Religious practices, the rites and rituals, in the cults of ancestors and titular geniuses, it is believed, date from the prehistoric times. They are, however, gradually transformed with time and space. They are subtly incorporated in the new modes of life and currents of thoughts brought from the outside into the country. They are modified along with the principles and thoughts from various religions, especially, Confucianism, Taoism, and Buddhism. They seem confusing to the Westerner’s eyes as these ceremonial rites and rituals coexist and are superseded, although each individual feature bears in itself its own characteristics.
Bowing his head three times in front of the alter of ancestors in the veneration of his ancestry, a Vietnamese would remind himself of his filial piety to his ancestors, his respect for supernatural powers, thien, dia, nhan (Heaven, Earth, Man) and his ethical duties towards quan, su, phu (his king, teacher, and father), which tenets originally inspired from Confucianism. Popular belief practices are coincidentally infused with religious, and ceremonial practices deriving from Buddhism, and Taoism also played a role in the these rites and rituals. The followers of one religion hold respect for the others and still keep their own faith.
For political reasons, the three said religions prospered at various times in the Vietnamese history. As a matter of fact, the dominant religion played the most important role in the state affairs; they nevertheless coexisted harmoniously with the others. In the early period of the Le Dynasty (1428-1788), with the religious principle known as the tam giao dong nguyen, all three major religions lived together. Confucianism, Buddhism, and Taoism enjoyed equal respect and prospered in harmony. Owing to this characteristic of religious tolerance’ Vietnam in the later centuries became the host of all the Occident’s major religions. Until these days, most organized religions coexist and develop without mutual exclusion. Following the order of predominance, they are Buddhism, both Mahayana and Therevada, Catholicism, (Evangelical) Christianity, Caodaism, Hoa Hao Buddhism, Hinduism, and Islam.
Confucianism
Although the practices of ancestral worship, spiritualism, and animism are common; Confucianism is the most permeating and important source of spiritual inspiration of most Vietnamese,. It plays an important role in shaping the thought and way of life of the people. The moral and ethical precepts of this doctrine are still the tenets of exemplary behavior of quite a few Vietnamese. The earliest doctrine introduced into Vietnam by the Chinese during the Chinese domination (11 B. C. - 930 A. D.)
The philosophy of Confucius (551-479 B. C.) is fundamentally moral and political. The major concern is to establish a perfect humanistic state. The state can only be reigned in order if it is served by honorable men living in it. They ought to be educated with strict discipline as described in Confucius’ Dialogues and in conformity with the tenets of virtues and obligations that make them the best servants of the state in his three other Canonical Books. Confucianism with all its ideological prescriptions was incorporated into and practiced in the mandarin system of administration, the rules of the imperial court, and the social fabric of the village and family life. It helped establish the Vietnam’s social and political institutions and cultural and moral and systems of values. It instituted the backbone system on which was grounded the resultant obligations of man towards the self, the family, and the society. It also served as a common denominator, making it compatible with the practices of two other major religions, Taoism and Buddhism.
While Confucianism is not a form of organized religion, it has been an important inspirational force in shaping the Vietnamese moral and religious life.
This moral and political doctrine was observed by the Vietnamese. competed with Buddhism as the major philosophical, moral and religious force to consolidate the Vietnamese imperial dynastic system. Throughout the ten centuries that followed the Chinese domination, from the Dinh to the Le Posterior dynasty (968-1788), it continued to be the prominent doctrine inspiring the intelligentsia of the country with individual and public morals and thoughts and principles in the arts of governing the self, the family, the nation, and the world . By the end of the fourteenth century, it replaced Buddhism as the most important philosophy or religion.
Confucianism became one of the country’s tam giao (three major religions) under the Ly Dynasty (1010-1225). And, the mandarin examinations in the Confucian tradition had been used for the selection of mandarins ever since. These examinations were first held in 1070. However, it was not until the second half of the Tran dynasty (1425-1413) that Confucianism began to flourish. Among the first outstanding disciples of the doctrine were Chu An, Nguyen Trung Ngan, Nguyen Binh Khiem, and so on. Under the Le and Nguyen dynasties (17th-19th centuries), Confucianism enjoyed the leading role in national education, forging man to govern the family and the nation. It strenuously encouraged the respect for intellectual and literal accomplishments that persisted until the twentieth century.
