Phoi-Su , principal archbishops / Chanh Phoi-Su, cardinals Dau-Su , legist cardinal (censor cardinals) / Chuong-Phap and the pope / Giao-Tong . This hierarchy would administer the laws as transmitted from heaven and be responsible for the day-to-day running of the faith. The office-holders of the Cuu Trung Dai would be divided horizontally into three branches representing the religions of the Tam Giao. In Vietnam there had previously been no religious system that utilised a hierarchy based on the Roman church, except for Catholicism itself. Caodaism set a new standard in Asian religious organisation by adapting itself to the a sort of centralism that exists in the Vatican.
With this complex hierarchical system, the new religion also needed to select a headquarters. Initial celebrations were held in the Tu Lam Buddhist temple in Go Ken, Tay Ninh, to the north-west of Saigon. The monk of this temple had been an early convert to Caodaism and was happy to let the new faith settle there. However some Buddhists in the congregation were not so happy and demanded the return of the temple that they had sponsored. The first members of the religion then spent a number of days finding appropriate land near the capital of Tay Ninh province. Spiritist messages confirmed that land that had been chosen was eminently suitable and over the next 20-odd years a vast holy city was constructed. This sacred capital would serve as an almost independent enclave during the decades of chaos and offer its adepts the chance of peace in a country ravaged by war.
With Le Van Trung at the forefront of the recruitment drive, seances were held all around the south of Vietnam and proved vital for the early rise in numbers. People looking on in interest would suddenly hear their names called from the spirit world and would turn from mere passers-by to devoted members. Recruitment soared, and one conservative estimate shows that by 1931, that is, in the fifth year of its existence, Caodaism could count 500 000 members. (22)
Half a million people in five years was a lot of people. Too many perhaps, for in the early 1930s, a number of sects broke away from the main Tay Ninh branch. This process was not helped by the disincarnation in 1934 of Acting Pope Le Van Trung. In a move to stabilise the Tay Ninh branch, Pham Cong Tac, who had until this time been the Ho Phap or leader of the Hiep Thien Dai also assumed leadership of the administrative branch as pope. His leadership proved a solid foundation for the faith right down to the year of his disincarnation in 1959, even though he was to be exiled from Vietnam for decades. His first period of exile was at the hands of the pro-Nazi (Vichy) French in 1940-1946 when he was sent to Madagascar. The second time he left Vietnam in the years before his disincarnation to escape the repressive measures of the United States-supported southern president Ngo Dinh Diem.
(19)- Ibid, 38
(20)- Ibid,11
(21)- Blagov, op cit, 9.
(22)- Oliver: op cit, 41
In the sixties and seventies the life of the south focused more and more on the war effort. Seance messages trickled to almost a halt, and seance was only used to ratify the regular elections to the hierarchy or clear up small matters of doctrinal dispute. Eventually the US withdrawal in 1973 led to the northern communist take-over of the south in 1975 and this in turn led to the muzzling of the religion and the prohibition of séance.
(23)- See Tran My-Van: 'Japan and Vietnam's Caodaists: a wartime relationship (1939- 45)' in Journal of Southeast Asian Studies, v27 (n1), p179-193, Mar 1996.
Several dignitaries were killed and a good deal of Caodaist property was seized by the state. Some temples were turned into factories or warehouses, while for a time the Great Divine Temple was closed. Caodaists who I spoke with in Tay Ninh told me of how they moved in and re-opened the Temple during these dark days. Despite the threat of arrest and even death, communists flags were repeatedly pulled off temples by brave adepts. One strange policy of the communists was to belittle and trivialise the religious life of Vietnam. Under this policy during the late seventies and eighties, religious areas were turned into fun parks. One such park was built within the grounds of the Holy See where the religion's library once stood. Here toy trains, slippery-dips and swings served as paltry thrills to tempt people away from the Temple on festival days. Those who persisted in worshipping were bombarded with popular music, for example, love songs which would blare out of huge speakers trained on the Great Divine Temple.
Perhaps the most destructive policy of the communists was their prohibition of official séance. Although Caodaism uses the ballot box to elect members to the Cuu Trung Dai, each name thus elected must be put beneath the divine pen in a seance to ensure holy ratification. Without a chance to do this, no new members can be elevated into positions of leadership. Because of this the number of pre-1975 office-holders are fast dying out. Already most of the high positions remain empty. For the day-to-day administration of the faith, the communists have appointed a management committee. This committee consists of a number of the faithful, but the majority of its members remain more faithful to the communists. In the last year or so it seems that small concessions are being made to the running of the religion. Members of the lower hierarchy are being elevated and new elections are being held, but the original constitution of the religion is still being overridden. The decisions of the management council continue to be widely recognised as illegitimate.
Right down to this year, communists see religious activity as a significant threat to its hegemony, although they try to argue that they are really looking after the best interests of the faith. One example proves how silly this can sometimes be. An attempt was made in 1999 by the Caodai Overseas Missionary to invite an archbishop to speak at a conference on religious freedom in Canada. The request was met with the official reply that the dignitary would not be allowed to leave Vietnam because Canada was too cold!
It is no wonder that under such a regime many Caodaists tried to escape. We will take up their horrific but ultimately triumphal stories in the next chapter.
