Sermons of His Holiness Ho Phap - Vol I

fraternity come up in this age? It is easy to guess. It is to respect and treasure
the life of living beings. Mankind ranks the highest to represent the Supreme
Being as the Emperor of living beings. Afflicted by wickedness, mankind not
only kills living beings, but also kills and fights with each other for food and
land. They use oppression power as the basics, and use cruelty to dominate
the world, rather than spiritual virtue. It is not easy to use cruelty to dominate
people. Materialism is restricted to certain materialistic laws, while idealism
only follows the law of nature. Due to materialism, powerful nations around
the world seek all legal means to render people equal universally; it is just an
impossible dream. No one understands why a talented, knowledgeable and
wise person has to lower himself to be an ignoramus. No power has elevated
an ignoramus to be an Imperial Advisor. All ranks and destiny are determined
by the Supreme Being. No one can compel us; no rule can force a great writer
to become a beggar in the market. As long as no rule can do such or correct us,
the doctrine of universal fraternity is not formalized. The doctrine can only be
established when theistic idealism is upheld as the common means to achieve
mutual love, respect, fraternity of the same basics, and race of the same blood.
For that reason, Divine Beings descended in Europe during spiritism and said
that mankind can reach the supreme position they aim for when we share the
same race, the same nation and Religion; only when these three are
accomplished will universal fraternity be realized. When the Supreme Being
wanted to come among mankind, His Ngự Mã Quân (General) was afraid that
He would face danger. He comes to create for mankind a common nation, race
and Religion. His Ngự Mã Quân did not want Him to come, so He came on His
behalf to accomplish those three goals. If they are accomplished, so will
universal fraternity. Otherwise, universal fraternity will still be a dream.

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46. THE STORY OF JESUS CHRIST

Holy See, the 14th day of the 11th month Đinh Hợi year [1947]

It has been 1947 years since the birth of the Savior, i.e. Jesus Christ, in
Nazareth village in Palestine who received the command of God or the
Supreme Being to save the European races. Let us observe and I myself
observe that the original doctrine of Christianity has the same basics with
Buddhism, i.e. Theravada, including both secret and visible dharma.

For so long, the separatist spiritual doctrines have been created by secular
forces which instilled them into Europeans beliefs and caused separation. Due
to this issue, people all over the world are facing the disaster of mutual killing
and destruction.

I would like to preach about the spiritual origin of Jesus Christ. Occasionally, I
will preach about the origins of the entire Christian Faith to all you male and
female. Who is Jesus Christ? We see that the scriptures of the Nebreux race, i.e.
the current Jewish people, and Saint Moses’ law contain prophecies about the
birth of the Saviour. If we examine each page of the Christian Bible, we cannot
find the name Christ; but in the divine realm I am sure Jesus Christ came from
the spirit of Krishna, one of the Brahmanist Trinity. The Krishna Buddha is no
strange to us. He came in a very humble role; due to human’s arrogance, He
used such humble means to awaken the European races with His Holy soul. He
came into a poor family. I would like to state that He came into the house of
Maria who was a nun in the Jerusalem Temple, and Joseph who was a monk in
the Temple. The Temple law required females who reached marriage age to
get married. That year, the young Maria who was a Sister or a Nun as we
would call in the Jerusalem Temple reached marriage age. The Temple law
required that one of the monks get married to her, in accordance with the
words of the Supreme Being to Adam and Eva, “Unissez vous et multipliez.”
The match finding ceremony for Maria, according to the Temple law, had each
male (monk) select a flower and left in the Temple for three days. If it stayed
fresh after three days, he could marry Maria. Unfortunately, there were many
young males, while Joseph was already over 50 but still had to follow the law.
We can say that Maria was among the beauties at that time. At such young age,
her beauty attracted a lot of men. Like everyone, Joseph brought a flower into
the Temple to attend the ceremony. Others looked for this and that flower.
Meanwhile, he thought that he was too old for a family, but he would be
punished if he did not comply like ‘quỳ hương’ (kneeling till the incense burns
out; a punishment to Caodaism followers who breaks the religious law). Just

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outside of the Temple, he saw a withered lily left on the ground; he picked it
up and put it in the vase, not knowing that lily is a strange flower. The
bloomed flower fell down, while the bud absorbed water and became fresh
again. Other flowers withered, so he had to marry Maria.

Unfortunately, after the wedding, they had to leave the Temple, despite having
no family, house, and means of living. It was miserable. Fortunately, during
the time at the Temple, Joseph was a carpenter and was very good at it. He
planned that the poor couple would earn a living, him as a carpenter and
Maria as a tailor. She is very good at housework, including knitting. Therefore,
they could make ends meet.