Confucianism strongly influenced the social system of Vietnam by prescribing rules for the perfection of the self, the duty of man to the family, and the norms in social interaction, holding up the patriarchal family as the ideal human institution, stressing and providing all citizens of clear-cut tenets with which they could gel access to success and social mobility. The concepts of imperial rule by the mandate of Heaven and the autonomy of the village were also the products of Confucian tradition. And, of no lesser importance, the concept of filial piety and the practice of the cult of ancestors, were the practical results from the teachings of the great sage Confucius. Although Confucianism was not an organized religion, great temples and shrines were erected throughout ancient Vietnam and religious ceremonies were practiced in commemoration of Confucius and his disciples.
Encountering the European civilization, Confucianism gradually fell into disgrace. The contacts with the West began in the early 16th century, and, especially, the gradual colonization of Vietnam of France in the 19th century, the prestige of the doctrine as a philosophy faced off at the forceful Western philosophy and ways of life. New thoughts and modes of living transformed the country in all aspects of the society. Political, social, and economic developments happened in quick succession. Confucianism practically lost almost all its moral and spiritual influences on the people’s life and gave its place to Western thoughts and civilization.
By the end of the 19th century, South Vietnam became a French colony, Central and North Vietnam, one by one, came French protectorates. National education was gradually French-oriented. The Confucian examinations were abrogated in Central and North Vietnam in 1913 and 1918, respectively. A new system of education came to being, first replacing then putting an end to the ancient Confucian millenary educational and administrative systems. Confucianism ceased to be an attraction to scholars and graduates from French higher educational institutions who then devoted themselves to the studies of Westerns doctrines. Confucianism was regarded the philosophical and religious doctrine best suited to an agricultural society.
Taoism
Taoism is one of the three major religions that were introduced into Vietnam during the Chinese domination. The founder was Lao Tse , a native of Hu District in the now province of Anhwei, China. He lived in the Eastern Chou Dynasty in the sixth century B. C. . A mandarin of high post, he nevertheless resigned from office then enjoyed living in seclusion. Seeing that people at his time harrowing their minds with trivia of rites and rituals and formalities of moral conduct, thus enslaving themselves with anguish and sorrows and alienating them from a natural, simple, carefree, and contented life. Taoism, in fact, is then a doctrine more than a religion. Lao Tse’s book, Tao Te Ching, which comprises 5,000 words, explains how one lives up to Tao in such a natural untroubled way without anxiety and sorrows.
Taoism is essentially based on the philosophical tenets and beliefs that profess the participation (Reason) of man in the changes of things in universal order (the Universe - Supreme Being). Although it was mot a religion per se in Vietnam, it nevertheless had influence on the Vietnamese social way of life. False interpretations of lofty thoughts and ideas deriving from Taoism engendered and led to the practices of various superstitions with enigmatic rites and rituals by sorcerers. These practices until these days account for much of the mystic magic and sorcery that are popular in Vietnam. A popular belief rather than a religion, Taoism never assumes a great role in the religious life of the country. By the time Confucianism played the leading role, Confucian scholars also studied the theory of Taoism to seek from it the reasons for depression and anguish to assuage sorrows.
Taoism is, above all, a philosophy that is generally beyond reach to common people. Taoist followers could then be divided into two categories The first category included largely the Confucian scholars who, after retirement from office, renounced a ephemeral luxurious but troubled life and enjoyed a life of carefree solitude. The second one comprised mostly common people who believed in legendary deities and geniuses popularized from lofty philosophical ideas of Taoism. While the intelligentsia sought inspirational thoughts from Taoism for poetry and literal enjoyment, Taoist friars, taking advantage of the delirium in superstitions of the common people, invented rituals and ceremonial practices to lure them into the worship of supernatural spirits and demons Although it had not enjoyed the prestige that Confucianism and Buddhism ever had, it continued to persist under the imperial dynasties that preceded the French domination.
Buddhism
Buddhism is a major religion in Vietnam. The faith enjoy greatest popularity and prestige throughout the history of the country Life, according to the Buddha teaching, is permeated with suffering caused by death, that suffering ceases when desire ceases, and that enlightenment obtained through meditation releases one from desire, suffering, and rebirth.
