Wednesday, November 09, 2005

Cao Dai

Look at what French colonialism did for Vietnam. It bred a new religion in 1926 known as Cao Dai. Cao Dai-ism is a riotous mix of Buddhism, Confucianism, Taoism, Hinduism and Catholicism. They have this huge Great Divine Temple at Tay Ninh, 2 hours southwest from Saigon, 150km from Cambodia. Had to visit.

Cao Dai believers worship all Gods. Wow. Truly religious harmony. The symbol of Cao Dai-ism is the left eye. Note the symbols of the anvil, the book, etc. Like Freemasonry, don’t you think? It was absolutely fascinating. The temple was filled with colors and all sorts of architecture.

My eyes popped out when she read that their three saints are French novelist Victor Hugo, Chinese Nationalist Party leader Sun Yat Sen and Vietnamese poet Trang Trinh; witnesses to the 3rd alliance between God and humanity. Ermmm...I don't get the connection, but okay, whatever tickles your fancy.

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

all gods?? what a confusing mix!

Anonymous said...

i wonder how did they choose their 3 saints. hmmm. interesting.

Anonymous said...

i find the choice of their 3 saints hugely odd.

Dawn said...

This is really fascinating. Seriously though, what did they do? Pick three names out of a hat?

Anonymous said...

it's a can of worms. but yeah...all religions all have sort of an odd ideology that cao dai-ism found commont traits and meshed them together.

Anonymous said...

aren't they confused? their choice of 3 saints really blew me away. all literary people. i suppose the masses thought the world of them.

see what education does for you!

Anonymous said...

all gods in 1 temple?? wah. blasphemy?? or wisdom?

Anonymous said...

a very queer blend of east and west.

Anonymous said...

i've no idea how they picked the 3 saints. i asked,but no one seems to know except for the fact that these figures were pretty big back then,just 100 or 150yrs before the religion was consolidated into a structured system of beliefs.