THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN HIEP MINH TEMPLE (DAN TIEN CAI KHE CAN THO) AND CAO DAI RELIGION

 THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN HIEP MINH TEMPLE (DAN TIEN CAI KHE CAN THO) AND CAO DAI RELIGION

THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN HIEP MINH TEMPLE

(DAN TIEN CAI KHE CAN THO) AND CAO DAI RELIGION

Collected by Thien Vo 

I. Historical Context and the Birth of Dan Hiep Minh 

In the early years of the twentieth century, the socio-economic situation in Vietnam was very slow to develop. The level of public education was limited. The deadlocks in material and spiritual life easily led people to seek beliefs and spirituality to alleviate some of their worldly concerns. For this reason, scholars, intellectuals, and even government officials tended to turn to the metaphysical world through the practice of spirit mediumship. 

The spirit mediums gathered at the altars included people from all walks of life with various purposes. They can be divided into three main groups:

1. The group of intellectuals concerned about the times: They used divination to inquire about the heavenly secrets, especially the fate of the country during the French colonial period. (These divinations often operated in secrecy.) 

2. The group of poets and scholars: They used divination to compose poetry and engage in artistic expression with deities, nurturing their spirits. 

3. The common people: This group includes those seeking medicine for ailments, praying for longevity, or even further, exploring moral cultivation - these divinations are the most widespread and diverse. 

Through immediate divine responses, a large number of people have developed faith in the metaphysical. In Southern Vietnam, at the beginning of the twentieth century, several such divination groups emerged in the Mekong Delta. Among them, the most representative and well-organized is the Hiệp Minh group, also known as the Tiên Cái Khế group. 

The Tiên Cái Khế group was founded in 1907 and officially inaugurated its worship facility in the year of the Pig, 1911, at Rạch Cái Khế, Thới Bình village, Cần Thơ province.

II. The connection between the Đàn Tiên Cái Khế in Cần Thơ and Ngài Ngô Văn Chiêu (Saint name Ngô Minh Chiêu), the leader who founded the Cao Đài religion. 

Looking at the organizational structure of Đàn Tiên Cái Khế and the Cao Đài religion, there are similarities that lead many people to mistakenly believe that Đàn Tiên followers are Cao Đài believers and vice versa. The similarity lies in the fact that both religions wear all-white robes (differing only in the ranks of their officials) and both have Đàn cơ as a guiding principle for spiritual practice. 

It is also due to the organization of Đàn cơ that there is a close connection between Đàn Tiên Hiệp Minh and Đức Ngài Ngô Minh Chiêu, the elder brother of the Cao Đài groups formed in 1920 and established in the year Bính Dần (1926).

Originally a diligent and honest civil servant, a practitioner of meditation and particularly a believer in spirit writing, Master Ngô Minh Chiêu often visited famous spirit writing ceremonies, especially the Hiệp Minh Ceremony (also known as the Tiên Cái Khế in Cần Thơ). In the Year of the Snake (1917), he came to request to participate in the Hiệp Minh Ceremony to learn about spirit writing and to seek medicine for his ailing mother. Upon arrival, the ceremony had already begun; two mediums were receiving divine messages – so he did not dare to enter abruptly, fearing to disturb the sacred place, and quietly waited outside the main hall. It was truly surprising and interesting! The divine spirit rhythmically tapped, inviting him to join the ceremony and particularly granting him a prescription along with two six-eight verse poems that resonated with his consciousness – the content of the first poem is as follows:

The sky remains, and the sea still exists 

Everywhere, the world beneath the mountains is rich and vibrant 

During the Qingming festival in the spring garden 

The phoenix pays homage, the crane dances, and the wild rooster crows 

The path goes over the mountains and under the passes 

Silently seeking high and low, having to climb through thorns and hardships 

As a filial child, I cannot be lazy, 

Knowing the means to seek the Buddha of Bồng Lai 

Looking back, reflecting on ancestors, 

A vast sky and land of integrity, ripe and full 

He was very pleased with this instructive poem. Later, he requested to add four couplets to complete the content, serving both as a guiding principle for study and as a prayer when attending the altar for spirit communication in the future:

“Golden buffalo and jade are still fresh,

Steadfast in following the Buddha for people to reflect,

The upper part is not far at all,

With a heart to admire, the spirit descends.”