Buddhism was introduced into Vietnam around 194-195 A. D. The propagation of the religion followed two different paths. One had its origins from the neighboring Indianized countries, and the other, from China. The Chinese version, the Bac Tong or Dai Thua (Greater Wheel) --Mahayna Buddhism-- became the faith of most Vietnamese, whereas the Indian version, Nam Tong or Tieu Thua (Lesser Wheel) --Therevada or Hinayana Buddhism-- was confined mostly to the delta provinces of the South. The adherents are chiefly Vietnamese of Cambodian origins (Khmer Krom).
The history of Buddhism in Vietnam may be divided into four periods. The first period began from the first years of the third century A. D. to the end of the fourth century. It was the period of Indian Buddhism. Although it was first carried to Vietnam by diplomats, pilgrims and refugees, iBuddhism was promoted and supported by Court officials. merchants, and immigrants. The religion did not gain popularity with the masses until much later. The second period, from the fourth to the seventh century, was that of the Dhyana sect, which was introduced into North Vietnam.
Historical records showed that, by the end of the sixth century, a Buddhist missionary of the Zen (Dhyana), which is known as the Buddhist school of meditation, under the direction of the Indian monk Vinitanuci, who came to propagate the faith in Vietnam. The sect enjoyed high favors. Emperor Dinh Tien Hoang (968-979) instituted a policy with royal support for Buddhism. It was continued by the early Le Dynasty (980-1009) and was at its apogee under the Ly Dynasty (1010-1225). This support included the official recognition of the role and elevation to higher ranks of the Buddhist hierarchy at the Royal Court, and the financial support for the construction of pagodas throughout the country. Emperor Ly Anh-Tong (1138-1175) proclaimed Buddhism an official religion. The third period extended from the ninth to the tenth century. It marked a purer form of Dhyana, particularly practiced in North Vietnam, the Bodhidharma. Finally, the fourth period was the period of Vietnamese Dhyana, which was born from its predecessor Bodhidharma. The sect flourished in the seventh century under the patronage of the kings of Ly Dynasty from the twelfth to the fourteenth century. It was not until the successive dynasties of the Ly (1010-1225) that the propagation of Buddhism merged into two different paths. The Chinese version, the Mahayna Buddhism, became the faith of most Vietnamese whereas the Indian version, the Therevada or Hinayana Buddhism, was mostly confined to the southern delta region (Tran Van Giap, 1932:62).
By the eleventh century, Buddhism filtered down to the village level. By that time, it was mixed with Taoism and Confucianism. It became the most integrated part of the religious and spiritual life under the Tran Dynasty (1225-1400). It began, however, to experience competition with Confucianism as the main religion of the imperial court. Confucian scholars gradually replaced the Buddhist clergy in the administration and mandarin corps.
The following dynasties preserved a preponderant place for Buddhism. The faith nevertheless underwent a long and gradual decadence under the earlier Nguyen dynasties. This trend developed for political reasons.
In 1601, Nguyen Hoang the founder of the Nguyen Dynasty ordered the construction of the famous Thien Mu pagoda in Hue. However, the prominence of Buddhism began to decline. It was no longer regarded as an official religion and no longer received high royal favors. The prestige as an elite religion declined as the religious practices became gradually mixed with mysticism, animism, and polytheism.
Emperor Gia Long (1802-1820), the restorer of the Confucian concept of power, seemed to regard Buddhism and Taoism as superstitions. Under the successive dynasties of the Nguyen Posterior (1802-1945), studies of Buddhism declined, and the monk found no role for himself. He was simply pagoda guardian or a master of ceremony in certain worship performances.
