Sermons of His Holiness Ho Phap - Vol II

29. THE NEW CABINET OF VIETNAM

Holy See, Midnight of the 19th day of the 4th month Mậu Tý year
(27/05/1948)

Today, the Cabinet of the New Government comes to Hương Cảng to
present the list of the Cabinet for the approval of His Majesty Bảo
Đại.

The entire congregation clearly understands how much the Vietnam
country and people suffered in the past two years. How violent the
riots became, and how much futile blood was shed. What are the
causes? Since ancient time, our forefathers have passed down to us a
primordial culture and customs to unite us into a Nation. Confucians
think that either the King or the Government or the entire people
rule the country. Our primordial culture has always had only one
rule – preserving the Tao to rule the country. If riots erupt beyond
remedy, it is because the entire nation has failed to abide by the Tao.
So has mankind the world over.

Now the entire world is in chaos. Yesterday, Bần Đạo preached and
pinpointed the reasons why mankind lost the Tao. In order to
change the situation, Confucians compel the king, the government
and the entire people to eat vegetarian food, pray and make
offerings – a practice called “Nam Giao” (Heaven worshipping
ceremony).

Fortunately, the New Government, i.e. the New Cabinet, understand
it. When Bần Đạo was in Sài Gòn, Prime Minister Xuân himself came
to the residence of the Bảo Sanh Quân (the Lord of Life Protection)
and asked Bần Đạo to perform rituals and to pray that the Supreme
Being endows Vietnam with blessings. As they understand that

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secret, we presume that they can learn the Tao. A four-thousand-
year civilization has reached a difficult and dangerous turn. When
the turn is over, where does it go? We see all blood and bones. Now
that the path of glory is in front of us, it is essential that the nation
know how important the Tao is. The hearts and virtues of the people
who fight for the future and happiness of the nation will definitely
propel the civilization forward. Whether it is possible depends on
the spirit and virtue of the entire nation.
Today, we place incense on the Divine Altar for the future of the
country, and sincerely pray that the Supreme Being endows the new
Vietnam Government with blessings. We will surely achieve perfect
success.

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30. THE FATE OF THE VIETNAM NATION

Holy See, Midnight of the 28th day of the 4th month Mậu Tý year
(5/6/1948)

Tomorrow morning, the fate and future of our Vietnam nation will
be determined. Therefore, tonight we perform this ritual to pray to
the Supreme Being that it will be a perfect success and that the two
parties sincerely reconcile to restore order and security to our
country.

Previously, when Bần Đạo came back from Hong Kong, Bần Đạo
stood here saying that the challenge does not come from France but
from our Vietnamese people; it has always been so. The people’s
hearts have stayed the same. Over the eighty years of occupation,
our souls have suffered a great deal. Now we will claim it back
(translator's note: independence); we will try till we succeed and we
must succeed. Our people’s minds have advanced to seniority; we no
longer tolerate humiliation like before. We will be able to claim it
back with the help of true patriots. Bần Đạo do not only refer to
those in the congregation, but also those in the larger society. Those
true patriots who care about the fate of the country must think
through each step forward and backward. They must study
everything thoroughly with their whole hearts. It is not easy to
decide the fate of a country. Even personal matters require
contemplation and intellectuality before decision, let alone the fate
of a nation. It requires even more careful reflection.

Unfortunately, amid the restless spirit of a nation under eighty-year
occupation, those who lead the resistance remain indifferent and do
not study it wholeheartedly. Frankly speaking, they are not at all
patriots; their struggles are at most to gain benefits and power. If

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they were true patriots, they would have resolved it long ago. As we
have the right of ownership and others owe us, we can claim it.
There is no need for fighting; we can just bring out paper and
evidence. If others do not return it, we can sue them. Now that we
fight them, they get angry and fight back. They neither give in nor
return it; what else can we do? Those leaders are definitely
mindless. Therefore, Bần Đạo will resolve the problem of our people
only by claiming back our right of ownership.

Again, if Bần Đạo had not been exiled abroad, there would be no
fighting. When the fighting stops, we will achieve our goal. The True
Religion will relieve us from suffering like the Jews to whom the
Supreme Being ordered Jesus Christ to come and alleviate their
sufferings. Unless the Divine mechanism makes such arrangement,
the Faith would be meaningless. Why? The Supreme Being has
guided the spirit of the Vietnamese people for four thousand years
so as to equip us for the spiritual fight. He would like to show to all
His children how the Vietnamese people are liberated and how we
win.

Sounds and guns cannot rule the people; their strength absolutely
cannot conquer the people. We should learn from that and
demonstrate to the Vietnamese people that we even have more
strength than nuclear power; no power can exterminate it. It is our
spirit. Bần Đạo would like the Vietnamese people to see that the
spirit of humanity and virtuosity have won in a glorious and
miraculous way. Let us watch out and contemplate whether those
atheist enemies can win over the spirit of our forefathers.

Let us open our eyes and see who will win and who will lose.

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31. WELCOMING CEREMONY FOR THE CHIEF AMBASSADOR

Holy See, Midnight of the 9th day of the 5th month Mậu Tý year
(15/06/1948)

Today, Bần Đạo postpones the study of our Vietnamese culture and
human ethics in comparison to human ethics in the world, in order
to talk about the meaning and rationale of the ceremony this
morning.

Mr. Chevance Bertin, as a representative of the French Grand
Embassy, followed the command of the Chief Governor to come to
Indochina and observe the relationship between Vietnam and
France. He is an important spokesperson who can tell the truth to
the French people about the current situation. Bần Đạo went to Sài
Gòn to tell De Latour my hope to see Mr. Chevance Bertin.

In this moment, we should not let people say that they do not
understand the mind of the Vietnamese people. We should tell them
whenever we can. Particularly because of our virtues, we must lay
the truth in front of others so they can make up their mind.

Bần Đạo have just mentioned that Mr. Chevance Bertin is an
important person who speaks on behalf of Vietnam to France. He is
a retired General who currently chairs the Climat newspaper, a
trusted news outlet of the French people. Bần Đạo held the
ceremony this morning to appeal to all the children of the Supreme
Being so you unanimously show the physiognomy of our virtue and
spirit to him. Bần Đạo am sure that it captured his attention and his
thoughts. It is often said (quoting the words of Jesus Christ) that an
eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. If we treat inhumane people with
inhumanity, the problem will persist. We will never be able to win

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their hearts. If we respond to hatred with hatred, it will stay forever.
In this world, no one knows the power of virtue which is
incomparable. When we hold it in our hands, it is the sword of
wisdom as called by our congregation. Using love to move people,
Bần Đạo have been carrying out as a policy since Bần Đạo
understood religion and undertook the Divine duties assigned by
the Supreme Being. Bần Đạo have known clearly the secret of the
worldly transition and the nature of mankind. Bần Đạo know
thoroughly that it is never possible to oppress and force human
spirit into holiness. To change people under the policy of the
Supreme Being, we can only treat cruelty with humanity, ferocity
with kindness, and selfishness with the great generosity of heaven
and earth. We must sprinkle compassion on human mind to
eradicate their wiliness, cruelty and wickedness. Only by complying
with this will we deserve to represent the Supreme Being to guide
the world through the transition.

Bần Đạo have been able to do that and will continue to. Our deeds
today demonstrate to the world our sincere virtuous hearts; so will
they treat us.

Although we appear calm, we will one day be restless. Our supreme
conscience will bring about our awakening which will open up our
mind for the rest of our life.

We have sought ways to bring the world to awakening. His Holiness
Shakyamuni once said: “Awaken yourself and the world.” Only when
we awaken the world do we understand that the ceremony today is
not futile. Our tiring day is not for nothing. The words we shared
with the French representative will help him understand us. The

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influence will on a coming day bring surprising victory to the
Vietnam nation.