(24)- Blagov, op cit, 130
Unlike Buddhism and Catholicism the Caodaists had nothing, no infrastructure whatsoever. It is also surprising but true that very few priests or dignitaries of the faith ever chose to leave Vietnam. Every action by a Caodaist in Australia is based on their own conscience or group consensus. Moreover, even today on the eve of the opening of their Temple, Caodaism remains unknown to most Australians.
(26) - Author's interview with David Landa 27 May 1998.
The formation of the Sydney Caodaist Community began, most propitiously, at the start of the lunar new year or Tet in 1983 (Qui Hoi / Year of the Pig). By then Cabramatta had already become a significant focal point for Vietnamese activities. It was here on the 13 February 1983 at a new year celebration that Nguyen Chanh Giao, spotted a woman dressed in the distinctive white Ao-Dai robes of Caodaist worship. He approached Nguyen Thi Mau and asked her about her faith. She was indeed a Caodaist and her family of three daughters, granddaughters and a son-in-law made up a strong core of believers. Nguyen Chanh Giao had recently arrived in Sydney. Soon he would be joined by his younger brother Nguyen Thanh Nghiep and his son Nguyen Duc Nhan. Together Nguyen Chanh Giao and Nguyen Thanh Nghiep would form the vital nucleus of the Temple project. Meeting with the others I mentioned above and Bui Dong Phuong and Nguyen Van Ban, these adepts would be present at the commissioning of the first Caodaist altar in Sydney on 27 Feb 1983. This ceremony for the installation of an altar to Duc Cao Dai was held in a small suburban house Nguyen Chanh Giao was renting in the suburb of St Peters at 132 Campbell Street.
Dao Cong Tam, an adept who had spent most of his life just outside the Holy See in Tay Ninh, arrived in Australia in March 1983. A former teacher of mathematics, he arrived having promised his father to 'spread the way' outside Vietnam. In August Dao Cong Tam moved into the house in Campbell Street with the Nguyens. He would stay there helping as a voluntary agent of the faith until 1992 when the altar would be transferred to the new partly-constructed Temple in Wiley Park.
The small group started placing notices in shops, libraries and hostels around Sydney and in a short time a group of around 30 people began coming to the St Peters house for regular worship.
On the 24 July 1983 the Caodaist Association of Australia (later to be renamed as the Caodaist Association of New South Wales) was established. Due to the small nature of the group, sectarian divisions were ignored and the new group was planned to exist as a Caodaist Association open to all Caodaists regardless of what sect of the religion they came from. This would prove to be a hard ideal to live up to.
The solution came when a female adept reported that she had seen a small Anglican church up for sale at 15 Wentworth Street Tempe. This, the community believed, presented a fantastic opportunity.
Negotiations over the purchase of the Tempe property continued while the community also considered other options but were always outbid. The Caodaists did not regard themselves as players in a market, they saw as their intention the construction of a public place of worship, a centre for education, a community hub and a place that would assist those who had recently arrived, to settle. Rumours about cheap land being offered to a Buddhist community in Mount Pritchard prompted the community to write to whoever they could asking if such offers were also available to them.
At around this time Nguyen Chanh Giao came in contact with David Landa. The first point of contact, he believes, was when he and his fellow Caodaists were dressed in their white robes at a Vietnamese community function. The robes, Nguyen Chanh Giao noted, had attracted Mr Landa's attention. Landa remembers that at his first meeting with them, the Caodaists seemed '...a little lost.'
And so the lawyer offered to do as much pro-bono work as was necessary to help. On the 3 June 1987 Mr Landa wrote to the then Premier Barry Unsworth. The letter ran in part: '[The Caodaist's] require land not less than 1000 sq m, not more than 2000 sq m to erect a temple between Fairfield and Marrickville.' The letter also notes that '...religious beliefs and culture is an important facet in the establishment for the community into the Australian environment.' (29) Mr Unsworth replied directly. The speed of this reply was certainly helped by letters that were sent from the community to Chu Van Hop who was at that time working with the Premier as his adviser on Vietnamese matters. Premier Unsworth asked the Caodaists to contact Mr Kevin Gothard of the state property management unit.
On the 16th of July the Caodaists were offered five parcels of land, roughly fitting the requirements of the letter. The problem with the parcels of land on offer was that of those which were suitable, the valuer-general's estimation of market price was around $100 000. This was a high price for just land, and many members balked at the price.
After a number of negotiations the community replied to the Premier's department again on 5 August 1987.
Would you kindly reconsider our situation and find for us a community used land. (30)
A community-wide function was then organised to raise money. It was at this meeting that the first little miracle occurred. At the Masonic Hall in Greenfield Parade Bankstown, Dao Cong Tam explained the Tempe project to the assembled crowd. He started the call for donations by volunteering several thousand dollars himself. The other had to keep up to this standard and by the end of the day pledges and temple funds has increased to well over $120,000.00. This was beyond all expectations. The figure was also a sign that community members had begun to settle in and felt more confident in their financial security and able to offer such donations. Now the community realised it had enough money to buy one of the blocks of land offered by the state government. But the deposit had already been paid on the Tempe church. Some members wanted the deposit forfeited, but older members of the community could not countenance the sacrifice of $13,700.00. It seemed they were trapped and would now have to buy the church.