Around 1920, under the influence of the universal renewal of Buddhism, associations for the studies of Buddhism were successively founded in 1931 in Saigon for Cochinchina (South Vietnam), in 1932 in Hue for Annam (Central Vietnam), and finally in 1934 in Hanoi for Tonkin (North Vietnam). Buddhism then revived with religious renewals throughout the country. Starting in 1931, formal Buddhist organizations were established in Hanoi, Hue, and Saigon. As early as 1948, the religious life of Buddhism was reorganized. In 1951, concerted efforts were made to reshape regional organization. Plans for unification of Buddhism were initiated in a national congress in Hue. Fifteen delegations from various regions of the country were in attendance. The three associations for the studies of Buddhism congregated into the Tong Hoi Phat Giao Viet Nam (General Association of Vietnamese Buddhism). The organization was affiliated with the World Buddhist Federation whose main seat was in Colombo, Ceylon.The union’s activities was nevertheless limited by the restriction of the Royal Order 10 issued by Emperor Bao Dai (1932-1945), Buddhism was not recognized as a religion, but a simple association.
After the partition of the country following the Geneva Accords of July 1954, attempts had been made to unite the various factions of Buddhism in Vietnam. Buddhism again prospered under the First Republic of Viet Nam in the South. In 1963, the Buddhist Churches played a major role in the overthrow of President Ngo Dinh Diem. The Giao Hoi Phat Giao Viet Nam Thong Nhat (Vietnam United Buddhist Church) came into being as an official religion in South Vietnam in 1964.
The Roman Catholic Church of Vietnam
The history of the Roman Catholic Church of Vietnam is closely connected with the presence of Catholic priests and missionaries. The Catholic faith was first introduced into Vietnam in 1556. Diego Avarte, a Spanish Catholic priest, was allowed to preach the faith by the kings of the Le (1428-1527) in Dang Ngoai (Northern Vietnam) then by the Lords of the Nguyen (1627-1775) in Dang Trong (Southern Vietnam). The missionaries who came to Vietnam more than three centuries after that were the Jesuits, Franciscans, Dominicans, and, finally, the priests of the Missions etrangeres de Paris. The first bishop was assigned to Vietnam by Pope Alexander VII in 1659. The first Vietnamese Catholic priests were ordained in 1668. It was estimated that there were 800,000 Catholics in Vietnam by 1685. One of the most prominent priests, Fr. Alexandre de Rhodes, was allowed to preach in both the Dang Ngoai and Dang Trong. He established himself at Hanoi and studied the history and culture of Vietnam. He traveled widely. He devoted himself to the study of the language of the country. and contributed greatly to the formation of the alphabetized Vietnamese Quoc Ngu --National Script.
History has also recorded, in 1645, four Sisters of the Sainte Claire who, en route to the Philippines, made a stop in Vietnam. They were welcomed by a high-ranking mandarin, and, when they left the country, the latter' s wife asked the sisters to take with them one of their daughters. However, facing the immense field that opened up to their apostolic work, the missionaries were not large enough. They needed collaborators. Therefore, immediately after the first years of their arrival in Vietnam, they founded for men the society of Bible interpreters for the study of the faith and the society of sisters for the Cross for women for animation of prayers. Their members had to observe celibacy, live a life of virtue and submission to strict rules-- entire devotion to the Church, study of catechism, animation of prayers, and care for sick people.
The Roman Catholic population grew rapidly. During the years of 1680-1682, there were approximately 600,000 Catholics in the South
and two hundred thousand (200,000) in the North. However, the Church suffered tragic losses as a consequence of religious intolerance in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Numerous Bible interpreters and sisters of the Cross faced imprisonment, forced death, exile, and execution. The Bible interpreter Andre, who was originally from the province of Phu Yen, Central Vietnam, was put to death in 1644, at the age 19. During the second half of the nineteenth century, at the appeal for devotion to God of the bishops, the sisters of Saint Paul de Chartes (1860), the Carmelites (1861), and the Brothers of Christian Schools (1866), and other congregations came to Vietnam.
In the heydays under the reign of Emperor Gia Long (1802-1819), the Church enjoyed a short respite due to the sovereign’s gratitude to a French bishop who helped him secure the throne. However, his successors, notably Emperor Minh Mang (1820-1840) and Emperor Tu Duc (1847-1883), who feared that the tenets of Catholicism would undermine the traditional Confucian order, determinedly outlawed the faith. Bloody persecutions ensued. Catholic priests and followers were arrested, imprisoned, tortured, and persecuted. On the list of 117 martyrs canonized by Pope John Paul II there were 15 Bible interpreters. It was not until the death of Emperor Tu Duc that the repression of the royal court against the Catholics ended.