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32. WHY HIS HOLINESS HỘ PHÁP GOVERNS THE TWO VISIBLE
BODIES

Holy See, Night of the 14th day of the 5th month Mậu Tý year
(20/06/1948)

Bần Đạo am surprised to see such a beautiful Mass ever since the
initiation of the Faith. If only everyone could see the miraculous
dharma/ power which is invisible to you; this is the very first time
(there is such a beautiful Mass). Is it because we unanimously
chanted the prayers? From now on, we shall reiterate this forever.

Today, Bần Đạo temporarily postpone the study of the Vietnamese
culture in comparison to other nations, so as to preach about an
important matter which no one has talked about. The other day, Bần
Đạo met His Holiness Pope Li and discussed with Him a critical
theory in the Religion of the Supreme Being. Bần Đạo would like all
of you to listen attentively and try to remember because there is
secret prophecy inherent in today’s sermon. It is not certain if the
prophecy will come true, but we can foretell now.

His Holiness Pope Li mentioned in a séance that He delegated the
Cửu Trùng (the Nine Evolution Planes Body) to Bần Đạo with the
aim of uniting the government of the Two Visible Bodies. The
decision was made by the Ngọc Hư Cung (the Court of God), i.e. by
the Divine Laws. It was difficult to understand by my own reckoning.
Bần Đạo would not reckon if someone else were chosen. Acceptance
of the duty presses my mind to figure out He trusted it to Bần Đạo,
but Bần Đạo could not.

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Fortunately, His Holiness Pope Li came; Bần Đạo confessed to Him
so He could explain and restore order. Bần Đạo asked Him about the
matter,

“His Holiness, could you explain the secret to calm my mind?”

He laughed and said, “Bần Đạo knew my kind friend would ask, and
Bần Đạo have prepared to give you answers. Before explaining the
secret, we should seek to understand what the Two Visible Bodies
are. Bần Đạo will now explain: the Cửu Trùng Đài (the Nine-
Evolution-Plane Body) is the embodiment of the Cửu Thiên Khai Hoá
(the Nine Heavens of Creation), i.e. the visible mechanism of the
Universe. The Universe is created by the Cửu Thiên Khai Hoá.”

Which power created them?

The incomparable power of the Supreme Being. The dharma has
been in place since primordial time to unite all beings with the
Supreme Being. We seek the Tao essentially to understand the
dharma and how we can attain it. Therefore, the Cửu Trùng Đài is
the Cửu Thiên Khai Hoá who create all beings in the Universe.
Looking at the sky, we see countless planets which we call stars;
each of them is an earth where beings reside. That is why the
Supreme Being said that this Universe is full of Living Beings. In
other words, the Cửu Trùng Đài stands for the Temporal, while the
Hiệp Thiên Đài (the Divine Alliance Body) for the creation dharma
or the Spiritual. It is very clear.

Now, let Bần Đạo ask why He comes here to rule the world. Let us
explore the secret at a higher and deeper level. What do we see
now? We see that people are becoming impulsive, self-reliant,

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speculative and individualistic; there is no more virtue. At this
moment, two concepts exist: Communism in spirit and in material.

Fields like mechanics, physics and chemistry which belong to the
material concept.

The two concepts are at odds with each other. If one day they unite
and lend spirit to the material, what will the earth become?
Materials will only trend toward materialism. If Religions who hold
the future of human souls are not capable enough, materialism will
push both human souls and bodies toward destruction. That said,
how can the spirit or virtue stand against it? As the secular world is
too developed in materialism, Religions must be capable enough to
waken human souls, guide and protect their existence. We see that
existing Religions on this earth have lost their power. Definitely!
There is no one to control the rebelling human minds, so they freely
kill each other.

The Supreme Being comes to save His children.

What has He done? It is nothing strange. He only upholds virtue as
the common point for human minds in order to preserve human life;
only spiritualism can preserve human existence.

At that point, Bần Đạo said, “Alas! After twenty three years, the Cao
Đài Religion is still limited to Vietnam. How can we spread over the
world to save humanity? I am afraid that such duty lays a long road
ahead. We are still at the preliminary step, while human fate is
pressing. How can we transform them in time to complete our
sacred duty?”

He replied graciously beyond our imagination: “Although the
grinding factory does not plough the field, it can still provide rice to

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the entire mankind. The Cao Đài Religion does not spread out of
Vietnam, but can still fully complete the duty.”

Bần Đạo asked about the implication of His words.

He replied, “The legacy inherent in the Religion of the Supreme
Being is the rope to bring Religions of the world together. Since
there is no common government to bring them together, mankind is
divided and discriminates against each other. Can the religious wars
between India and Palestine unite Religions in virtue? Only the
Supreme Being’s power can create a tie between Religions.”

Bần Đạo continued to ask: “If Religions do not listen to the Supreme
Being’s words in His effort to create harmony, what shall we do?”

He said: “They do not listen at this moment, but mankind will
recognize that essential matter and demand it. They will have to
accept. When mankind forces them to unite, they will. Otherwise,
they will eliminate themselves.”

The fact that the Supreme Being assigns the Hộ Pháp (the Protector
of the Laws) to govern the Two Bodies means that Divine Laws
designate the spiritual to rule over the Temporal. Such power will
save the Temporal from annihilation.

That is why He said Divine Laws lie in Bần Đạo’s hands.

Additional note:

Regarding the first paragraph (“Bần Đạo am surprised to… If only
everyone could see the miraculous dharma/ power…”), we suggest

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this version for more clarity: “Bần Đạo am surprised to… If only
everyone could see the miraculous dharma…”

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33. THE KARMA OF THE VIETNAMESE PEOPLE

The Temple of Gratitude, Ngọ time on the 15th day of the 3rd month
Mậu Tý year (23/04/1948)

Dear sisters and brothers, when we live among society and see
abnormalities, we have to seek to understand or speculate. For
example, when the thread does not go through the cloth, there must
be something wrong with the sewing machine. When we grind the
powder and it fails to come out, we know there is not enough water.
There are reasons for everything; we must seek or speculate.

Now, it is bizarre that France has accepted to return our freedom,
independence and unity. They have said that if we can rule and
protect ourselves, and bring happiness to our people, they are
willing to return it. They were afraid that we not only would be
unhappy, but also face danger. So they shouldered the duty in the
past eighty years, which created an intimate relationship between
the two peoples. Secondly, the mutual interests incurred in the past
eighty years have facilitated our mutual life and happiness. If they
are willing to return our sovereignty, many will find it strange,
especially the French intelligentsia. They are surprised that while
France does not prevent or refuse the unification and independence
of Vietnam, the Vietnamese people still fight against France. They
asked why. France once would like to return them (translator note:
unification and independence) to another entity, i.e. to hand them
over without second thoughts. But it occurred to them that they are
not the owner, so tried to claim back in vain. That mistake has
caused unusual chaos. Bần Đạo blamed them for the chaos and they
could not deny. They also said that if France did not allow Vietnam
to unify or to be independent, we must have killed them because

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they are an enemy. Why do we kill our own people and cause civil
massacre? They condemn them as villains who took advantage of
the term ‘patriotism’ to kill people and rob them.
Strangely enough! Last night, I preached clearly that due to our
race’s karma, we have to bear sufferings today. As our ancestors
borrowed, now we have to pay. The tragedy of fratricide will
continue for a long time; its consequences will stay forever. Is there
any way we can end it? Of course, there is.
I thought the challenge would come from France, but on the
contrary His Majesty Bảo Đại poses difficulty to them and causes
delay to the negotiation. One day’s delay costs innumerable lives.
Why? Because the karma has not been paid off; the people must lose
their lives to settle the debt. They pay by blood and lives. This is why
we face the strange obstacle. The debt must be paid by lives and
blood, i.e. your children and relatives. Let us pray that the Mother
Buddha will lend a hand. Why are you so indifferent? So are the
males. Who knows the unpaid blood may belong to you? Let us all
pray together.