As time passed by, they gave birth to their first child – Jesus. They raised Him
in poverty; especially on the Christmas Eve, we still see the most remarkable
trace. On the Noel night, there was a grand ceremony in the Temple; the
couple walked from Nazareth to the Temple for the ceremony. She had been
pregnant for two months; thinking that she used to be a nun and could not
stay home on the holiday, she tried to attend it as usual. In the city, houses
were all rented out; there was no place left for them to stay. Not wanting to
stay outdoor, they begged to stay in the lamp staple. During winter time,
which for us today is quite cold, it was freezing for the two religious souls who
slept in the staple. At 12 o’clock, she went into labour and gave birth to Jesus
Christ. The scripture mentioned that upon His birth, there was a comet; it is
the well-known Halley’s comet which re-appears every 75 years. The Kings
prophesied, “When the comet appears, the Messiah will be born; remember to
look for Him.” There were miracles we cannot imagine; for example, the
shepherds who were camping outdoor suddenly heard from thin air the
Angels’ voices that the Messiah was born. The Moorish King and the shepherd
were the first to bow to Jesus.

What a tragedy! At that time, the Jewish land had been colonialized by the
Romans. In Palestine, they appointed a ruler named Herod Antipater who had
been wanting to kill the Messiah due to the prophecy that He would be King of
the Jewish people. As a result, when he began to assume authority in Palestine,
Herod killed Saint John the Baptist. The prophets mentioned the date of the
Messiah’s birth, but not the location. Herod wanted to kill Him, but did not
know where He is. So He ordered the massacre of all the infants born on that
night with the belief that one of them was the Messiah. Fortunately, Joseph
was told by the Angels during his dream to escape with his child to Egypt. The
couple escaped just in time; otherwise, Jesus would have been killed too.

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After some time in Egypt, when their child reached 5 or 6, they heard that
peace had been restored in their country and there was divine order for them
to return to Palestine. The husband resumed carpentry, and the wife sewing
to raise their child. They gave birth to three or four more sons and daughters,
which further rendered their life poor and miserable. Along the Jordan river,
Jesus carried water every day to earn a meagre sum in support of His mother.

When He reached 12-13 years old, He learned carpentry with His father. He
followed his father’s instructions. When Joseph was paid to build a house, he
cut the columns too short by mistake. The owner forced him to compensate,
and he did not know what to do. They were too poor to buy new columns. He
cried for a long while; then, Jesus prayed and each of them held an end of the
column and pulled. They tried to increase the length of the column to the right
level; otherwise, they would have to slave to pay back. It was very miraculous;
it was the first time Jesus performed miracles.

In the same year that He restored the length of the columns, He came into the
Temple and the spirit of Krishna descended. The Religious Leaders were all
doctors; they already heard of Jesus’s genius. When He entered the Temple,
they surrounded Him and enquired about religious matters. Krishna’s spirit
descended and preached to the leaders, which surprised people.

The couple went to the Temple on the Sabbath’s Day. After the rituals, they
came home but did not see Jesus anywhere. They asked people and kept
looking but could not find him. In fear, they ran back to the Temple and saw
Jesus sitting among the doctors and Religious Leaders who were enquiring
Him.

Back in the time at the Temple, Maria had already been informed that she
would give people on earth a Messiah. Despite knowing in advanced, she was
annoyed to see Jesus preaching because of the tiring search. She told Him,
“Why did you make me look for you; I am so worried?” Jesus immediately said,
“Mother, don’t you know that I am performing the duties assigned by my
Father?” She understood and knew her words bothered Him. Since then, Jesus
was like any other child at home; He carried water, did carpentry, and obeyed
His parents in all manners.

In the family, the younger children were at odds with each other, while Jesus
was very kind and often conceded. So He was often bullied by the others. To
avoid the family troubles, He went out to work and earned money to support
His parents.