He took some precious time to discuss and learn about organizing the ritual with elders such as: Mr. Hoa Linh, Nghiêm Hòa, Chơn Từ, Khánh Nhơn, Phước Khương, and especially the Dharma Master of the Tiên Quang Kiển altar to receive the meditation teachings and partake in some ceremonial offerings of wine, cakes, and sticky rice...

After a period of receiving the divine elixir granted by the Buddha from this altar, the health of his mother gradually improved. However, in the year of the Goat (1919), his mother fell ill again. He returned to the Tiên Hiệp Minh altar in Can Tho to request a ritual and medicine with the hope of a final remedy. But the Buddha did not grant medicine, only a hidden long poem! By the end of the year of the Goat (1919), his mother passed away!

With the knowledge accumulated from the initial séances and especially the experiences gained from the senior dignitaries at Hiep Minh Pagoda (the Tiên Cái Khế séance in Can Tho), before being transferred to a new position in Ha Tien, Ngài Ngô Minh Chiêu often held experimental séances in Tân An with intellectual dignitaries in the group that later founded the Cao Đài religion. It was during these séances that Đức Cao Đài Tiên Ông proclaimed His name, laying the foundation for the establishment of the Cao Đài religion from the period of anonymity (1920) to the official and legal founding in the year of Bính Dần (1926); 

“Cao Đài manifests according to the hearts of beings, 

Who can know the name of Cao Đài?”

It can be said that Mr. Ngo Minh Chieu is the elder brother who took on the organization of the Divine Ceremony and was fortunate to receive Cao Dai as the supreme deity to worship as a purely Vietnamese religion, with a philosophy that harmonizes elements from Buddhism, Taoism, and Confucianism. 

In fact, Cao Dai appears in 12 different sects but shares the same root. Mr. Ngo Minh Chieu is the elder brother who founded Cao Dai Chieu Minh, with its main temple located in Can Tho, focusing on cultivation through meditation practices aligned with the "internal teaching of the heart." The largest sect, which has a well-established organization spread across the country and some parts of the world, is likely the Cao Dai Holy See in Tay Ninh, led by the Cao Pham group, founded by Mr. Cao Hoai Sang (1900-1959) and the Holy Law Protector Pham Cong Tac (1890-1959). This group is known for its outreach with the principle and purpose of "external teaching of the heart." Additionally, there are also Cao Dai sects in Ben Tre and Bac Lieu.

With some references based on the evidence from the ancestors of Hiep Minh Pagoda, we believe there is a close relationship between Hiep Minh Pagoda (the Dai Tien Cai Khe founded in 1911) and the Cao Dai religion (established in 1926) in general, and particularly with Mr. Ngo Minh Chieu. During his lifetime, Mr. Ngo Minh Chieu also confirmed this relationship and regarded Hiep Minh Pagoda as the founding temple – a stepping stone towards the establishment of the Cao Dai religion throughout Vietnam and in several countries around the world! 

On the 6th day of the 7th month of the Year of the Tiger (1926), Mr. Phan Quy (a member of the founding group of Cao Dai Chieu Minh in Can Tho, which included Mr. Tu Huynh, Mr. Vo Van Thom, the principal of the famous Vo Van private school, Mr. Phan Quy, and Mr. Ngo Minh Chieu…) had the opportunity to pay homage at Hiep Minh Tien Dan to express the roots of the true spiritual teachings. Later on, occasionally, other Cao Dai sects from Tay Ninh and the Central region also visited Hiep Minh Pagoda (Dai Tien Cai Khe, Can Tho).

III. Conclusion: We do not aspire to extensively develop the Đàn Tiên Cái Khế and especially the organized structure of the Cao Dai religion within the scope of this brief article, nor do we dare to underestimate the importance of linking the relationship between Đàn Tiên Hiệp Minh and His Holiness Ngô Minh Chiêu. With a little sincerity and genuine intent, we would like to record some fortunate and benevolent events regarding Chùa Hiệp Minh (Đàn Tiên Cái Khế), a spiritual establishment that worships the Three Teachings and has a close relationship with the organization of Đàn cơ, which receives teachings from the divine beings, alongside the establishment of the Cao Dai religion, of which His Holiness Ngô Minh Chiêu is the elder brother in its founding. 

We sincerely hope to receive contributions from esteemed elders, knowledgeable friends, and especially fellow practitioners from a common origin. Thank you very much! 

Can Tho, December 31, 2017