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34. THE SUPREME BEING PERFORMED DHARMA IN KIM BIÊN

Holy See, Midnight of the 24th day of the 5th month Mậu Tý year
(30/06/1948)

Bần Đạo recalled the time when we established the Sacerdotal
Council of Foreign Missions in Kim Biên in 1927. The Supreme Being
allowed our Archbishop Hương Lự to communicate with Him; she
watched, listened and taught the dharma to Bần Đạo.

The Supreme Being told Bần Đạo to come to the writing table and
take two pieces from an array of daily newspapers on it. He also
taught our sister, i.e. Archbishop Bảy, to perform a mudra. Then, Bần
Đạo spread the newspaper behind her without her knowing. After
performing the mudra, Bần Đạo said, “Done”. Immediately, she
jumped backward and stepped on the newspapers. Bần Đạo did not
know what it meants. The Supreme Being told us to see what she
stepped on. Bần Đạo saw Tưởng Giới Thạch (Chiang Kai-shek - 蔣中
正/ 蔣介石) under her front leg; she stepped right on his head. Bần
Đạo told her to lift the other leg and found the photo of Roosevelt,
the American president; she stepped on his chest and mouth. The
Supreme Being spoke to Bần Đạo, “One day, China will worship the
Faith with their whole heart, while the United States will carry the
responsibility to spread the Faith all over the world.” Today, we see
that the Supreme Being seems to have brought the American
correspondents here to collect all the material of the Faith, including
photos, the Bible and the Cannonical Codes. These people are just
like His Holiness Tam Tạng (Xuanzhang - 玄奘) who came to India to
bequest Buddhist Bible(s). Bần Đạo am sure that the secret revealed
during our performance of the dharma has come true today.

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Therefore, we must make efforts to welcome them during this
ceremony.
Bần Đạo think those present at this ceremony may have the honour
of becoming missionaries in the United States later.
Bần Đạo would like to thank all males and females. We shall see the
secret dharma realized by the Supreme Being in the coming time.

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35. OUR NUMBER ONE PROPERTY ON EARTH

Holy See, Night of the 14th day of the 6th month Mậu Tý year (1948)

Tonight, Bần Đạo continue to preach about our number one
property on earth.

Bần Đạo already described the three types of property the other day.
The Supreme Being guides all His children to obtain them; we walk
along that path to obtain the three possessions. We can create for
ourselves a great cause in both the visible and the Divine worlds.

Now, Bần Đạo will only talk about the number one property, i.e. our
visible property. Bần Đạo have described the usefulness of our
visible property. Those who can accumulate land property and
material wealth have a better physical life. First, let us explore its
origin and what benefits it brings. It gives us food, clothing and all
the necessities to sustain our physical life. In this token, we are
basically animals. Like animals, our body has five internal organs
and six body parts; we eat the same food with them. There are two
sources of nutrition: first is the direct, and second is the indirect.
The direct source does not sustain human life for long, while the
indirect one including vegetables and fruit provides us with very rich
nutrition. Direct intake by killing animals for meat limits human life;
our (spiritual) cultivation will hardly last a long time.

Only plants must sacrifice themselves to feed animals; we must eat
plants instead. Furthermore, if animals must sacrifice themselves to
feed humans, humans must sacrifice themselves to the Supreme
Being. Does that Being force us to sacrifice ourselves? Definitely no.
There is no reason why animals should sacrifice themselves to feed
humans.

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As animals are blessed with plant food to sustain their life, we have
no right to take their lives for our own.

We see that in this age people kill animals for food. How can’t there
be mass killing? Due to cruelty, we accumulate wealth for our own
name. We do not use land to grow plants for food. The Supreme
Being designs this earth so all the necessities come from earth and
humans rely on it for our life. This theory is clear as daylight; there
is no reason we should not live from earth. The Supreme Being has
created our life and given us the power to sustain it on earth. How
unfortunate! We can turn earth into food to feed people; the wealth
on earth can feed people without their fighting. Our life would be
very easy. Why do we render it so hard? The Supreme Being has
shown us that He does not bring us hardship. By telling us to eat
vegetarian food, He essentially demands us to turn earth into life;
our life would be very simple. We would plough to live. It is hard to
ask from others, but not so from earth. If we relied on earth for life,
mankind would live in harmony.

If everyone lived such a simple, decent and hard-working life, we
would never be hungry. Hunger is the result of laziness. On the
contrary, they do not plough to live; they only plot to gain from
others. Desire for others’ properties has caused the current
competition.

Bần Đạo have explained to you the visible means of living so you can
earn a living. Meanwhile, the Divine property is our family lineage. He
has bestowed such possession on our parents, wife, children and
siblings which we cannot find ourselves. Famine occurs because we
do not find land to make a living; instead, we kill animals for food
and kill each other to gain reputation and benefits. Sufferings are

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rampant in the society. Those who have an instinct to compete and
fight against others live in loneliness and agony; no one is there to
help when they fall. The Supreme Being arranged the livelihood for
mankind, but they do not know. They seek other means of living so
as to fulfill their material needs. The current turmoil came about
because we fail to find the original plan the Supreme Being had for
mankind on earth.

Can we turn that basic but sacred plan into reality? The Supreme
Being said it is absolutely possible: if you would like to attain the
sacred treasure, you must unite into a family. The sacred treasure
has been given to each of us, but few pay attention to. We stay poor
because we are too blind to see. Such is the pain of our living friends.
When their pain is over, we will have attained it on earth.

Regarding the third property, Bần Đạo already described it through
the Confucian teaching:

“Tích kim dĩ di tử tôn, tử tôn vị tất năng thủ,

Tích thơ dĩ di tử tôn, tử tôn dĩ tất năng độc,

Bất như tích âm đức vi minh minh chi trung dĩ trường cửu chi kế.”

In other words, if we store gold for our children, will they be able to
keep it? If we store books, will they read them? Only accumulating
virtues will we be able to pass down to them. Unless we follow a
Religion, we will never be able to achieve that goal. Today, the
Supreme Being establishes this Faith so you can accumulate
virtues within the Cao Đài Religion.

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Only the Cao Đài Religion allows millions of you to do so, and the
virtues produced by the Cao Đài Religion will never be lost. I can
guarantee that they will never be lost.

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36. THE GOVERNING LAW AND POWER OF THE UNIVERSE

Holy See, Night of the 23rd day of the 6th month Mậu Tý year
(29/07/1948)

Today, Bần Đạo preach about the governing law and power of the
Universe.

Today’s sermon mainly aims to help the entire Holy Body of the
Supreme Being understand the governing law and power of the
Divine realm. All the Divinely Ordained Dignitaries should pay close
attention and think it over and again to see how strange they are.
How simple the governing law and power of the Universe are!
Although secular laws and powers are very complicated, they can by
no means create peace but cause even more hardship and suffering
to people. Since the governing law and power of the Universe
constitute the Tao, any Religion that does not follow them to govern
the people’s hearts is heresy; they are not True Religions. We must
observe these points in Bần Đạo’s sermon today; Bần Đạo will
explain them clearly. Furthermore, we should know how such
power and law keep the Universe in peace before we can
understand that all Religious laws and power originate from them.
Where can we seek to understand that law? We must seek from the
Creator or the Governor of the Universe. Only by understanding His
abilities and characteristics can we understand His law and power.
Who is that Being? He is our Great Merciful Father.

