Cao Dai

CAO DAI FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) PART IV

Updated 2021-11-10 06:20:39

Question 1 - Are Noah, Abraham, Moses, Zarathustra or Guru Nanak considered as prophets/saints by you?

As you are aware of, Caodaism is a syncretist and spiritist religion. All of our teachings came from divine messages (from God and other divinities such as Jesus Christ, Sakyamuni Buddha, Quan Yin, Confucius, Lao Tze, Victor Hugo, etc...). The first message from God dated April 24, 1926, was as follows :

“Formerly, people lacked transportation and therefore did not know each other, I then founded at different epochs and in different areas, five branches of the Great Way: Confucianism, Shintoism, Christianity, Taoism and Buddhism, each based on the customs of the race

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CAODAI FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) - Part III

Updated 2020-05-10 00:04:43

Question 1: I see that all members join their hands, bow and prostrate. This must be the Caodai Mudra. Can you explain the meaning of this gesture?

Answer:  The Vietnamese term of Caodai Mudra is called  “Ấn Tý” (in Vietnamese, Ấn: mudra, Tý: year of Rat/first year of the Chinese lunar calendar) . This particular gesture of the hands underscores underlying esoteric meanings in Caodai teachings.

God’s message: “Left [hand] is the Sun, Right [hand] is the Moon, the two of them represent Yin and Yang. The unity of Yin and Yang created the Cosmos-genesis and from that all things have been given rise to and transformed, that is the way of Tao to be expressed”

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Cao Dai FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) Part I

Updated 2012-05-14 13:40:20

How did Creation occur in Cao Dai Theology ?

Our theory of Cosmos-genesis has been mirrored by what the scientists call the “Big Bang” theory. The theory of the “Big Bang” when the Universe was created billion years ago was confirmed in our religion. Spirited messages told us that when the Big Bang happened, a Male element spun out (called the YIN element in Chinese), which was God Himself. He then spun Himself out to create a Female element (called the YAN element in Chinese). With these two elements, He spun out more and more to create planets, galaxies, stars, i.e everything in the universe. He then populated these planets with life, beginining with plants, animals, and then humans. Humans then progress to become divinities as angels, saints, immortals, buddhas. The purpose of these progressions is to return to God, to reach Nirvana as some people called it. Thus, everything that we see and know is the work of God, the Creator. Also, according to our teachings, there are 72 planets like ours in the Universe, and our planet Earth is ranked number 68. Our spirits would move from planet to planet, depending on the level of advancement and purification of the spirit, from 68, 67, 66, 65, etc...

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Cao Dai FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) - Part II

Updated 2012-05-14 13:40:20

1. Could you tell the story of the formation of the Caodai Army: the reasons it needed to be established, the role that your father played in negotiating with the French and also with the Japanese, and the ways in which Diem eventually moved to disband it.

It started in 1941 when our Pope (Ho Phap Pham Cong Tac) was arrested and jailed in Madagascar by the French authorities. The main reason was that French authorities were concerned about the growing mass of people converted into Caodaism and were afraid that Caodai was one of the many political movements which fought France in order to claim independence for Viet Nam.

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