Under the French rule (1884-1945), the Roman Catholic Church flourished in Vietnam. The Church received the preferential status by the colonial administration. It prospered under the Republic of Vietnam of South Vietnam with an estimate of 10 million. From eight to ten percent of all Vietnamese were Catholics. The Church has nevertheless suffered tragic losses under successive periods of persecution under the Communist regime.
The Evangelical Christian Churches of Vietnam accounts for only a fraction of a percent of Vietnam’s population. The most active denomination has been the Christian Missionary Alliance operating in the former Republic of Vietnam. Originally, by the end of the nineteenth century, several American Christian missionaries came to Vietnam. In the beginning, the Reverend A. H. Simpson (1887) thought of Vietnam as a field of propagation. In the summer of 1893, the Reverend David Lelachair came to Saigon. In 1897, the Reverend C. H. Rieves made a visit tour to Vietnam to study the situation. The following year (1898), the Reverend Jaffray came to Hanoi from China. No foundation for the propagation of the faith was laid, however. In 1902, the Canadian Pastor Sylvan Dayan and his wife came to the seaport Haiphong. It was not until 1911 that the Christian Church began its activities in the country.The missionaries that came to Central Vietnam in 1911 entrusted the Reverend Robert A. Jaffra with the mission to lay the foundation for the faith.Pastor Robert A. Jaffra was a famous pioneer of the Christian and Missionary Alliance. He had traveled to the South of China and made many incursions in Vietnam. Following his steps, other missionaries made trips to Vietnam. In 1920, there were as many as 60 pastors came and traveled throughout the country to propagate the faith. The Church had its main seat in Tourane (Da Nang) then expanded its services to South Vietnam. It was not until 1925 that the Royal Court of Hue allowed the practice of the faith in Central Vietnam. In 1929, the Evangelical Christian Churches of Vietnam began to function. The propagation of the faith, however, was notably carried out by the American Evangelical Mission, commonly known in Vietnamese as the Hoi Phuc Am Truyen Giao. During the 1940’s, there were about ten thousand (10,000) Christians throughout the whole country.
The faith prospered as the years came by. In 1975, there were approximately one thousand (1,000) Christians (versus ten thousand (10,000) in 1954 in North Vietnam and one hundred thousand (100,000) in the South. The Christians in the South were a relatively unified group and affiliated with the Hoi Thanh Tin Lanh Vietnam, the Evangelical Churches of Vietnam.
The Cao Dai Church
Caodaism is an indigenous religion. It was founded and initially propagated by the Honorable Ngo Van Chieu, an official, who, in 1919, claimed to have had a series of revelations. The faith grew under the leadership of His Holiness Le Van Trung, the Church’s first Pope or Supreme Chief. One of the Church’s founders in Tay Ninh was Pope Pham Cong Tac. Practically, the faith came into existence as a response to a restoration of traditional religious faith, to fill the spiritual vacuum left by the decline of both Confucianism and Buddhism in Cochinchina after the French conquest of Vietnam, Caodaism follows the path of the tam giao, the trio-religious tenets of Confucianism, Buddhism, and-Taoism and the worship of guardian spirits.
The Church’s organization was patterned on the hierarchical system of the Catholic Church. Doctrinally, the Church's faith is an amalgam of different beliefs derived from Confucianism, Buddhism, Taoism, Christianity, and Western nineteenth-century romanticism. Among the saints are the French Poet Victor Hugo, Sir Winston Churchill, Dr. Sun Tat Sen, and the Vietnamese prophet Nguyen Binh Khiem. The Church's Holy See is in Tay Ninh, a western province in South Vietnam. The essence of the doctrine is the belief that there are three revelations to mankind. The first came to several saints of various religions including Moses. The second came later to Jesus, Confucius, Lao Tse, Buddha, and Mohamed. The third came to Ngo Van Chieu who founded the Cao Dai or the Dai Dao Tam Ky Pho Do (Doctrine of the Third Revelation). The main articles of the faith include the belief in one God, the respect for the dead, the maintenance of the cult of ancestors, the existence of the soul, and the use of medium to communicate with the spiritual world.