Once, Bần Đạo posed the questions to His Holiness Nguyệt Tâm
Chơn Nhơn (Translator note: Victor Hugo). Bần Đạo asked, “What
are the power and the heart of the Supreme Being like?” He
answered in French. Here is Bần Đạo’s translation: “The law is love,

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and the power justice; He is close by the kind and far from the
secular.”

The two poetic lines convey the essential meanings. Let us find out
what its origin is and why it has so much power. We only have to
look into our body to understand it. What is the secret mechanism
which brings our physical body into being? Isn’t it the love of our
parents? If we still have doubts, let us observe living beings.

Birds flock together, and trees joining branches; even animals love
each other. The law of nature uses love as the basis to give life to all
beings. The Supreme Being also creates beings out of love; from the
littlest to the loftiest the law is the only one. Such is the scope of the
law. Let us look into the family and see what power and law are
used by our parents to rule the family. Our parents only rule us with
love; in order for us to obey our parents’ commands, it also takes
justice. The law of nature has always been present in the family. We
do not need to look further than living beings like animals. For
example, in a flock of chicken, it is easy to recognize the love of the
hen and rooster for their chicks.

It will be a lie to say that beings in the Universe have no love for
each other. Born among living beings, if we uphold justice, we know
for sure that all living beings bear relationship with us, including
even plants and rocks. All are in a relationship with us; otherwise,
we cannot live in happiness. We cannot deny it. Their relationship
with us is not one of love, but a universal tie which forces them to
obey. It is not profound love, but a compulsory connection of the
Universe. For example, the sun gives us daylight, the moon
nightlight, and myriad stars twinkling above us. The entire Universe
requires solid human knowledge to understand. If we do not have

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enough to understand, we still feel an intimate bond with it. We also
must know our relationship with it in order to really grasp it. How
about the law of love which the Supreme Being places in the heart of
each human being? We cannot deny that like human beings, animals
also have love. Otherwise, there would be no reproduction to carry
on the blood line. It is a rule. When time comes, nature requires that
everyone follow that rule. Needless to say, it is amazingly strong. We
see that couples would rather die than leave the one they love. What
law forces them to do so? It is the law of love. Bần Đạo would like to
repeat that if it were not for the law of love, living beings would be
useless on this planet. The Universe is the same; living beings on
other planets are also the same. It is the law of love.

Now, Bần Đạo will preach about power, i.e. justice. Creation does
not favour, forget, hate, threaten, oppose or abandon anyone. Living
beings coexist with us. Let us consider a blind beggar who no one
cares about, abandon and despise due to his poverty. However, his
dog is loyal and loves him. Why? Because of the Divine power of
justice which compels it to love and not to betray. If we take into
account human justice, we should question if intelligence and
criticality have given rise to doubt and extinguished our inborn
kindness!

Living beings do not give more to some and less to others. They lie
on the ground and respond to our appreciation. They will follow our
will when we treat them with pure love. If we can raise fierce
animals like tiger, leopard, bear and lion, Bần Đạo am sure that they
will be like house dogs. Without Divine justice in the Universe,
human life would become animalistic; we would fight and destroy to
feed ourselves. The world would support no life. Without justice,
planets would just go after light and collide with each other; the sun

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and the moon would no longer exist. The Universe is regulated by
the power of justice. If we obey, we will live on; otherwise, we would
be destroyed. As we observe such law and right, we see that they are
governed by the Creator. How strange! The Creator of the Universe
now comes to build our Faith with the same law and framework.
What framework does He use to create such law and right? What
law and method does He instill into His Holy Body to govern the
congregation? We have the Religious Constitution and the New
Canonical Codes which mainly serve to rule people’s heart and
redeem the sins of the sinners in case they do not confess in front of
others and the Divine. Those Codes are like a liberating rope which
brings the sinners from the Yin Realm to the Divine; they are not the
core law and dharma.

It is the Religious Constitution which He used to establish His Holy
Body but only in this world. His right of justice has perfected His
Divine Holy Body. The Codes are designed by the Sacerdotal Council,
not by the Supreme Being.

If we say the New Canonical Codes are worldly, they are truly so.
Meanwhile, the Divine Law of love is Holy. Am Bần Đạo overstating
it? Bần Đạo will now show you the evidence.

Since our initiation 23 years ago, what method has the Faith used to
build its govermental system? Secular powers often rely on guns,
words and prisons. How do Religions obtain power to establish
religious politics? Frankly, if it were not for the law of love, Bần Đạo
would not be standing on this pulpit. If it were not for the right of
justice, the Cao Đài Religion would have been destroyed. These are
very clear evidence.

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If the entire Holy Body of the Supreme Being are already aware, you
should hold the power of that natural law. When people love each
other dearly, religious power will be supreme on earth.

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37. THE BIOGRAPHY OF QUAN THÁNH ĐẾ QUÂN (GUAN GONG -
關公)

Holy See, Midnight of the 24th day of the 6th month Mậu Tý year
(30/07/1948)

Today is the Day of the Cái Thiên Cổ Phật Quan Thánh Đế Quân or
the Hớn Thọ Đình Hầu Quan Vân Trường in the Han dynasty in the
Three Kingdoms’ time.

He was sanctified at the time of the Han dynasty and the Three
Kingdoms. Now, He has attained a position as the Third Reigning
Divine Being in the True Religion of the Supreme Being. Such lofty
honour is incomparable. There are few Divine Beings who have such
honourable power. If ever, only Trần Hưng Đạo in Việt Nam can
compare to Him to some extent. Rarely did anyone in East Asia
achieve it. Therefore, we should study how He attained such a
special Divine position.

Hớn Thọ Đình Hầu Quan Vân Trường was at that time a Shu
commander under Lưu Bị (Liu Bei - 刘备). We can see His loyalty,
courage, righteousness, and spirit, especially regarding
brotherhood and His love for His friends. Surely enough, although
our Vietnamese people were influenced by Confucian culture, no
one has emulated Him. Thanks to loyalty, He did not follow Tao for
riches, and was only devoted to the Han. Thanks to righteousness,
He did not turn back on His friends in times of hardship. His loyalty
and righteousness are one of a kind. Regarding His spirit, it is
impossible to fully describe: He does not kill people who dismount
the horse. According to the scriptures, He was close to being killed
by Hạ Hầu Đôn (Xiahou Dun - 夏侯惇), because the latter knew His

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weakness; but He was saved by Trương Liêu (Zhang Liao - 张辽).
Every time He turned His sword, the other jumped off his horse. His
spirit is one of a kind. He guided His spirit only with the Spring and
Autumn Annals. Later generations honoured Him with two lines of
poem: “Spirit guided by the Spring and Autumn Annals, merit devoted
to the Han dynasty; Loyal like the Sun and the Moon, righteous like
Heaven.” He never left the Annals, but always contemplated their
content to guide His spirit.

Since the vow of friendship at the Peach Garden, He never changed
heart through either hardship or glory. His spirit has no match; it is
hard to find anyone else like Him on earth. It has a special power.
Let us explore how He attained it.