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At 30 years old, hearing that Saint John the Baptist was preaching at the bank
of the Jordan river, Jesus came to meet Him while He was performing baptism.
When He saw Jesus from afar, He recognized Him as the Messiah and said,
“since morning, I have been waiting only for this man.” Jesus was taught and
baptised by Saint John the Baptist. When the ritual finished, Jesus came up on
the Jordan river bank and there was a bright halo in the air like a white
pigeon. It descended on Jesus’s head in the mid of the voice, “This is my son,
the beloved, whom I well blessed.” Since then, Jesus Christ became a
missionary in the spirit of Krishna; His spirit was no longer the one after His
birth, but had become Perfectly Holy. He was a living Saint in front of all the
people who had become enlightened. If one observes the entire world, Jesus
Christ is inferior to none of the Religious Founders. He wholeheartedly loved
mankind and living beings in the most sincere way. In this regard, He was the
same as the Gautama Buddha. Therefore, people adored and followed His
Religion. Seeing that the core Religious Teachings of Jesus Christ were at odds
with their principles, the Jewish people, Religious Leaders and Palestinian
kings hated and sought to kill Him. They reported to Caesar, “That man is
plotting a rebellion to bring the Jewish out of the reign of the Roman Empire.”
Despite all their accusations, they could not harm the Holy Virtue of Jesus.
They found ways to criticised His religious laws by forming a propagation
committee and separating the people from Him via fear of being implicated.
The Caiaphas arrested Jesus and handed Him over to the prefect Pilate for a
death sentence. They spread the words so that on Passover Jesus Christ would
not be freed from His death sentence, i.e. crucifixion; meanwhile, Barabbas, a
cruel and man killing criminal who had committed all sorts of crimes, was let
go by all the Jewish people.
What does Jesus’s death mean? It means He offered His Holy Body to the
Supreme Being as a sacrifice; His Holy Body on the crucifix represented the
sacrifice ritual similar to our Three Treasures offering to the Supreme Being
today. As a result, Jesus Christ sacrificed Himself to the Supreme Being so as to
redeem human sins, especially the European races; it is reasonable to
associate Him with the name Messiah/ Saviour. The Messiah was actually the
spirit of Krishna, one of the Brahmanist/ Supreme Trinity.

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47. DIVINE AND SECULAR TALENTS

Holy See, the 15th day of the 11th month Đinh Hợi year [1947]

Today, I will preach about “Divine and Secular Talents”, but before I start, I
should explain to you how we develop Divine Talent and why we may only
have secular Talent.

I have preached the Three Treasures many times so that you know we have in
us three bodies and seven emotions; Taoism name them Matter, Qi/ Energy
and Spirit.

Firstly, our physical body is called the Secular body.

Secondly, the invisible energy body cannot be seen by our eyes; if we can, we
have reached Enlightenment; it is called the Dharmakaya.

Thirdly, our divine body which is called the Spirit.

The Three Treasures combine to form the human image. Our physical body is
equivalent to the animal; our Dharmakaya is connected to the Universe which
is equivalent to Qi/ energy; Qi/ energy created mankind and is used to create
our spiritual image; our divine wisdom comes from the Supreme Being. So
there are three entities in us which bring up this visible image. Our
Dharmakaya both sustains the life of our physical body, and relates us with
the predetermined power of the Divine Beings and the Supreme Being. Thus,
it has two aspects:

1. One in relation to living beings
2. The other in relation to the Supreme Being and Divine Beings

In relation to the Supreme Being, the Dharmakaya must have intellectuality
and a nature prone to invisible power; it seeks its origin from the Supreme
Being, understands its role(?) and travels back and forth; it is called pure
wisdom. If it is not aware of itself and is only concerned with preserving the
physical life, it becomes our nature. One is the Divine soul, the other our sense
nature; it stands in the middle. Now that you have understood, I would like to
preach about “Divine and Secular Talents”.

Our Dharmakaya mind has two tendencies; if it is prone to divinity, it attains
divine conscience which is a magical entity to control our physical body and
which is no different from the storage of our abilities. The cycle of rebirth
helps us build the set of abilities which are attained and refined during our life

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through the lessons of suffering by the creation mechanism. As long as we
diligently endure sufferings and torments, the storage remains together with
our abilities.

Back to our sense nature, what do we see? We consciously protect our life like
all animals; e.g. the buffalo eating grass, the monkey eating fruit. The sense
nature is prone to animal life and suppresses our Dharmakaya. It only seeks
happiness, in which respect there are many forms. In relation to the universe,
our weak body seeks all means of protection; compared to other living beings,
human beings are outright inferior to many, like tigers which we call Mr.
Tiger. In order to win over them, our mind seeks methods like guns to defend
ourselves. For self-defense, our sense nature is prone to materialism.

What secular talent have we seen? There is a library in New York which store
two billion books for us to learn all sorts of tricks and trades. All human tricks
and trades combine into a huge mass which has barely helped steer human
destiny. What have secular talents done to bring happiness to mankind? We
see that they examine matters to attain wisdom, but cannot cross that limit; so
they return to materialism. What did we see? They seek methods to kill and
destroy each other. There is no difference; materialism only elevates them to
be king of the material world. That is Secular Talent. The clever tricks they
learn to reign over the material world belong to Secular Talent.

Now I will preach about Divine Talent. Such Talent is manifested when our
Dharmakaya inclines to its basic and spiritual origin. We may wonder why we
are smarter than animals despite having physical body like them. Why is there
spirit? Why do we have such basics? To find our basics to self-cultivate. We
cultivate ourselves to find our spiritual origin which is our conscience. We are
smartest when we devote our mind to our conscience; we will be strangely
enlightened.

