Vietnamese Spiritualism

Vietnamese Spiritualism

Caodaism, or “High Palace,” is the name given to a form of Spiritualism found in Vietnam since 1926. It is the third largest religion in Vietnam, after Buddhism and Roman Catholicism. Cao means “high” and Dai means “palace,” referring to the supreme palace where God reigns. The word is also used as God’s symbolic name. Caodaism is a fusion religion which combines elements from Buddhism, Christianity, Confucianism, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism, and Taoism, plus the indigenous religion of Vietnam known as Geniism.

The main religious center is in Tay Ninh, about sixty miles northwest of Saigon. In 2005, there were between seven and eight million followers in Viet Nam and 30,000 in Asia, Australia, Canada, Europe, and the United States. The Divine Teaching is dispensed in spirit messages obtained through “Ngoc Co,” a “psychographic receptor” unknown to western occultism but used in the Orient for generations to communicate with the spirit world. According to the degree of spiritual evolution, the adept observes partial or integral vegetarianism and devotes him-or herself to simple prayer or daily meditation outside working hours.

Caodaism adopts “the norms of Confucian rigorism; the gentleness of Buddhism and its Metaphysical speculations; the code of ethics of Taoism and its esoteric conceptions; the morals of Christianity … The Spiritism to which the adept has recourse has nothing in common—at least from the point of view of ceremonial and of result—with Western Spiritism and constitutes not an end in itself but a privilege of investigation of information and especially of study.”

It is believed that due to the frailty of religious leaders such as Buddha, Lao Tse, Confucius, and Jesus, the truth became distorted. According to ReligiousTolerance.org,

A number of religions were formed but most flourished only in or near their countries of origin. Religions became adapted to the needs of individual cultures. Limitations in communication and transportation prevented the formation of a single, true universal religion which all of humanity could embrace. Followers of Caodaism believe that God was concerned that the multiplicity of religions prevented people from living together in harmony. God decided to initiate a third revelation, in which he communicated Caodaism by spiritist means … Spiritism (called Spiritualism in England) is the method that God chose to transmit this new religion to humanity. Simple mechanical devices were used as a means of communication between spirit beings and humans. e.g.:

1. A small movable platform on a Ouija® board which is lightly touched by two or more mediums. During a séance, the platform is seen to move around the board and point to various letters, numbers and words.
2. A small table which the mediums touch lightly. During a séance, the table is observed to tip and tap on the floor. The number of taps would indicate a specific letter.
3. A Ngoc co (basket with beak), which consists of a wicker basket with a radiating stick about 26 inches long; a pen is attached near the end of the stick. In use, two mediums hold the basket; the apparatus moves and its pen writes out messages which are interpreted by a third person and written down by a secretary. This is a very efficient method of communication, because words are directly written. It is the preferred method in Caodism.

It is further stated that animals and humans have two components: a visible, physical body and an invisible component composed of “a spirit (conscience) which is part of God’s spirit, and a soul (or perispirit) which is responsible for emotions and personality.” There is a belief in reincarnation and in karma. In many respects Caodaism seems to be very similar to Spiritism or Kardecism; the Spiritualism that was promoted by Allan Kardec.

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