Then the next little miracle took place. The deeds to the church had gone missing. In fact it may have been possible that there were no deeds. As the vendour, the Anglican Property trust raced around trying to close the deal. The Caodaists hoped they would not. And so it came to pass that after a six-month limitation clause in the contract had expired, the deposit monies were returned. In the interim the community had begun to negotiate the sale of the Wiley Park land with the Department of Main Roads. But all this came to a crashing halt. During the negotiations the state government changed hands at the 1988 state election. The new Coalition government was demanding that the land be sold at public auction all, it seemed, was lost.
Despair again engulfed the community. They had few contacts within the new Government. A vast amount of correspondence was entered into by Nguyen Chanh Giao and the community. Only after a great deal of lobbying particularly to John Hannaford and James Samios who both lobbied hard for the Caodaists, Bruce Baird the Minister for Transport agreed to let the sale go ahead but only after a new valuation on the property. Thankfully the new price was only slightly more expensive. Soon after the sale was contracted. It had been done. A block of land, which before the Department of Main Roads has subsumed it was the site of 'Kirby's Fish and Chip Shop' would now, the Caodaists hoped, become the first purpose-built Temple of their religion outside Vietnam.
(27)- Caodaist Association of New South Wales Correspondence Files 12 August 1986.
(28)- Interview with David Landa
(29)- Caodaist Association of New South Wales Correspondence 3 June 1987.
(30)- Ibid, 5 August 1987.
From the start, Nguyen Chanh Giao had decided that as much of the Temple as could be build voluntarily must be built in this manner. Good karma accrues from building temples he believed and no one should be denied the right of helping simply because commercial tradespeople were doing the work. And so a vast number of people came to help. Hopefully a more substantial book on the Temple which I am planning for the future will make mention of those who contributed to the building. Unfortunately as yet their great assistance in putting this building up remains unacknowledged and I apologise that I can only mention a few names in these pages. I should add however, that the Temple was not built only by Caodaists. Some of those who dedicated hundreds and sometime thousands of hours to the construction remain outside the religion. The following is a snapshot of the formative periods of the Temple's history.
The plans for this second (and successful) planning submission were designed by architect Pham Van Duc. For some time before he agreed to draw these plans, the Caodaists had hoped that he would assist the community. Although a non-Caodaist, Pham Van Duc eventually agreed to spare much of his precious time and offer his help and expertise which proved vital to the success of the final application. He had conceived of a building that was loosely based on plans of regional Caodaist temples in Vietnam. Studying these he made a series of designs. When presenting these various plans to the community the architect told me, 'I had to watch their faces - when their eyes lit up, I knew I had the right design.' (31) In fact this reaction or 'feel' for what captures the Caodaist 'essence' has dictated how some of the problems of the Temple's design were solved.
Over the nine years of building, construction has progressed in spurts. The first years saw the most central work completed. Foundations, walls, floors and roofs were completed to such an extent that only 11 months after work commenced the altar was transferred from Campbell Street St Peters. This took place on 6th December 1992.
Once the major structural features were completed another eight years would be dedicated to the completion of the features and ornamentation that makes this particular space a truly Caodaist space. Wood, tin, concrete and even old coat hangers were used to create a feature that re-construct not only a place of worship, but also a familiar environment where this once displaced community can now come together and seek solace and certainty.
(31)- Conversation with Pham Van Duc, 25 January 1999.
Completed and awaiting its opening, the Temple on King Georges Road Wiley Park is primed to serve one particular purpose that the house at St Peters never could. The special role of this building will be the proclamation of Caodaism to Australia by very concrete means. It will present to non-Caodaists an extra-ordinary experience of a hitherto unknown faith. Already thousands of people have visited the Temple. All of them receive an experience of the faith that no textbook or set of Scriptures could so instantly reveal. Yet the main question raised by all these visitors remains: 'what does it all mean?' This section will try to explain most many of the architectural features of the Caodaist Temple of New South Wales.
The Holy See is one of the most fascinating religious building complexes in Asia. It remains a point of pilgrimage for millions of Caodaists spread around the world and is one of Vietnam's most significant tourist attractions. Situated ninety-odd kilometres Northwest of Saigon, this purpose built city is the centre of the Caodaist world. The Holy See is not simply a collection of temples and administration buildings but the microcosm of a society that tried, during its period of independence, to inspire a more elevated way of living. It has provided refuge for those fleeing colonial repression, revolution and war. It has been the place from which the Third Amnesty has spread to the world. The Great Divine Temple, which is the centrepiece of this visionary city, has become a symbol of the hopes and aspirations of Caodaists everywhere and the ideal of Caodaist architecture.
Those who come to visit the Temple are often stunned by the colours and esoteric symbols that infuse the architecture. The Temple itself was built without any architectural or engineering advice or planning. His Holiness Pham Cong Tac, received many complex and deeply esoteric spiritist messages from the spirit Li Po. Immortal Li Po is the spiritual pope of the Cao-Dai Religion. In historical terms, Li Po (b. 701CE) lived during the Tang Dynasty in China. He was the most famous of all Chinese poets in a nation that is referred to as the land of poets. It was Li Po who advised early Caodaists through seance where to situate their main Temple. Over 20 years Immortal Li advised the Ho Phap of the design and placement of symbols and features around the building that was to become the standard of all Caodaist architecture.