Why must secular talent not pose obstacles? Why must it help us look for and
refine our mind or our Dharmakaya? It does so to help us attain wisdom
which is stored in our limitless storage since the ancient past. If we can open
the storage, we can retrieve the wisdom. Our current life brings us only one
lesson, while the remaining ones can be found by opening our eternal book.

If Divine Talent converges in our mind, no earthly power can dominate us.
Divine Talent not only has enough power to create happiness for our physical
life, but also for the entire world. It is the mechanism for liberation. When they
were on earth, the Religious Founders used Divine Talent to preserve human

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spirit, i.e. to save mankind because we triumphed over our physical and
mortal part. In a 24-hour period, we see life and death in front of us. We exist
not only in this life, but also after death. Many run after suffering relief when
their physical and mental sufferings are too much to bear. They suffer
spiritually because they cannot find it. How can we comfort it? Our suffering
can only be comforted during our sleep. When we are awake and open our
eyes, we see this life full of painful suffering. We find means of spiritual
comfort and calmness, and our conscience during sleep. During waking time,
we see this life of suffering.
I have explained clearly Divine and Secular Talent. Which is superior and
which is inferior? Unfortunately, those who know an object do not know its
shadow; they only know materialism but not divine conscience. Therefore, in
life, we see Secular Talents seek means of competition for their better life and
happiness than others. They first appeared in their fierce form, and gradually
became refined with the power to lead human minds. Will they survive? We
see in front of us the entire world heading toward self-destruction, rather than
eternal life. If we would like to attain eternal life, we have to use Divine Talent
as our basics.
To attain Divine Talent, there is no one better than the Supreme Being. No
matter how stupid we are, if we cannot ask for it in one day, we should keep
going for two days or one month or one year. If we beg for it many times
without being able to obtain His permission, we should be determined to
please Him, submit to Him, and be patient. He will give it to us even if it is
difficult, because He would not be so heartless. Once He gives it to us, there is
nothing on earth that can compare. Here is my advice to you: do not care how
rich people are; if we are determined to follow the Supreme Being, our great
merit will not be lost. Those children who are entirely loyal and pious to Him
and the Sacerdotal Council, i.e. His Holy Body on earth, will never lose their
merit and position.

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48. OFFERING OF THE THREE TREASURES

Holy See, the 1st day of the 12th month Đinh Hợi year [1947]

I would like to remind you again of the Three Treasures offering rituals. To
offer flower is to offer our physical body; we should bow and pray: “I
respectfully offer my physical body to the Supreme Being for His discretionary
use.” During the wine offering, we should pray: “I respectfully offer my
intellectual mind to the Supreme Being for His discretionary use.” During the
tea offering, we should pray: “I respectfully offer my entire soul to the
Supreme Being for His discretionary use.” If we are wise, we should chant the
last prayer as follows: “As my entire soul, mind, and body are Your creation
and belong to You, they are subject to your absolute power.” That is how we
pray to the Supreme Being.

I have preached about the Three Treasures. Why does the Supreme Being use
Flower to represent our physical body? He wants regard His children with
lofty values like our eyes looking at the flowers. He uses Wine to signify His
will that human mind be as strong as heavy wine. He uses Tea to signify the
will that our souls be in harmony like tea. These are the reasons why He
chooses the Three Treasures.

Now I will preach about the unified trinity of the Supreme Being. Whenever
we enters the Holy See, let us keep in mind the vital energy which creates the
entire universe, including matters, plants, animals and all living beings – these
are called Tăng (Sangha/ Living entities/ Living beings). The first of the trinity
is the Supreme Being, i.e. the Buddha, who governs the entire secret
mechanism of the universe. There are many different sets of laws, but they are
no different than Buddhism. Christian doctrines also has the Trinity concept:
the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. The Father is Buddha, the Son Dharma,
and the Holy Spirit Sangha (Translator note: Should this be The Father is
Buddha, the Son Sangha, and the Holy Spirit Dharma?) There is no religion
that explains clearly the creation mechanism; the theory of primordial chaos
details that the pure energy rises to Heaven, while the impure falls to form the
ground.

The entire visible world are created by two powers:

1. The Supreme Being
2. The Mother Buddha

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As our father has the power to create us, the Supreme Being has the power to
the same. Our mother is also similar to the Mother Buddha who uses Her
endless power to create the universe. We do not know and cannot guess, but
the law is not unfathomable.