His origin was a Red Dragon spirit. Once, people in Northern Han
violated Divine Law, and were punished by the Court of God by a
drought which led to a famine. The village people prayed to Him for
salvation. He knew clearly that they were punished by Divine Law,
but still made rain because He loved them too much to let them
starve. The Court of God ordered the Gods of Thunder to destroy
Him. With the help of a monk, He hid under a bell in a pagoda. The
monk told those in the pagoda not to lift the bell until His
punishment period was over. Out of curiosity, they lifted it, and He
had to reincarnate into Hạng Võ (Xiang Yu - 项籍). (*)

Everyone knows who Hạng Võ is. If we read “Queries of Trọng
Tương (仲襄) for the Han”, we know clearly He was Hạng Võ in one
life and Guan Gong in the following one. Because Hớn Bái Công (Liu
Bang? - 刘邦) listened to Lã Hậu (Lü Zhi - 吕雉) and killed
meritorious mandarins including Hàn Tín (Han Xin - 韩信), such
crime resulted in their being condemned to hell for lives without

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being judged. At that time, Master Trọng Tương (仲襄) was a poor
Confucian student but was very virtuous. After his father’s death,
Trọng Tương built a tomb for him and lived in it. He was often
saddened by the thought that he was talented but did not have a
good fate. He wrote a poem to complain, “Heaven and Earth are
partial; God is unjust.” The purpose was to criticize the Han crime
which remained unjudged in hell. For this reason, he committed
blasphemy and his soul was taken to hell for judgement by the Kings
of hell. Trọng Tương calmly replied, “If I were a judge in the Court of
hell, I would solve it.” The King of hell accepted. He ruled, “Karma
from the previous life shall be paid in the next: Bành Việt (Peng Yue
- 彭越) shall reincarnate into Lưu Bị, Anh Bố (Ying Bu - 英布) into
Ngô Tôn Quyền (Sūn Quán - 孙权), Hàn Tín into Tào Tháo (Cao Cao -

孟德), Hạng Sư (Yongchi? - 雍齿) into Nhan Lương (Yan Liang - 颜良

), Hạng Bá (Xiang Chan - 项缠) into Văn Xủ (Wén Chǒu - 文醜), and
Hạng Võ into Guan Gong. (*)

We know that the six commanders of Hạng Võ betrayed and chased
Him to Ô Giang where He was beheaded and handed over to Đình
Trưởng. His uncle, Hạng Bá, turned his back on Him, submitted
himself to Hớn Bái Công and invaded the Shu State. Karma in this life
resulted in the following one. But strangely, for Lữ Mông (Lü Meng -
吕蒙), the karma was different. In his previous life, Lữ Mông was a
blacksmith. Guan Gong hired him to weld a large sword according to
His secret design which He did not want anyone to know. When it
was completed, He tested and suddenly remembered His thought.
He slew the blacksmith in two. The blacksmith reincarnated into Lữ
Mông. The day He left His body was the day He paid the karma with
the blacksmith; Lữ Mông reincarnated to take His life in return.

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When His spirit departed, Châu Xương (Zhou Cang - 周仓) and Quan
Bình (Guan Ping - 关平) also killed themselves. Their spirits
travelled in the air to a pagoda, and asked a monk named Phổ Tịnh
(Pujing - 普净) to get His head back. The monk used a fan to knock
against the door and chanted the kinh vãng sanh (end-of-life
prayers) three times. Guan Gong still stayed there and asked for His
head. The monk laughed and said, “Nhan Lương and Văn Xủ reclaim
your heads from whom? It is your karma.” His Holiness Quan Thánh
Đế Quân woke up, and requested Phổ Tịnh’s permission to stay and
cultivate His spirit. He became awakened at that same pagoda. After
His awakening, He destroyed devil souls to save living beings. Since
then, He has not reincarnated any more, but only used His Divine
authority to carry out His missions. With His Divine authority, He
attained Buddhahood and was given the title “Cái Thiên Cổ Phật” by
the people. Bần Đạo can say for sure that He was not Divinely
ordained but was elected by the people. Therefore, when the Supreme
Being established the Faith to unite living beings, He ordained that
Being as a Reigning Divine Being so He will advocate for people to
attain liberation.

Bần Đạo think that such ordination is the utmost manifestation of
justice in the Court of God and in the Supreme Being’s decisions.
Hớn Thọ Đình Hầu attained His Divine position with His spirit. This
fact shows clearly to the children of the Master that death is not the
end; it is the start of the real life. And the life with the Master is more
powerful and real than life on earth.

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Additional note: For better comprehension by the readers, we took the
liberty to break the paragraph where there is the asterisk sign. These
breaks were not part of the original version. Respectfully yours.

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38. WHAT IS THE SACERDOTAL COUNCIL

Holy See, Midnight of the 28th day of the 6th month Mậu Tý year
(03/08/1948)

Today, Bần Đạo will preach what the Sacerdotal Council is.

Bần Đạo have said many times that the Sacerdotal Council is the Holy
Body of the Supreme Being, i.e. His physical body on earth.
Fortunately enough! During the 20th century, when chaos,
decadence and cruelty are rampant, the Supreme Being has come to
guide His children, i.e. the Original spirits on earth, who have fallen
into the path of sins. He comes to gather them and find them
Himself. He is not here for only one day, but for thousands of years.
He descends amid sufferings and hardship but willingly shoulders
them. He seeks ways to save all living beings; the salvation has not
been completed and the ninety two hundred thousand souls are still
trapped in the world of sins. He comes to bring them all back in this
third amnesty. Today, we receive His special blessing to be His Holy
Body or to be Him. However subtle the law of nature may be, we can
still understand it through worldly examples. During His dying
moment, a father looks at his children among whom many have had
their own families but some little ones are still not wise enough.
How difficult it is for him! What will he do knowing that those
children will be uncared for after his death? Certainly, he will leave
his dying words to his eldest son: “After my death, you must love
your little brothers, care for them and give them a happy life.” The
son listens to his father’s will and teaches his younger brothers to be
good. One day, when the children become successful, how happy the
family will be! It will be even happier if the father sees his children
become more successful than him.

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The Supreme Being wants to come Himself to save His children, but
His Guardian did not let Him because He suffered a great deal every
time. So His Guardian decided to come instead. Let us imagine the
Supreme Being only agrees on the condition that His Guardian
promises to save all His children. He said, “If you want to go on My
behalf, you must take care of them all and bring them all back. You
must have enough courage and strength to stand by them. If you do
not want Me to, you have to act like Me.” His Guardian who descends
on His behalf must choose good souls among His children to form
His image as per His requirement. The Sacerdotal Council is the Holy
Body of the Supreme Being. Therefore, when drafting the Religious
Constitution for His Holy Body, He determined that one must be the
eldest brother among His children. The eldest brother must be a
father and master during His absence. Only, no one deserves to be.
He would surely recognize and accept when someone is virtuous
enough to replace Him. Nothing is more pleasing to Him than to
have His Holy Body teach and save His children perfectly according
to His will. Both the males and females in the Sacerdotal Council,
i.e. His image, are trusted by Him to be fathers and masters. As
we replace Him to be fathers and masters, we are fathers and
masters. If we fulfill those duties, how can’t people respect us as
fathers and masters?

Among our brothers here and the little ones, there are Buddhas and
Immortals incarnate, but they are still waiting for us to elevate them.
Since they are still not wise enough, we are tasked to guide them so
they will have lofty spirit and undertake missions from the Supreme
Being. Consequently, we will complete our duties with the Supreme
Being when we have enough capabilities to guide the younger
generations.

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39. WHAT IS THE HIỆP THIÊN CONSTITUTION? WHAT ARE THE
LAWS OF THE THREE RELIGIONS?

Holy See, Midnight of the 1st day of the 7th month Mậu Tý year
(05/08/1948)

We often use the terms “Toà Hiệp Thiên” (“the Divine Alliance
Court”) or “Toà Tam Giáo” (“the Court of the Three Religions”)
without realizing our ignorance. His Holiness Nguyệt Tâm Chơn
Nhơn (Victor Hugo) once asked Bần Đạo during a séance: “Expliquez
etymologyquement le mot Toà.” (What is the original meaning of the
word ‘Toà’) Bần Đạo answered, “His Holiness, Toà is the place to
judge the law breakers (meaning Court).” He laughed and said:
“Wrong, Toà is used to signify a building or palace; it is not related
to the laws.” Bần Đạo took the chance to learn more from Him. He
said: “The Supreme Being has given you a very clever and
meaningful word; why don’t you use it? The Supreme Being drafted
the Religious Constitution and trusted it to the protection of the
Divine Alliance Body. It contains miraculous dharma to build
positions for His children on earth. He borrows the physical bodies
of His children and assembles them into a hierarchy, i.e. to form His
Holy Body. The ranks are related to the members of the Sacerdotal
Council who together constitute His Holy Body. He enacted the
Religious Constitution mainly to give authority to His Holy Body. If
we attain such authority, we can return to Him. Therefore, the
Religious Constitution is the method to define positions and
authority so as to unite His children with Him.”