This mystical input into the creation of the Great Divine Temple has resulted in a space that can be understood via many esoteric perspectives. Some Caodaists would claim that the true meanings encoded in the building can never be fully explained. Although this is possibly the case, even a basic insight into the religious conceptualisation of the Great Divine Temple, as copied in the Wiley Park building, can help to explain the initial shock of 'colourfulness' and 'gaudiness' that often strikes the Western Eye.
The Front Gate
The gate of the Temple is in fact one of the last constructions to be added to the Wiley Park complex. Its design was completed by the architect Duc Van Pham and based on a standard three-portal Chinese gate. On top is the symbol of the religion (described below) and a row of Vietnamese words either side of the main portal.
This poem is distinguished by the two characters that start each line: 'Cao' and 'Dai' the name of the Supreme Being. A loose translation might run as follows:
Venerate Duc Cao Dai in the Third Amnesty, and
Enjoy Together the Rights of its Freedom.
The Façade of the Temple.
- The Divine Eye
The presence of Duc Cao Dai is acknowledged throughout the building by the symbol of the Divine Eye or Thien Nhan. This Divine Eye dominates the central part of the façade. Part of its potency as a symbol lies in the fact that it represents both the omniscience of The Divine (it sees all) and the protectiveness of The Divine (it is watching over us). Esoterically, worshippers must train their own eyes on the Divine Eye during worship. The Divine Eye is often represented with 16 beams of light emanating from it. The top nine rays represent the nine stages of heaven. The seven lower rays represent the submission of the seven passions which can stand in the way of enlightenment.
- The Symbol of the Three Teachings
On the façade, directly under the Divine Eye (which can be best seen from the other side of King Georges Road) the three symbols of the religion are formed in concrete. These symbols are a red book representing the Spring and Autumn Annals, a significant Confucian classic, a golden bowl which represents the begging bowl of the Buddha and a fly-whisk or feather duster, a symbol of authority and purity in Taoism. These three symbols together represent the Tam Giao or three main teachings of the Sino-Vietnamese world. This symbol is also replicated on the Caodaist flag.
- The Balcony
There are eight plaques installed around the edging of the balcony. These were fabricated in Vietnam and shipped out to Australia. Each one represents a particular story in the folk lore of the Sino-Vietnamese world, but brought together they represent the eight noble professions. One could also say that these images representing the working world also suggest the coming together of all humanity for the Long Hoa meeting / Dragon Flower Assembly.
- Long Hoa: The Columns and the Buddha of the White Tiger
There are four columns that support the balcony. Two of these columns are decorated with dragons, the other two with lotus flowers. The word for dragon in Vietnamese is Long, the word for flower is Hoa and these two words together Long Hoa are the title for the 'Great Religious Meeting' / Dragon Flower Assembly which can be likened to the Western concept of Judgement Day. At this meeting those souls who have proved their greatness will join Duc Cao Dai in the Heavenly Palace. This feature reminds Caodaists as they enter the Temple that there is an ultimate aim to life.
- Maitreya Buddha
On the roof above the Divine Eye is a statue of Maitreya Buddha (Duc Phat Di Lac) seated on a white tiger who he has subdued and uses as his vehicle. In Chinese symbolism the white tiger is the animal of the West and the West is the land of sunset. Thus the white tiger represents death, and here Maitreya is subduing death. The tiger is also an important creature in Caodaism because in the twelve year calendar system the tiger also represents the year Caodaism appeared on earth. Maitreya (In Chinese: Mi Le Fo) is famous throughout Asia as the 'Buddha of the future.' He will arrive to announce a great new era in the religious development of the world. Maitreya was long connected with the 'White Lotus' tradition which was a significant millenarian strain of Chinese Buddhism.
Read as a unity, the Maitreya statue on the top of the Temple and the Long Hoa columns supporting the balcony remind Caodaist adepts as they pass that this great meeting / Dragon Flower Assembly will one day be upon them and they too will be assessed as to the work they have done towards developing the Way.
The Towers
The towers that frame the front of the building we might say, are for communication. They also give what is a very Asian-style of building a more Church-like look. Each tower is between sixteen and seventeen metres high. The left tower contains a great drum - Loi Am Co Dai. The right tower houses a great bell - Bach Ngoc Chung Dai. These names are written in four Chinese characters inserted half-way along each tower. The great instruments that these towers house are sounded to alert both the spirit and earthly worlds of Caodaist worship. They are also used on occasion while the ceremonies are taking place.
The Figures Either Side of the Portico
On either side of the main portico are carvings of two mythical Hindu princes. On the left side is Ty Van (v: Ong Thien) the personification of good, a generous and tranquil figure. On the right is his brother, Ty Vu (v: Ong Ac,) who is evil incarnate. Their father was a great Indian king who was preparing to resign his throne in order to seek enlightenment. Concerned about the unchecked ambition of his bad son, the king sent Ty Vu away before conferring the throne on his gentleman son Ty Van.
On his return Ty Vu was incensed to find that he had been robbed of power and demanded that his demure brother abdicate thew throne. As a respectful son, Ty Van sought out his father to ask his advice. By this time the old king had retreated to the forests and had attained enlightenment. He shared the secret of karmic escape with his good son, who then joined him. Ty Vu, having achieved all his earthly ambitions, became despondent and ruled badly. Eventually he went in search of his father and brother. They offered him the chance for enlightenment and by following their lead Ty Vu also became enlightened.