The Supreme Being is Buddha, the Mother Buddha Dharma, and the universe
Sangha (living beings). The three thousand worlds are also the Sangha. The
governing power over living beings belongs to the Hạo Nhiên Pháp Thiên (The
Divine Realm of Natural Dharma). For example, they define what the planets
are like, and why there is only one sun. In the 24 hours of a day, the power of
Dharma belongs to the Hư Vô Cao Thiên (The High Realm of Nothingness)
who follow the orders of Hạo Nhiên Pháp Thiên to keep the universe from
mutual destruction. If there were no virtue on earth, it would fall into disorder
and mankind would probably not survive.

Now, let us observe the Hổn Ngươn Thượng Thiên (The Upper Realm of the
Supreme Ether) where the Maitreya Buddha is residing to govern the entire
universe; He is governing over all living beings.

Before we pray, we perform the dharma ritual and cite: Nam Mô Phật (Namo
Buddha), Nam Mô Pháp (Namo Dharma), Nam Mô Tăng (Namo Sangha). I am
sure no one has really understood those three Jewels. Now I will preach about
Buddha. Buddha is an omniscient and omnipotent Being; people mistake that
as they do not see His image, He does not exist. People are widely mistaken.
They exist in the moment, but are different from us in that they do not have
physical bodies. That Omniscient and omnipotent Being was the first one to
unite with the Supreme Being.

I have explained that in the Buddha world there are three special realms:

1. Hạo Nhiên Pháp Thiên which is connected to and unite with the
Supreme Being

2. Hư Vô Cao Thiên which belongs to Dharma and regulates the Divine
Laws

3. Hổn Ngươn Thượng Thiên which belongs to the power of Creation and
the Sangha.

(Translator note: Suggestion for correction as follows

1. Hạo Nhiên Pháp Thiên which belongs to the power of Creation and the
Sangha

2. Hư Vô Cao Thiên which belongs to Dharma and regulates the Divine Laws

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3. Hổn Ngươn Thượng Thiên which is connected to and united with the
Supreme Being.)

There are those three ranks in the Buddha world who hold all the power in
the universe.

Phi Tưởng Diệu Thiên (The Unimaginably Miraculous Realm) holds the power
to create mankind; they are part of the Buddha world and have the same form
with Buddha. Tạo Hoá Huyền Thiên (The Realm of Creation) belongs to the
Dharma and has three powers to create the endless physical world(s). They
control the vital energy which gives life to living beings. Phi Tưởng Diệu Thiên
carries the duty assigned by the Supreme Being to control the vital energy of
mankind and sustain the life of living beings. In Tạo Hoá Huyền Thiên, the
Mother Buddha holds the dharma of endless creation, including creation of
mankind, plants, matters – these latter living beings can evolve to human level
thanks to the transformation by the Mother Buddha. All our body, soul and
mind go through the cycle of birth and death under the wheel of dharma. Birth
and death instill lessons in those beings. Why do mankind learn knowledge?
We do so to create and perfect our dharmakaya to the point of being
omniscient and omnipotent like the Mother Buddha did. We do so because the
power lies in the Dharma; our body belongs to the Sangha. We transform and
weather the cycle of birth and death like the Buddhas in the most lofty realm
near the Supreme Being, i.e. the Hạo Nhiên Pháp Thiên. Those Beings are born
and die, and know the sufferings of all living beings; they frequently travel to
the physical world to bring all living beings back to their Buddha nature. They
have endured suffering like we do now in order to reach perfection,
omniscience and omnipotence. They have travelled before us; they are lofty
while we are humble. We will walk the path they did. Most importantly, we
have to understand that it is hard to tell who is lofty or who is humble on
earth. In the Hạo Nhiên Pháp Thiên, a lofty, omniscient and omnipotent
Buddha who is almost like the Supreme Being may reincarnate into an
ignorant person to learn the lessons of sufferings. We see the Mahasarouth
Buddha who is a great Buddha like Sakyamuni came to earth and carried the
Alms bowl to beg for food for the miserable. He is a beggar on earth, but has
endless power in the eternal realm. Jesus Christ as the second reincarnation of
Krishna Vishnu received the descending spirit from the Supreme Being; He
was a poor and miserable person who begged for rice and bread to support
the impoverished. It is a lesson we have seen with our own eyes. The Creator
begged for food for human beings; He who holds the power to raise all living

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beings in the universe. People on earth have never seen and never known. I
will continue next time.