Now, let us talk about the laws of the Three Religions. The Three
Religions include Confucianism, Taoism and Buddhism. Religious
laws also govern visible matters. Crimes only imply violation of

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Divine laws, while Religious laws also include principles which the
Three Religions would like people to practice. However, people keep
straying from them.

So there are two parts:

1. The Divine Alliance Constitution

2. The Laws of the Three Religions

Although they are not related, they are both governed by the Divine
Alliance Body. The full and correct term is the Constitution of the
Divine Alliance Body. Bần Đạo will explain what the Constitution of
the Divine Alliance Body is. The Supreme Being comes and gives
authority to His Holy Body mainly to oblige the Divine authority to
recognize that of His children who have attained corresponding
positions on earth. Except the Supreme Being, no one has the power
to oblige the governors of the Universe, i.e. Angels, Saints, Immortals
and Buddhas to obey. Let us think about this. A loving father says, “I
come to My children. I want to make them Chief Mandarins in this
world; the entire court must acknowledge them as Chief Mandarins
without question. You must obey their authority as Chief
Mandarins.” Except the king, no one can tell the people to obey such
command. Unless the Supreme Being establishes the Faith, no one
could oblige the Nine Heavens of Creation to acknowledge their Holy
Body. Why does He trust it to the Divine Alliance Body? If there were
no one to govern the Constitution, its value and compliance would
be gone. If the Divine Alliance Body did not govern it, everyone from
the Pope, Cardinals to Legislative Cardinals would keep infringing
upon each other’s authority and lead to chaos. We have seen such
tragedy over and again, but why couldn’t they go beyond their own
authority? Because the Divine Alliance (Body) protects the laws

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firmly and prevents disorder. Regardless of infringement, the Divine
Alliance Body still holds them firmly and defines positions for the
children of the Supreme Being. If the Divine Alliance Body allowed
them to act freely, we would sin against the Supreme Being because
He has trusted the treasure to us to define the positions of His
children. The treasure has been portioned out among His children
from the eldest to the youngest. When the Divine Alliance Body let
the strong take over the treasure from the others, how will the
treasure guardian be punished? Without anyone to ensure it is justly
distributed among His children, others would take it away from
them. His children would not be able to inherit the treasure. The
hierarchy defined by the Constitution mainly serves to unite His
children with Him. To that end, He lets the Divine Alliance Body be
the chief guardian of the Constitution. The Thượng Phẩm (Chief of
Spiritual Affairs) governs Religious Laws to define positions, while
the Thượng Sanh (Chief of Temporal Affairs) guides His children to
the Faith and clear their path. The Supreme Being creates the great
cause for the entire mankind; no one has the right to claim it for
their own. Such law is just and righteous. Bần Đạo repeat: the
Religious Constitution mainly serves to build authority for the
children of the Supreme Being through hierarchy, power, order, and
titles, and is trusted to the government of the Divine Alliance Body
to avoid disorder; disorder will destroy the Faith.

Now, let us talk about the Laws of the Three Religions: the Cao Đài
Religion does not adopt the exact nature of the Three Religions as its
basis, but selects and combines the original teachings of Religions on
earth. Why do we call them the Laws of only Three Religions?
Because today the Three Religions become one. There are many
Religions on earth, but they do not go beyond the boundaries of the

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Three Major Religions. Changes are only to relax the practices, while
the core ideals still conform to those Laws.

Do these Laws condemn people? They will suspect that the Faith has
a court. They are mistaken! The only precious thing in humans is
their heart. There must be some reason why they are born here. Bần
Đạo am sure that even a supreme Buddha who reincarnates into a
physical body will forget his previous life; His eye of wisdom is
closed and he does not know himself or his status. His secular body
renders everything secular. Only the omnipotent, omni-aware and
perfect Supreme Being can avoid the cycle of rebirth. No one else
can. The spirits from Divine realms or the Court of God come here
under the order of the Supreme Being to form His Holy Body - they
are the representatives. The rest all have their karma and sins; they
are here to settle that karma as a result of the cycle of rebirth. What
does the Supreme Being have to do to make His children holy? He
must bring them all into the Faith and cleanse them so people want
to stay close to them out of love, respect and worship. The Law of
the Three Religions is the Holy Water which cleanses the soul.

The true legacy which the Supreme Being left on earth (in the
teachings) of Buddhism, Taoism and Confucianism is the way to
cleanse the soul. Catholicism particularly has the baptism
sacrament, but we do not understand why the Supreme Being did
not teach the true dharma. His Holiness Jesus Christ may have
delegated such authority to His representatives, i.e. the leaders of
the Sacerdotal Council, so they were able to forgive the sins.
However, between the baptiser and the confessor, either one does
not sincerely confess their sins, or the other does not deserve to
baptise. Both of them are mortals; can one cleanse the sins of the
other? If they do not have enough authority to, they will commit

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even more sins. Sins are entailed by sentence and punishment; they
will only be redeemed when the sentence finishes. Sins must be
redeemed; redemption will cleanse off the sins. If we do not lower
ourselves and have the courage to confess, we have to bear the
consequences. If we sin and are afraid of tainting our worldly name,
we risk losing our divine title and will regret it. Do not hesitate if
you treasure your soul; come confess to the Divine Dignitaries who
hold the legislative power. They will pass some sort of sentence, but
will not have you beheaded. However serious your sins are, it will
not be detrimental even when you are expelled by the Divine
Alliance Legislation. Your repentance, self-cultivation even without
the acknowledgment of the Sacerdotal Council, and your faith and
piety to the Supreme Being will please the Angels, Saints, Immortals
and Buddhas. You will be welcomed back to the Divine Realm with
much more respect. Those are souls who can preserve their virtues
and hold sublime positions before reincarnation. Regular positions
cannot compare with those who repent. If you cultivate yourself
after being expelled, people may not understand but the Supreme
Being will. Your cultivation will keep the Divine door from closing.
Those souls are sanctified by the Supreme Being. He has said, “The
Divine Realm does not welcome the aggressive, but strangely
enough most Divine positions are attained by the virtuously
aggressive who bring down the Heaven gate to enter.” If we do not
have the courage to face a sentence but can correct ourselves, the
Cao Đài Faith may not understand but the Supreme Being will. It is
enough to have our Father’s understanding. Only, your soul may be
so attached to the secular world that you will lose your divinity and
be trapped in the cycle of rebirth. Bần Đạo can say that in this world
the number of Evolutionary Spirits is even less than that of Original
Ones who are condemned to rebirth to redeem their sins due to

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their attachment to the secular world and to their lack of courage to
confess before the Supreme Being and the Divine Beings. If you do
not want to wait and confess to the Supreme Being, you should to
the Divine Dignitaries of the Divine Alliance Body. As you redeem
your sins, it is impossible for the Divine to impose heavy sentences;
each sin may only result in one sentence.
As long as mankind does not have the courage to confess their sins,
the Divine door will keep rejecting them.
Additional note: We trace the date of the sermon to the 1st of July Mậu
Tý year (05/08/1948). The original version is dated the 1st of May
Mậu Tý year (05/08/1948).