There are many lessons to be learned from this famous story. It suggests that whether one is good or bad, so long as one sets one's heart and mind on the Way then all have the chance for enlightenment. Another moral of this tale - one that Caodaists stress in their teachings - is that worldly cares such as prestige and status, even the majesty of kingship, pales into insignificance when enlightenment becomes available.
Entering the Temple: The Main Staircase
Due to the need to adapt this Caodaist Temple to the site, the more functional rooms of the Temple were built downstairs, while the worshipping space was placed upstairs. This change in design made a front staircase necessary. The two dragons that make up the banisters to these stairs may look very impressive, but such a staircase has no equivalent in the standard formation of Caodaist Architecture hence it has no intrinsic meaning. One might add however that the image of the dragon contains a vast number of mythological and cosmological notions. Blue-green dragons (qing long) represents the East, sunrise, rain and its fertile regenerative abilities. In much Buddhist architecture in Vietnam I noticed that dragons spiral upwards advancing on heaven. In the Great Divine Temple the dragons spiral downwards as these staircase dragons do. Their mouths open as they come to speak of the Way.
The Hiep Thien Dai
The Wiley Park Temple is divided into three temple areas. Each of these areas accords with one of the three hierarchies of the religion (see chapter one). The front of the Temple including the towers is call the Hiep-Thien-Dai (Temple of Heavenly Alliance). Each of these temples can be understood as a spiritual unveiling as we move closer to the altar area at the Eastern end.
Tinh-Tam-Dien
The Tinh-Tam-Dien, or place of spiritual calmness, is the foyer area of the Temple. In the Cao-Dai Temple of New South Wales this is the area around the top of the stairs. This place encourages adepts to rid their minds of worldly thoughts before they enter for worship.
The main feature of this space is the mural of the Divine Alliance.
The Great Mural
The mural that dominates the spot at the top of the stairs is a copy of the mural hung inside the doors of the Great Divine Temple. The three saints of the religion pictured here are: in modern Chinese dress, Sun Yat Sen (spiritual name: Trung Son Chon Nhon) the founder of the first Chinese republic; in classical Chinese dress, one of the most famous of Vietnam's poet-prophets Trang Trinh/Nguyen Binh Khiem (spiritual name: Thanh Son Dao Si); and in Western dress, the great French writer and mystic Victor Hugo (spiritual name: Chuong Dao Nguyet Tam Chon Nhon). Together they are writing the agreement between God and Humanity for Love and Justice. These words appear in French: Dieu et Humanite, Amour at Justice and Chinese: Tian Shang Tian Xia Bo Ai Gong Ping. This is in effect the contract of the Third Amnesty.
The most intriguing figure in this mural for Westerners is Victor Hugo. Many people familiar with the great opus of fiction that Hugo wrote still remain unaware of his vast spiritual life. This literary genius was fascinated by seance and spiritism. This was particularly so during his 18 year long exile on the Channel Islands during the reign of the nephew of Napoleon Boneparte, Napoleon III. Hugo represents the very highest ideals of French culture justice and democracy. The 'voice' of Hugo delivered a number of highly charged messages via seance to the Caodaists.
The Scrolls on Either Side of the Mural.
The scrolls on either side of the mural are a two-lined poem which is distinguished by the first two characters which read Hiep and Thien the name of this part of the building. They are in full:
Which roughly translated means, 'In union with Dao Cao Dai / Cao-Dai Religion all of humanity will be able to return to the perfect state of existence (i.e enlightenment)' and 'Duc Cao Dai / The Supreme Being opened the Great Way, the Divine Beings of the five religious branches and the three religious traditions (i.e all religions) will attend the Dragon Flower Assembly.'
Foundation Stone and the Kim Mao Hau
Inside the Tinh-Tam-Dai at the top of the stairs is the foundation stone of the Temple. This marks the start of work on the Temple on Wednesday 20 November 1991 (15th day of 10th month of Year of the Goat). The finishing of the Temple and its official opening on the Saturday 18 November 2000 (23rd day of 10th month of the year Canh Thin / Year of the Dragon) will mean that the Temple has been under construction for approximately 9 years.
The Kim Mao Hau, or yellow lion dogs on guard at the top of these stairs reflect a line of such figures that stand on spiritual guard either side of the Great Divine Temple. These dog-like beings were granted to the Ho Phap during an astral journey he made to the heavens. In asking Duc Cao Dai / The Supreme Being for a special gift for the Religion, these dogs were offered by the Supreme Being as a force to protect the Religion from evil spirits. Also, these spiritual lion dogs are full of vital energy - the sort of energy needed to achieve release from bad karma.
In front of the mural, the stairs divide into two. The door to the left is reserved for females, the door to the right for males. Visitors are required to remove their hats and shoes before entering.