In the 1930’s, hundreds of thousand of laborers and tenants in the provinces west and south of Saigon were attracted to the faith through patron-client and social welfare programs. Caodaism splintered into twelve separate branches, but the largest concentration of Cao Dai was in Tay Ninh Province. The Church flourished in the rural areas. The adherents mostly live in the provinces in the South of Vietnam. In the mid-twenties when His Holiness Le Van Trung assumed the leadership, Cao Dai flourished. Converts multiplied, and, by 1939, the faith claimed to have one million followers. The Church has now a faithful of 4.5 million.
Cao Dai leaders were mostly religious and patriotic. The Cao Dai Church started out as a Church but developed with a mass of political leanings that brought it into conflict with the colonial rule.
The Tay Ninh Holy See had been the refuge of Vietnamese revolutionaries of different political tendencies many of whom were the followers of both the Dong Du (Movement for the Studies in the East) led by Prince Cuong De and the Patriot Phan Boi Chau and the Duy Tan (Movement for Modernization) initiated by the Scholar Phan Chau Trinh. Hence, the initials of the appellation Cao Dai (C.D.) was interpreted by quite a few patriots of the time as Cuong De (C.D.). The French colonial rule was well aware of that. In fact, His Holiness Pham Cong Tac, who became Pope in 1934, had secretly cooperated with nationalists of the Dong Du. He was arrested and banned to Madagascar by the French colonial rule.
Yoshido Matusita, the Consul General at Saigon, had close contacts with Pope Pham Cong Tac before his exile to Madagascar by the French in 1938. By the end of the 1930's most Cao Dai’s leaders became receptive of Japanese’s politics of the Greater Sphere of Coexistence of East Asia. Matusita acted as a liaison agent between them and Prince Cuong De, the then potential candidate for the throne of Vietnam. Nevertheless, Japan anticipated that it would face difficulties with the ascent to the throne of the patriot prince and the French was still in power. It simply assumed the role of a potential friend of Vietnamese nationalism The Cao Dai leaders held remarkable political position in this regard. At a time, it maintained an independent army with support from the Japanese while maintaining resistance to French oppressors.
The Church had a force in dealing with the French in Tay Ninh Province and the surrounding areas. In August 194o, Admiral Jean Decoux, the Governor General of Indochina, had the chief leaders of the Church arrested an deported to Madagascar. In September 1941, the French troops occupied Tay Ninh,. The pro-Japanese leadership under the direction of Tran Quang Vinh successfully formed an army of militiamen and reversed the situation. They even secretly supported the anti-French movement prior to the March 9, 1945 coup d’etat. The Cao Dai military force later clashed not only with the French but also with the Viet Minh during the war of resistance that started after the return of the French to Indochina in June 1945 (Buttinger, op.cit. p.253)
Hoa Hao is a Buddhist Church that first operated in the Hau Ciang (Bassac River) region in 1939. The Church’s founder is His Holiness Huynh Phu So. He was born in Hoa Hao Village, Tan Chau District, Chau Doc Province. He studied the faith under the guidance of the hermit of Tra Son Pagoda who cured him of a previously hopeless illness. When the hermit died, the young Huynh Phu So returned to his village. One stormy night, he began to speak for several hours as though being possessed by spirits. He talked of a new doctrine of Buddha and proclaimed himself a prophet and the founder of Phat Giao Hoa Hao
Hoa Hao Buddhism). The religion is named after the founder’s native village, Hoa Hao. The appellation also expresses the spirit of inter- relationship of the human society founded on universal peace. There were one and half million members of the Phat Giao Hoa Hao in Vietnam in 1960.
The Church emphasizes simplicity in the worship practices the elimination of complex rites and rituals, and the medium of intermediaries for better communication with the Supreme Being.
Hoa Hao Buddhism blossomed amid the villagers in the plains of the Hau (Bassac) River where the majority of the population were the peasantry. They responded to His Holiness Huynh Phu So’s call not only because of the simple veneration of faith but also of the prophet’ devotion to social justice, and national independence. The faith became a prominent indigenous religion in the 1940’s and a military counter force against the Communist-led Viet Minh in the later years of the 1940’s. It was a viable political force in the western provinces of South Vietnam before the Communist takeover of the Republic of Vietnam on April 30, 1975.