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40. TEACHING OF HIS HOLINESS HỘ PHÁP
The 11th day of the 11th month Giáp Ngọ year (05/12/1954)
His Holiness Hộ Pháp taught:
“As the Faith has been spread to the world, we have to restore our
holy traits to deserve to be the holy land. We will be the spiritual
cornerstone for the faith of mankind.”
His Holiness Hộ Pháp said:
“The suffering relief flag of the Cao Đài Religion upholds Love and
Justice. Peace and Happiness are only possible when we foster those
values.”

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41. LOYALTY, PIETY AND GRATITUDE

Holy See, Midnight of the 6th day of the 7th month Mậu Tý year
(10/08/1948)

Tonight, Bần Đạo will preach about the three words “LOYALTY,
PIETY AND GRATITUDE” because they are the manifestation of the
nature of sublime souls.

Confucians say: “Personality comes from the heart.” It is a Confucian
theory; we can observe phenomena and describe the physiognomy.
Confucianism is not a mysterious religion. Meanwhile, the Supreme
Being teaches us that personality is the physiognomy of the peri-
spirit, whereas the heart is the physiognomy of the spirit. The
Supreme Being teaches that our personality is our second image.
Our first image is the heart or the spirit, second is virtue or the peri-
spirit, and third is this physical body. The Supreme Being asks why
Confucian philosophy states that “Personality comes from the
heart.” Because they are closely related to each other. Our
personality is the manifestation of our heart. Confucians describe
the phenomena, while the Supreme Being points out clearly that the
perispirit also evolves with the spirit. Each individual has those two
capacities which have the power to produce our physical body. A
sublime soul naturally has a sublime perispirit, because they go
hand in hand and evolve upon the Supreme Being’s path of holy
virtue. They are closely related. When we attain the dharma and
have enough power to decide our destiny, i.e. they have evolved to
the right level, even the Court of God no longer governs over us. We
attain the right of self-control just like the worldly organizations
which evolve to a certain limit. In the Religion of the Supreme Being,
there is a rank of Immortals who are no longer subject to the Court

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of God; they govern themselves and use their power to cultivate
their spirit the way they would like to. They use their own right to
produce such image; otherwise, their physical body will push, bind,
betray and cause them to be condemned. Only when this animal no
longer has influence will they have the power to control and evolve
to perfection and ominipotence which are their ultimate goals.

The perispirit, or the second image, is created from the Qi/
energy of seven heavenly planes. Except for the Heaven of Creation
or the Ninth Heaven, the spirit comes to the Eighth Heaven to decide
their mission on earth. From the Seventh Heaven downward, the
(second) image is created. The seven planes correspond to the seven
emotions which are called seven visible images by Taoism. Six of
them are created by energy; the seventh is this physical animal. The
seven planes are strangely related to the even emotions: the
Seventh, Sixth and Fifth represent Love, Bliss and Joy; the Fourth
Desire; the Third Sorrow; the Second Hatred; and the First Anger.
The last plane of physicality manifests Anger.

Bần Đạo would like to point out clearly that the three virtues
Loyalty, Piety and Gratitude comes from Love which is the only
emotion to be closely related with the spirit. Babies who are not
controlled by the physical body only lives according to their spirit.
At the beginning, they love their surrounding relatives like parents,
while the perispirit protects and preserves their life. According to
Taoism, children are only influenced by physicality from the age of
twelve; those under twelve are not. The three virtues Loyalty, Piety
and Gratitude belong to the power of love, and are very closely
related to the spirit just like in babies. Bần Đạo just said that Loyalty,
Piety and Gratitude come from love so they are Holy. Once we are
unchained from the physical body and reach the Seventh heavenly

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plane, we will surely be liberated and sanctified because it is close to
Holiness.

Why are we Loyal? Because our love for the nation and the people
is so lofty and immense. If an official sacrifices his life to protect the
people, such loyalty is not to the king but to the country. Bus as the
king represents the country, loyalty to the king means loyalty to the
country. Loyalty is the result of immense love for the people and
country; such love takes control of our mind. For that reason, there
are loyal people who dare sacrifice their life.

Now, Piety. Why is there Piety? Because wise and sublime souls are
already pious to two Beings – the Creator of the spirit and the
Creator of the perispirit. Since they are pious to these two Beings
and respect the power of creation, they naturally regard the
Creators of the physical body just the same. Piety comes naturally
because it is inborn. Those pious souls are certainly sublime who
know thoroughly where they come from and who their Creators are.
As they understand their piety to the Creators of the spirit and the
perispirit, piety to the Creators of their body is natural. Therefore,
piety cannot be taught; either we are pious or we are not.

Now let us come to Gratitude. Why are we grateful? Why is
gratitude a virtue of a sublime soul? In the Divine Realm, each has a
family, a great cause and innumerable siblings. Bần Đạo would like
to repeat this critical point so everyone understands: It is not by
chance that we stand together in the arms of the Supreme Being
today. Who knows we sat together in the twenty four Prajna Boats
which brought the Original Spirits to the Evolutionary and Devil
spirits on earth. We have shared pains and sufferings not only in this
world but also others. Our lives spent together have fostered a deep

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bond between us. If you do not remember these words, you will
regret deeply when your soul leaves your body. Do not say that Bần
Đạo did not guide you. Lack of love and gratitude is your own fault,
not because Bần Đạo do not tell you. At the start when we received
the spirit in the Divine Realm and came to this world to build our
positions, we made friends with many other spirits. Even if we
evolve from plants or animals, we have a lot of friends. Only when
we attain (Divine) positions will we know it. There are many
grateful people in this world who look for other grateful souls to
hold hands amid the suffering and hardship in this world of ordeals.
They look in fear of meeting the wrong ones. Even when they meet
enemies, they still think otherwise. If we live without gratitude, we
will feel shame and regret deeply in the Divine Realm. Towards
humanity, we already feel great gratitude. Looking for gratitude
means looking for friends. Either in the Divine Realm or in this
world, great gratitude undeniably exists. As we look for gratitude,
there is no differentiation between friends and enemies. Where can
we look for gratitude? First, we look among our family and relatives,
and then out in the world.

Bần Đạo would like to conclude that Loyalty, Piety and Gratitude
are the three virtues of a Saint. For this reason, Confucians in the
old days searched for the sages based on those virtues and they
made no mistake. If we meet such people in this world, we are sure
they are sublime souls and not low or secular ones. On the contrary,
those who are ungrateful and disloyal are dishonorable souls and
will degrade into animalism in both appearance and personality.

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42. THE LAW OF RELATIVISM OR REFLECTION OF RIGHT AND
WRONG

Holy See, the 9th day of the 7th month Mậu Tý year (1948)

How can we differentiate between the positivity of being right and
the negativity of being wrong? Before preaching clearly, Bần Đạo
would like to invite all to flash back. Let us bring our mind out of our
body to observe ourselves and others before deciding what is right
and what is wrong, like the Divine Generals who ride the horse and
fight against secularity.

Following the vehicle of the Supreme Being, we stop the horse, calm
down and relax amid the looming frenzy of mankind. Let us step
down from the horse to watch the activities and then contemplate if
we are in the real or unreal world. We discuss how to live happily
together, jump on the horse and pace forward to keep up with the
Supreme Being.

The flashback method Bần Đạo am talking about is to let the mind
leave the body and observe it. What do we see? We see that when
we are born into a physical body in this world, many times it is hard
for us to tell right from wrong or to moderate our thoughts. At birth,
seeing the food and milk of our mother, we know she gave birth to
us. We naturally rely on her to live. Without her support, we will
probably die. With that knowledge, we have inborn love for our
mother as designed by the Divine. When she is away, we miss her.
Our love for our mother is right.