Inside the Temple
- The Ho Phap's Altar
Though church-like in many respects, Caodaist temples deviates from the standard Christian church in a number of ways. The most striking distinction is the existence of two altars facing each other. The second altar, which is placed at the rear of the congregation and just inside the main doors is referred to as the Ho Phap's altar. It has its equivalent in many Buddhist temples where the Ho Phap is understood to be the guardian spirit of each temple. Here the emphasis is on the Ho Phap as the guardian of the religion as a whole. It is an impressive and complex religious area, and I can only hope to explain some of the features of this part of the Temple. Although it faces the main altar, this altar is still technically a part of the Hiep Thien Dai.
Starting from the outside of the altar and working in, there are two banners that hang either side of this space. The banner on the male side represents the Thuong-Pham, Cao Quynh Cu. He acts as the leader of the spiritual realm and aids and directs souls in the process of spiritual and heavenly evolution. On this banner is a fan made of 36 crane feathers to guide souls through the 36 levels of Caodaist heavenly cosmology.
The banner on the female side of the Temple is that of the Thuong-Sanh, Cao Hoai Sang. He acts as leader of the temporal realm for souls working their way through the reincarnation systems of the earth before they are elevated. Caodaists believe that all souls must be converted by the Thuong-Sanh in order to be able to cross out of the temporal realm. He is represented on this banner by the feather-duster-whisk of purification.
The poem starting with the Chinese characters 'Pham' and 'Mon' is carved in concrete within the two banners either side of the Qi emblem. In Vietnamese they read: Pham giao tuy nguon cuu the do nhon hanh chanh phap. (In Chinese: Fan Jiao Sui Yuan Shi Du Ren Xing Zheng Fa). It can be translated to mean:
The second line reads in Vietnamese: Mon quyen dinh hoi tru ta diet mi ho chon truyen (in Chinese: Men quan ding hui chu xie mie mei hu zhen chuan). Which can be rendered as:
The only reference to the Ho Phap on this altar, is a photograph of His Holiness Pham Cong Tac. He is pictured in the dress of a marshall of heaven. His highly decorative ceremonial robes are in the style of an ancient marshal's uniform. He wears a gold headdress or kim khoi. On his feet are boots inscribed with the character phap (esotericism) on the toes. Around his waist is tied the three-coloured commander's scarf which represents the union of the three ancient doctrines of Confucianism, Taoism and Buddhism. In his right hand he holds the staff of giang-ma-xu or the rule over evil.
From this position in the building, the spirit of Ho Phap is able to watch over each ceremony and gather the spiritual forces that flow through the Temple while worship is in progress. Behind him is the red and gold Chinese character Qi (Khi). Fundamentally it means mist, or 'essence.' It can also mean breath (which makes it a key concept in meditation) and the 'sustaining breath of the cosmos.' Qi is also the food of the immortals. Thus this character is incredibly important. The Ho Phap from this position controls and directs the forces of Qi during worship.
- The Worshiping Space
Cuu Trung Dai (Temple of the Nine Degrees) has, as its name suggests, nine levels. This middle temple of the building represents the administrative hierarchy of the religion and is that part of the religion headed by the Pope / Giao-Tong. In the Great Divine Temple this space is actually divided into nine stepped levels and is decorated with many dragon columns and pulpits. Unfortunately in the Wiley Park building space is very limited. This area must be kept clear to enable worshippers to kneel during worship. This space is 10 metres wide by 13 metres long.
- Bat Quai Dai
The area around the altar is called the Bat Quai Dai, or eight sided tower. This is the most holy part of the building and contains the altar to Duc Cao Dai / The Supreme being and the Divine Beings.
- The Altar Canopies
There are three altar canopies that hang over the altar area. They are supported by two large dragon columns reminiscent of the columns in the Great Divine Temple. At the time of writing, only the central canopy contains figures - but it is likely that the two outer canopies will also be decorated in future.
-The Central Canopy
The central canopy is a celebration of many of the great religious influences on the religion.
- Across the top from left to right are the three main religions of China (Tam Giao): Lao Zi, the foremost master of Taoism, Sakya Muni Buddha representing Buddhism and Kung Zi or Confucius, the master of the way of humanity - Confucianism.
- On the next row down we have Quan Yin / Quan Am, the goddess of mercy and guardian angel of Buddhism. Underneath Sakya Muni Buddha is the spiritual pope of Caodaism - Immortal Li Po (Ly Thai Bach). Next to him the Chinese God of War and Loyalty Guan Gong (Quan Thanh De Quan) who, apart from being a very famous and helpful deity, guided early founders of Caodaism through the spirit world.
- Underneath Li Po is Jesus Christ who represents the many Christian elements and ideals in Caodaism.
- Lastly there is Jiang Taigong (Khuong Thuong Tu Nha) who represents the Sino-Vietnamese tradition of Geniism in the religion.
Sakyamuni Buddha / Phat Thich Ca - The Buddha was an historical figure, a prince of a royal house in fact called Siddhartha Gotama. He lived in the Sixth Century BCE. After escaping the luxury of his father's palace, Siddhartha led the life of an religious wanderer. After many years of this, he decided to try to live a 'middle way' between extreme meditation and living. During this period his hundreds of past lives were revealed to him and he divined a way of escaping the constant system of rebirth that trapped souls in a desire for material things. After striving to release himself Buddha reached Nirvana - a place of no desire.