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49. THE INAUGURATING CEREMONY OF THE DIVINE ALLIANCE OFFICE
(THE LEGISLATIVE BODY OFFICE)

The 8th day of the 12th month Đinh Hợi year [1947]

Dear my Hiệp Thiên (Divine Alliance), Cửu Trùng (Nine Divine Planes) and
Phước Thiện (Charity Body) friends,

Since I renounced my secular life and offered myself to the Supreme Being as
a medium to create for Vietnam this religion, I have never received such
priceless reward like today which is only a glass of wine. Your positive
responses show that if people use their secular abilities to serve their
personal goals, nobody will have the courage to. There has never been anyone
that happily hurled themselves into the sea of suffering. Why is that? I have
understood that secret, all of it, so I would like to help you understand.

People think that there are no self-existing and eternal Beings; they are
mistaken. They think that such Being does not exist, but He has existed since
the creation of heaven and earth. I know and understand. Why do I endure
suffering to bring happiness to the world? It is not for my family or myself. Is
it for Vietnam? It is for all mankind. That Graceful Father loves His children no
matter how ungrateful they are. His love has infected me, because I have
heard, understood and known Him well.

What is His highest wish? His Ngự Mã Quân (General) particularly knew it
before anyone else, because He told Him He would leave the Huỳnh Kim
Khuyết (the Golden Gate) and His Heavenly Realm for earth so as to teach His
children how to relieve their suffering. If my memory serves me right, the
séances have let me know where my Divine Alliance friends came from. In
order to protect Divine power, authority has been given to the twelve Zodiacal
Dignitaries, in accordance with the twelve Earthly Branches, i.e. the Divine
Realm. I think I have fulfilled the duties in the invisible realms. When you
return to the divine realm, you will see the results. My duties to you have
mixed with infinite affection because we have the same heart and goals; we
have the same voice and share the same experience. I have not completed
them all which my Divine Alliance friends and I promised to the Supreme
Being. I take care of mankind all over the world, and not only any particular
individual, institution or country. I do not serve temporal or spiritual life, but
only obey the invisible power. Before the command of the Bạch Ngọc Kinh
(White Jade Palace) to create the True Faith, the Supreme Being decided that
He had to reincarnate. His Ngự Mã Quân did not let Him, requiring that there

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be someone to represent Him, i.e. to form His Holy Body on earth. Since He
cannot come, there must be an image to replace Him. His image is the
Sacerdotal of the Cửu Trùng Đài (Nine Divine Planes) and the Hiệp Thiên
(Divine Alliance). It was the best of wisdom for Hộ Pháp to entreat others to
come with Him and form the Holy Body; He alone cannot achieve that, so He
had to coax Beings in other realms. Even the Cửu Thiên Khai Hoá (the Nine
Realms of Creation) would not have come if they had not been sure of success.

You should just carry out your duties to the world, because it is not certain if
you have delivered your promise in the divine realm. It is unsure if what you
have done fulfils your promise. I keep working for the Cửu Trùng (Executive
Body) and the Phước Thiện (Charity Body), but do not know when it is
finished. My mind has grown deep affection for you. We should keep going as
long as we still live. The Holy Body does not only exist in this life and only on
this land of Vietnam; we are only the flag carrier, but not the founder. We
create this for the later generations who are strolling along without knowing
who will shoulder the cause.

As elder brothers, we have to build the cause for the young ones and clear the
path for them. They will maintain the Holy Body of the Supreme Being later
on. The Master is not only here for this life, but for eternally. They are not part
of the current Holy Body; they will come or already have. It is not clear who
they are. As we know there are more to come, we have to clear the path and
build the cause for them. I am a servant to the Supreme Being; that is all we
need to know to persist with our support to the Spiritual and Temporal.

Fortunately, I still owed the Supreme Being, so I volunteered to reincarnate.
Due to the debt, I have become a slave to the Vietnamese country, bearing
both physical and spiritual miseries for over 35 years. I did not ask for less; I
know why I reincarnated as a Vietnamese. I am grateful for all the suffering,
weakness and humility. Because of mankind’s suffering, the Supreme Being
created this Religion as a source of vital light for all mankind. It is an honour
for Vietnam to suffer. Due to the favour of the Supreme Being for Vietnam, I
have to sacrifice my life to pay back commensurately. Another blessing is His
shaping our mind; since the establishment of the Cao Đài Religion, He has
moulded the mind of the Vietnamese race to restore our sovereignty. It is
enough for us to sacrifice our life.

Therefore, we have to be determined and patient in our pursuit; we must not
be afraid but be happy, because we have understood the value of the Supreme
Being’s favour. In order to pay back in full, we have to learn from the servants

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of the servants of the Supreme Being. Only then can we repay the debt of love
to the Supreme Being.

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50. GRADUATION CEREMONY AT THE DIGNITARY SCHOOL

The Dignitary School, at 4p.m. on the 10th day of the 12th month Đinh Hợi year
[20-01-1948]

In reply to the speech of Nguyễn Hữu Lương who represented the newly
appointed Student Priests to thank His Holiness Hộ Pháp and the Bishops.