Doctrinally, the faith is a variant of Therevada Buddhism but preserves a distinctive Vietnamese coloration. To propagate the faith, His Holiness Huynh Phu So composed simple well-versed oracles with which he preached the faith and educated the masses. His teachings were to instruct his followers to preserve proper human conduct while ameliorating personal intelligence and improving individual morals and virtues. His Sam Giang (Books of Oracles, 1939) focuses on the teaching and practicing the Hoa Hao religious life. Explanations about his commandments are detailed in Khuyen Thien (Encourage Everyone to Practice Good Services, 1942), and Cach Tu Hien (Preparations for Being a Good Hoa Hao Follower, 1945), and other writings.
While touring the country, he particularly preached in his sermons the four good graces inspired from his Master Buddha of Tay An. They are the spiritual legacies the Vietnamese people had ever inherited from their parents, their country, Buddha, and their fellow countrymen and humankind. He advocated the practices of the doctrine with emphasis on the elimination of expensive trappings of a conventional religion. The prophet was hailed wherever he preached as a incarnation of the nineteenth-century Buddha from the Seven Mountains (That Son) near the Cambodian border. He traveled widely in South Vietnam preaching his new religion. He was well-known for his prophecies many of which had been fulfilled. He had also healed a number of people almost miraculously.
The founder of Hoa Hao Buddhism met with many difficulties. The French colonialist authorities sought by all means to prevent his religious activities, first in the province of Chau Doc and, later, in he western provinces in South Vietnam where he lived in exile and preached his faith. He was arrested and placed into custody, first, in Cho Quan Hospital, then, in the French Security Service Headquarters in Saigon by the French rule (1941). He was only released owing to the intervention of the Japanese authorities in Indochina. The promoter for a Buddhist union, he founded the Viet Nam Phat Giao Lien Hiep Hoi (The Inter-associations of Buddhism) to unite in a single organization the various Buddhist sects, monks and nuns, and Buddhist hermits. A patriot, he founded the Viet Nam Doc Lap Van Dong Hoi (General Association for the Movement for Vietnam Independence) in 1945. He was one of the founders of the Mat Tran Quoc Gia Lien Hiep (Allied Front of National Parties) of which he was elected the chairman on August 14, 194. He was also the supreme spiritual leader of the Movement for Vietnam Independence (1945) and the founder of Dan Xa Dang (the Social Democratic Party) ,in September 1946). to struggle for social justice and Vietnam’s independence
A fervent nationalist, the founder of Hoa Hao Buddhism became a source of antagonism to the atheist Viet Minh. . In 1947, subsequent to the Viet MInh’ repression against the national parties, the conflict between the Viet Minh and Hoa Hao followers in the Western provinces of the South grew increasingly serious. To secure peace and national concord and to save an internecine quarrel, the founder of Hoa Hao agreed to settle up the issue by a with the Viet Minh. by compromise. At the initiative of the Viet Minh Council Administration of the South, the spiritual leader of Hoa Hao and representatives of Viet Minh would meet in a meeting. On April 16, 1947, at Ta Phu Village in Doc Vang, (Kien Phong Province) when he came to the meeting place, the founder of Hoa Hao was al of a sudden trapped in an ambush by the Viet Minh. He was captured, and there had been no news about his whereabouts since then.
Each year, on the eighteenth day of the fifth lunar month, the followers of Hoa Hao Buddhism honor that event with memorial services to venerate the founder of their faith.
Other Minor Religions
Under the First Republic in South Vietnam, there appeared a new religion (1954), the B’hai. The faith was introduced into Vietnam by Pozdar, a female member of the Indian Committee for the Propagation of B’hai. The faithful practice the worship of Thuong De (the Lord in Heaven) that they believe every religion also worships.. The religion had achieved great success in Saigon. Until 1962, it had established 40 congregations in the provinces in South Vietnam. Most Cham (Champa) in Phan Rang and Chau Doc provinces were the followers of Hinduism and Islam. Most highland tribal groups in the North and Central Vietnam were practitioners of an assortment and various combinations of animism and ancestral worship.