Kong Zi / Khong Tu known in the West as Confucius, Kong Zi was the greatest of China's learned men. He lived between 551BCE and 479BCE. After being rejected by many rulers in China as an advisor, Kung Zi established himself as a teacher of many disciples. He became the most famous redactor of the great books of China, and came to represent in time the pinnacle of scholarly virtue. His code of ethics suggests that self improvement through education is the most significant goal of learning and that the learned acting with benevolence can refashion the world.
Lao Zi / Lao Tu is a term that literally means 'old master.' He is a most mythological figure and the author of an extremely mystical book the Dao De Jing (Tao Te Jing). This is a book that upholds the essential nature of things and the world. In this, its aims are virtually the opposite of Confucianism, and the two philosophies have constantly been seen as complimentary. In the Han Dynasty (approx. 200BCE-200CE) Taoism mutated into a religion of meditation, alchemy and the seeking of longevity. Since then the figure of Lao Zi has taken on an increasingly religious role.
Li Po / Ly Thai Bach- Immortal Li is the spiritual or otherworldly leader of Caodaism. He was also the great poet of the Tang-dynasty, and was born in 701 AD. At 20 he already had a reputation as a great poet. In his life he wrote over 1100 poems. His significance can be boiled down to one important trait - his refusal to bend to entrenched norms and traditions. He championed a great number of social causes and to this day the people of China and Vietnam speak of him as a great lover of people and a patriot worthy of emulation.
Guan di Gong / Quan Cong the red-faced demon slayer is perhaps one of the most famous of local hero-gods of China and Vietnam. An historical figure of the San Guo or Three Kingdoms Period (220CE-280CE), his effectiveness as an earthly general then spilled over into a recognition of his powers in the afterworld. People bow to him and make offerings whenever they need to swear brotherhood, seek fortunes or need to control evil spirits. Around Sydney he is most often found in Asian shops facing the door to keep evil and misfortune at bay.
Quan Yin / Quan Am A special deity of mercy for those in distress, Avalokitesvara, or in Chinese Quan Yin, is a figure of compassion. Sometimes rendered in male form, here in the Wiley Park Temple 'she' is depicted as female. This deity is also, in the Buddhist religion a bodhisattva. This is a particular follower of the Buddha who, although about to achieve enlightenment, defers their ascension in order to help other souls along the Way. In fact Quan Yin as bodhisattva has sworn not to pass to Nirvana until all souls have been enlightened.
Jesus Christ Also an historical figure, Jesus lived in the first years of the common era. He is recognised by both Christians and Gnostics as a great teacher and Christians also consider him God. Jesus is connected to the Jewish tradition because he was thought by a number of Jews to be the messiah or political revolutionary who had been sent to reinstate the nation of Israel and the Jewish kingdom of King David. In the Islamic religion Jesus is considered one of the monotheistic prophets as well as a healer and magician. Newer religions such as the Bahá'í Faith also recognise Jesus as a great prophet following in the tradition of Abraham.
Jiang Tai Gong / Khuong Thai Cong was supposedly instrumental in aiding the fall of the Shang Dynasty (approx. 1700BCE-1045BCE) and establishing the Zhou (1045BCE-221BCE). Prime minister for the first Zhou emperor, his loyalty and farsightedness in governing spread his fame far and wide. After the dynastic battle had been fought, Jiang Tai Gong, carried the envoy of the emperor to heaven where those who distinguished themselves the war were deified. In Caodaism, Jiang is known as the deity who announces the names of new gods in this capacity it is appropritate that he represents the spiritual level of Geniism.
The Five Branches
These figures are sorted into the five levels of spiritual attainment:
- Step one, the way of humanity :Nhon Dao - is the stage of establishing good relations on earth and is represented not on the canopy but by those who worship before the canopy.
- Step two - Than Dao - refers to the 'way of the Geniis', that is, the teachings and ethics derived from Greek, Egyptian and Chinese mythologies. Jiang Tai Gong positioned on the lowest level of the canopy represents Geniism.
- Step three is the level of the saints - Thanh Dao - is the way of the Western monotheistic traditions and so this level is represented by Jesus.
- Step four represents the way of the immortals - Tien Dao - that which is related to the quest of Chinese Taoist Immortality, here represented by Li Po.
- The fifth step represents the way of the Buddha - Phat Dao.
Caodaism holds as its primary objective the bringing of these five major divisions back to their root, and thus restoring harmony to the world.
Sun Moon and Star and Big Dipper
At the very top of the canopy are two disks one red, one yellow while a star sits between them. There is no equivalent of this imagery in the Great Divine Temple. Nevertheless, these images relate to the three treasures of heaven. The Supreme Being / Heaven has sun (nhut), moon (nguyet) and star (tinh) in the way that on earth humans also have three treasures - vitality (tinh), mind or life-force (khi) and spirit (than). And these relate to the three treasures possessed by the earth: water (thuy), fire (hoa), and wind (phong).
If you look beside the sun you can faintly make out the constellation known as 'The Big Dipper'. For hundreds of years it has remained a powerful image of meditation in the Taoist traditions of China. The 'pulling down of the big dipper' is a special form of meditation. In the Shangqing, or 'Highest Purity' school of Taoism, the dig dipper constellation is seen as an axis mundi linking the micro and macrocosm. Caodaists see this constellation as pointing the way to the apex of heaven: the Divine Palace of the supreme Being.