It is a truthful speech which goes straight to my soul with extraordinary force.
I think that if all of you perform what the speech details, the Faith will spread
in an absolutely lively and perfect way. I am touched by this ceremony which
you say is simple, but had never happened before in the religious history
among the Sages of Vietnam. The history of His Holiness Confucius in the Zhou
dynasty has lived again, in this very ceremony. The Dignitary School has been
opened since the formation of the Faith, but has not developed its spirit; now
thanks to this ceremony, it has acquired an apparently invaluable spirit.
Although I have not done much to deserve this, I have just enjoyed the most
precious experience ever.

First, I would like to explain the current administrative powers including the
temporal and spiritual powers of the Faith in the 20th century. The Christian
civilization has spread to the entire world and to all nations in the past 2,000
years. The powers of this Faith should be similar to those of Christianity in the
old days. The structure of the Supreme Being’s Religion is similar to the model
and characteristics of Christianity. Everyone has to admit that Christianity has
made great contribution to mankind. Its powers can be divided into two,
including:

1. Temporal power
2. Spiritual power

The spiritual power manifests itself in its own special politics like the Vatican
City in Rome, which is a state among nations – a spiritual state. The Cao Đài
religion will head in that direction; it is not a prediction, but a definite
certainty. The political powers of the Cao Đài religion shall follow those of
Christianity in Vatican 2,000 years ago. At that time, secular power and
Christianity were in opposition, while the latter was building its spiritual
power. Christian politics was finally established by assembling the humble
spirits into an organization. The politics of the Cao Đài religion is also in the
same situation, but because it is formed later, it must be more refined. I used
to think that it will face many obstacles and dangers like Christianity which

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could only build their solid powers after 2,000 thousand years. However, the
True Faith of the Supreme Being has firmly established itself after only 23
years. It is a blessing of the Supreme Being for Vietnam; the Religious
Founders on this earth have never achieved what we did. Although we have
been through many trials, no previous Religions or Founders have ever been
this successful.

How difficult it was to build the foundation of Christianity! We should learn
from that lesson to build another foundation; the task is very easy. Its politics
will decentralize the secular powers which do not need debating; they are
force-based powers like we have seen with our own eyes. I will only explain
the religious power which we have just established. It also has authority, but it
is critical to note that there is a huge discrepancy between secular and
religious powers. Although there is no gray area, any oppression by secular
power can be easily seen. The two powers have their very own characteristics
which are not similar. Our sword of wisdom is not one of metal like the
physical world; it is the invisible sword of spirit and virtue.

I have mentioned many times that the entire Holy Body of the Supreme Being
is a hierarchy of power; if the religious dignitaries imitated the structures and
laws of secular powers, it would be unsightly. Religious power has a different
physiognomy which is not awkward and heretical like the secular powers in
front of us. If an artist has enough talent and ability to draw it, no treasure on
earth can compare because it contains Immortal and Buddha nature. Needless
to say, the form and spirit of Immortals and Buddhas are widely known to be
perfect. The physiognomy of religious power must be that beautiful; the
religious organization (the Holy Body) must be drawn as perfectly as Divine
Beings. If there is a stain or dirt, it will be malformed and impure. It must be
beautiful, magnificent, and holy. If a girl walks out with stain on her face, it
will be bad looking for her. In short, it must have perfect essence; any
impurity will render it ugly.

I state firmly that if religious power is mixed with secular power, it will be
utterly odd and ugly. Spirit does not mix with material; material cannot blend
in with spirit. The religious hierarchy of the True Faith of the Supreme Being
is different from secular power in that we only use virtue and humanity as
power, while people use force to oppress; the two are completely different. It
is heretical for members of the Faith who do not know their rights to imitate
secular people and oppress others in an unvirtuous and inhumane way. Our
power is to rely on the spiritual virtues of our ancestors in the past 4,000

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years; they will justly be the sword of wisdom for us to preserve our national
soul, while any other method is wrong.
I say little, but you male and female friends understand the many implications.
I rely entirely on you so that you as the Holy Body of the Supreme Being
implement the humanity principle which has been engraved into the front of
the Holy See for all mankind to see. It will be a fortunate future for the Hồng
Lạc children (Vietnamese people) if we can attain the natural happiness left to
us over thousands of years.
Let us use Confucianism as the basics to revitalize our national soul which has
been devastated during the 80 years of slavery. It will be revitalized with the
ability to give life back to our national soul four thousand years ago. If we can
draw it skillfully and well, people will yearn for it to come to life. At that time,
even if we do not want to sell, there will still be buyers. Not only the
Vietnamese people but also the entire world will beg to buy.
We must complete it so it will have enough power to preserve the life of all
mankind in the boundary of spiritual virtue, justice and love which the
Supreme Being has sown in the Faith. At that time, we can raise the banner
pronouncing that the Cao Đài religion acts as the catalyst and basics for
universal fraternity.
I would like to think of the glass of wine today as the immortal wine, because
this place will produce the seed of immortality. Please do not despise it.
Before saying goodbye, I would like to thank the Teachers and newly
appointed Dignitaries for letting me taste the sweet and meaningful wine.
Thank you.