Growing up, we understand that without our parents there wouldn’t
be us, although we do not know why he is our father due to lack of
wisdom. Seeing him earn a living for our mother, we understand

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that without him our mother couldn’t have given birth to us. He
raises and takes care of us; even when he does not look after us, we
still know he is our father (*1). We also naturally love him. That is
right.

If someone says our mother gave birth to us on our own and tells us
not to respect him, or if they say we come out from the earth, it is
wrong. If they tell us not to recognize him, it is deception.

Growing up more, we see our mother give birth to our sibling thanks
to our father. We share with our sibling the same mattress, blanket,
each grain of salt and vegetables. Needless to describe, it gives rise
to natural love. If our parents are poor and we live and share
hardship with our siblings, we keep in mind that we are born from
the same mother and have blood tie. That is right. Now, if someone
says that our siblings are not as good as them and that they treat us
with a special bond and feeling, it is wrong. When they tell us to
betray our siblings and stay away from them, it is deception.

When we get older, our father brings us to school. We are ignorant
and do not understand the writings. They are strange but
meaningful; and we do not know how to read. The teacher knows it;
thanks to him, our mind broadens, which gives rise to love. Because
he teaches us many things, we must love and respect him. It is right.
If someone says that he knows nothing and that he crams our mind
with silly and crazy things rather than teaches us to be wise, it is
wrong. If they tell us to turn against him and not to respect him
because we are better than him, it is deception.

Furthermore, we see that our father does not weave but has clothes.
By asking him, we know that he earns money to make them. Our
family does not weld but has the axe to cut wood. We learn that our

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father makes money and our mother buys it. We do not plow the
field but still have rice to eat, because our father works to buy rice.
Therefore, we know we must rely on the society to live. There are
things which we cannot produce and require help from others. We
work to earn money and buy things. Our life is closely related to
those around us. The entire nation loves each other. So we make up
our mind that others work to support us; they guard the thieves to
maintain our security; they cut down trees to build our house. Such
gratitude urges us to love, respect and regard the nation as our
beloved ones. That is right. Now, someone may say that without
them we will eat more, that because of them we eat less and even do
not have enough to eat, that without their competition for wood we
would have lived in castles, and that others are useless and take
away our food. Those words are deception. They may tell us to turn
against others and destroy them to live more happily. That is wrong.

Next, we see families in a country. One family does not make a
country; it takes many families called the people. With combined
efforts of families, the land will expand, the country will be rich and
the people will be strong. Who can lead to preserve that entire
fortune? One family is not enough; it takes a Court. The Court is
reigned by a lord who safeguards the great cause. Therefore, the
lord is a King or a President who leads the nation and preserve their
identity. What would become of us if this nation were destroyed?
We would become tribal people wandering from place to place and
fighting off each other like the Jews in the old days. We would have
no homeland, no country, and live off others’ land all over the world.
We must protect our ancestors’ land; that is right. Now, someone
may say, “Your ancestors did not live on this land and this land only;
this entire world may as well be your country.” They induce us not

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to acknowledge our Country; it is wrong. If they say that the entire
nation is our enemy and imposes suffering on us so they live in
comfort, it is deception.

At a higher level, we see that peoples on earth differ from each other
in terms of complexion and language, but share the same tear and
laughter. Their languages only serve to help them understand each
other. It should not prevent us from recognizing mankind as sharing
the same basics. We must consider each other friends and respect
each other. As friends, we are closely related like a family. A family
who has many children and can make ends meet will live in
happiness. Any family whose children or relative dies will look very
sorrowful. A father whose child dies may kill himself; his distress is
immeasurable. As we respect the life of our friends and contemplate
thoroughly, we see our responsibility to protect their life from tear.
Our responsibility I right. Now, someone says that life on this earth
does not matter; we should dominate if we can; life does not have
any value; it is only a senseless weapon for us to dominate over the
world. It is wrong and deceptive.

From a spiritual perspective, regardless of the right and wrong that
are happening, if we rely on our spirit to make up our minds and
observe the movement of society, no one can deceive us. If we can
tell good from bad, we can master it. Now, someone says that they
can see the truth in their mind but inserts that the entire world live
upon deception like Tào Tháo (Cao Cao - 曹操) who won over the
Han, Khổng Minh (Kongming - 孔明) who won over Châu Công
(Zhōu Yú - 周瑜) in the East, and Machiavel in the West who
prolonged the existence of Italy. It is illusion; it is not right. No one
and no country that is brought into being by deception can survive.

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With wisdom, we can see and understand. People give examples of
the Roman Empire or Tần Thuỷ Hoàng (Qin Shi Huang - 秦始皇)
who succeeded due to deception; it their success still recognized
today? If deception gives rise to any country, it will befall them;
what remains from the Tần (Qin) palaces and Hán (Han) towers
today? Great achievements which are made by cunning minds will
be destroyed along with the cunningness. Meanwhile, Religions like
Christianity, Confucianism, Taoism and Buddhism remain solid
without any sword or gun. Although they do not rule over the entire
world, why do they live on? Because they do what is right and rely
on it to serve their causes which live on for eternity.

The same is true for the Cao Đài Religion today. Why Bần Đạo dare
to stay here and serve to build causes for the children of the
Supreme Being; those causes which Bần Đạo am sure can be
achieved? Because Bần Đạo know the danger wherein they use
power to destroy Bần Đạo; but they forget that this is the Holy See
where the Supreme Being comes and resolves to establish His
throne with the efforts of His children. He builds a solid spiritual
cornerstone which no one has enough power to destroy. For this
reason, Bần Đạo determines to watch till the end no matter how
much suffering there is. They have tried, but need to look back and
see if the power they derive from the Faith for their own can sustain.
Surely it will not. During this time of religious chaos, many find all
means to eradicate sects. Bần Đạo know it and tell them to continue;
they will see the day when right and wrong stand apart. It is already
clear. Honestly, despite the power they use against the Holy See
now, your brothers and children will win in the end. They will serve
you at no cost; and due to their lack of righteousness, their causes
will be left in your hands after their death.

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The righteousness of the Supreme Being always exists and is a
spiritual power unrivalled by any other power. As long as the Holy
Body of the Supreme Being preserves righteousness for the entire
Faith, no power can win over yours.

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43. TEACHINGS AT THE CLOSING CEREMONY OF THE SCHOOL
OF VIRTUE

The 12th day of the 7th month Mậu Tý year (1948)

Now is My speech in response to those of the two newly ordained
Student Priests Phạm Hải Tống and Đinh Công Cự.

I am honoured to see the spiritual progress of you all which perhaps
cannot be more pleasing. During the last twenty three years in the
Faith, what I looked forward to the most is seeing you grow in terms
of spirituality and virtue. There is no better taste as if I were hungry;
even vegetables taste good in time of hunger. I hunger for the food
you have just given to Me, because it is so good. I would like to
commend you two. In addition, I would like to explain your duties
before you can understand our duties, i.e. those of the entire Holy
Body of the Supreme Being. Only then will you have a clear view of
your future critical duties. The institutions who are devoted to
teaching you, brothers and children, are the most critical; it is
impossible to omit it. Why is it impossible to omit? Because the
entire Holy Body of the Supreme Being, i.e. the Sacerdotal Council,
have devoted generations of sweat, tear and physical and mental
suffering to the great cause. We only wish that this sacred cause
would live on. Everyone knows that no one sheds their skin and
lives forever. Generation after generation will inherit the great cause
and sustain it for eternity. Today, we (translator note: the senior
generation) have the duty to guide you brothers and children; it is a
great spiritual cause. Before trusting it to you, we must choose the
worthy ones to preserve it firmly.

Today, it pains Me to say in front of you all, because you will be
discouraged by what I say; but the truth must be told. The Faith is

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