The Halberds and the Parasols
The halberds or military staffs are crowned with different symbols. Each one represents one of the Eight Immortals. They are, Li Tie Guai / Ly Thiet Qua, Han Zhong Li / Hon Chung Li, Lü Dong Bin / Lu Dong Tan, Cao Guo Jiu / Tao Quoc Cuu, Han Xiang Zi / Han Tuong Tu, He Xian Gu / Ha Tien Co, Zhang Guo Lao / Truong Qua Lao,and Lan Cai He / Lam The Hoa. Some of these Immortal beings were historical figures others remain purely mythical. They are famous throughout Asia for their ethical behaviour and their inspiration. They bring good fortune, protect the well-intentioned and torment those who pursue evil. Ultimately they illuminate how the careful practice of the Way can lead to ever-lasting life.
The symbols of these immortals are set on staffs to protect either side of the main altar. These staffs - one set on the male side, one on the female help protect the Temple area. In between them are two sets of three ceremonial parasols - traditional symbols of respect and veneration.
The parasols which grace the altar are reminiscent of ceremonial umbrellas which accompanied high officials and emperors. The large parasols at the rear carry representations of the Eight Immortals. The smaller parasols at the front are decorated with the four extraordinary creatures - the dragon, the turtle, the unicorn and the phoenix.
The Patriot's Altar
Over to the left of the main altar is the altar to the patriots. Given Caodaism's rise during a very violent period of Vietnamese history, it is quite understandable that a number of people have given their lives fighting to defend the faith. In Caodaism it is decreed that martyrs who die in such a manner enter the second level of the religious hierarchy - level of the Saints (note above: 'The Five Branches'). It is that here the souls of Caodaist martyrs are venerated.
The Front Altar
The front altar is where offerings are made to God and the spirit world. The layout of this altar is similar to all Caodaist altars in local temples and in homes. Flowers, fruits, tea, water and wine are all offered. Flowers represent the quintessence of life, wine stands for the Qi or vital energy that unites the body and the spirit, tea represents the spirit. The candles on the altar represent the yin and yang of female and male elements in the cosmos. The five incense sticks stand for the five elements, wood, fire, earth, metal, water. In fact the five elements school of philosophy is an extremely old tradition of Chinese thought. These sticks also represent the five levels of spiritual attainment: Purity (Gioi Huong); Meditation (Dinh Huong); Wisdom (Hue Huong); Universal Knowledge (Tri Kien Huong); and Karmic Liberation (Giai thoat huong).
The Main Altar
This altar, like the Bat Quai Dai tower, is fashioned with eight sides.
On each side there are engravings that represent the divinatory trigrams found in that most ancient of the Chinese texts, the Yi-Jing (I Ching). These trigrams have been reoriented to accommodate the spiritual flows of the Bat Quai Dai. The Yi Jing is one of the most famous books of China. Its advice on future possibilities has been sought by both commoner and emperor in China over many millennia.
The Chinese-character nameplates on the front of the main alter are the names of the Great Religious Masters whose statues appear on the front canopy above.
The Divine Eye / Thien Nhanpictured here is very similar to the symbol at the front of the building. The lamp that burns before it as the universal light. It represents the Universal Monad - or first principal from which the universe was created.
The window at the rear is a feature of the Wiley Park Temple. Its three colours represent the tam giao or three teachings of China - yellow for Buddhism, Blue for Confucianism and Red for Taosim.
The Three Gods
Although they can only be seen from outside the building. The pinnacle of the Bat Quai Dai is surmounted with the carving of a lotus flower and standing on the flower are statues of three of the most well-known Hindu gods. These are Brahma (who faces West), Shiva (who faces North) and Krishna (who faces South). Each of these gods was commissioned by Duc Cao Dai/ The Supreme Being to watch over their particular realms. Thus these gods have become patrons and protectors of their respected areas.
The Grapes and The Cranes
Cranes appear as a motif in the building. In particular around the altar canopies in the Temple. Cranes are seen as divine birds, connecting earth and the heavens. Cranes feature significantly in many tales of Chinese folklore representing the connection of the earthly and spiritual realms.
Another feature is the grape and vine design. For example this design appears on the columns near the downstairs kitchen. Vines and grapes represent the three divisions of life: the grape and vine stand for the material world, the grape juice that they offer represents the essence that animates that matter and the refined juice or wine shows how this essence can transcend into spirit. The grapes also serve another purpose - the Vietnamese word for grape is nho and this is also a homophone for the term for Confucianism. Thus the presence of the grape motif in the architecture reminds adepts of their first duty - that of living correctly and following the rites and relationships as set down in Confucian thought. Only when this aspect of correct living is understood can adepts turn their minds to other aspects of the religion.
Downstairs Altars
Due to the condensed design of the building, the ancestor altars have been placed downstairs. Despite the fact that these altars are set near the common area of the Temple, they play a vital role in most adepts' visits.
There are three altars here. Facing the altars, the one to the left is dedicated to female ancestral spirits, the Sino-vietnamese characters spell this out: Chu Chon Linh Nu. The altar on the right is dedicated to male ancestor spirits, Chu Chon Linh Nam. The central altar is dedicated to the older ancestors both male and female. Cuu Huyen That To refers to a continuum of ancestral lineage - nine generations back and seven to come - their happiness depends on our behaviour and veneration now.