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51. THE CLOSING CEREMONY OF THE SACERDOTAL COUNCIL
CONVENTION

Holy See, the 13th day of the 12th month Đinh Hợi year [23 January 1948] at
4p.m.

I would like to thank the Saints of the Two Bodies. Although I did not give a
hand to the Sacerdotal Council because the original dharma so stipulated, I
have been watching each of your steps for several months. There are many
issues which you could not resolve and needed my help, but the Constitution
does not allow me to decide. The Popular Council has their own rights; so does
the Sacerdotal Council, and the High Council. The Sacerdotal Council cannot
infringe upon the rights of the Popular Council; and the High Council upon
those of the Sacerdotal Council. The law has strictly defined limits and
standards which no one can cross. I can only help with the external activities.
In case there are critical issues to be resolved, I can provide some advice but
do not engage in or understand the particular power of the Sacerdotal Council.

In the past two months, I have honestly seen a lot of progress made by the
Sacerdotal Council. The Council has issued a set of laws this year which will
function as a framework for the later generations, and which has never been
seen before. The Religious Politics is not much different from that of European
countries at the moment. In Asia, there are many developed countries like
Japan, China, Myanmar, and Thailand which also have similar framework.
Both Constitutional Monarchy and Constitutional Democracy are divided into
two departments:

 The democracy department
 The legislative department

The latter is to preserve, while the former is to progress. The French
democracy department under the democratic government is called ‘La
Chambre des Député’, but there is no legislative department due to the
absence of a king. To know what a true legislative department looks like, we
can look at the ‘Chambre des Lords’ of England which is equivalent to the
Senate of France. There are two departments in the French government –
‘Chambre des Députés’ and Senate which are irreconcilable, if not in total
opposition. It is very hard for them to reconcile. Why do they want to
reconcile? They do so to guide politics to absolute perfection, exemplariness
and righteousness; otherwise, they cannot progress. Their politics is divided
into two separate departments which are irreconcilable; as they are

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irreconcilable, they collapse. The French government must and has collapsed
many times as we have seen. The democratic countries (government) are
divided into departments; every time Senate, i.e. the democracy department,
rejects or distrusts each other, the Cabinet collapses and so does the
government. The secular power is divided into two particular departments,
while the religious power is completely different. The True Dharma of the
Supreme Being is to unite the two departments, including the Cửu Trùng Đài
(Executive Body) and the Hiệp Thiên Đài (Legislative Body). Hiệp Thiên Đài is
the legislative department while the Cửu Trùng Đài is the democracy
department. How can we avoid conflict? One is conservative, the other
progressive. Unless you are reconciled by reasons and facts, you will be in
opposition. Your issue may not be reported to higher authority, and also
causes stain. It is like a sieve; if we keep sieving, the issue will come up. The
true dharma has designated this way; so I foresaw the day when the two
clashed. I was very calm that day, while the entire Faith became chaotic. I only
said: “Be careful! If the two powers of the Sacerdotal Council are in conflict
and submit your issue to higher power, you will face authoritarianism and
have to accept.” Thus, the two Bodies were afraid and found ways to reach
harmony. This implies that I only waved the High Council banner without
exercising any power.

The Sacerdotal Council today achieves success in a short time; I am afraid that
one day when there are many Saints and the power the Sacerdotal Council
grows, their debates will heat up. We can foresee that future.

From merit to power, I understand in my heart that as we hold the scale of
justice on behalf of the Supreme Being, we must be impartial. We must know
what is allowed and what is not, what cannot be said and what can. The
decision must not be partial, not to me. Those who have made substantial
contribution to the Faith will be protected by me; no injustice can escape me.
But the situation is not that bad. Those who have made substantial
contribution should not think that the Sacerdotal Council forgets your
contribution. We may not announce them today, but will someday. The
Sacerdotal Council never forgets anyone. They will make just decisions. As
long as I am still here, no injustice can escape me and I am sure about it.

I would like to close the convention and thank you.

(After the closing prayer, when He stepped out of the Holy See, He said: “It is
noteworthy that at this place there will be a Divine Dignitary with Chinese
origin who will lead the Sacerdotal Council. People will be very surprised.”)

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