5626. Letter No. 2 to Professor Janet Hoskins. Translated from Google. Checked by Victoria.

 

United States January 20, 2025.
Second letter.
Dương Xuân Lương

Dear Professor Janet Hoskins, University of Southern California.
e-mail: jhoskins@usc.edu

I am very happy and thank the professor for sending 04 questions on January 18, 2025, to move towards the truth together. I would like to send some more information, hoping the professor will please verify it with the article.: A Posthumous Return from Exile: The Legacy of an Anticolonial Religious Leader in Today’s Vietnam. Link: PosthumousReturnfromExileKyoto2012.pdf

To understand the article, I asked Google to translate from English to Vietnamese. In normal circumstances, the main idea should not be lost.

I find that the professor's article above has valuable bright spots but also has obscure points about events that need to be discussed to bring the truth to readers.

1/- Đức Hộ Pháp Phạm Công Tắc.

There are a few things to clarify in this section.

1.1/- Duc Ho Phap was born in 1890.

On page 220, the professor wrote: Pham Cong Tac was born on June 21, 1893…. (end of quote)

According to the above quote, Duc Ho Phap was born in 1893.

But the reference for information is that Duc Ho Phap was born in 1890. Page 244: 2006a. Le Saint Siège Caodaiste de Tây Ninh et le Médium Phạm Công Tắc (1890–1959): …. Trang 245: 2000. Đạo Cao Đài, Độc lập và Hòa bình của Việt Nam: Cuộc đời và Thời đại Phạm Công Tắc (1890–1959). Academica Sinica: Tài liệu nghiên cứu Prosea số 38…. (end of quote)

So is 1890 or 1893 correct.

Đức Hộ Pháp was born in the year of Canh Dần, so the correct year is 1890; and his coronation year is 1959. In the annual coronation celebration, verse 4: Seventy years old is enough..., it is determined that Đức Hộ Pháp was born in 1890.

On page 222, the professor wrote: In 1925, at the age of 32, Phạm Công Tắc formed a spiritist circle with a well known poet and musician, (end of quote)

That is calculated according to 1893, please correct it to 35 years old, professor. Because from 1890 to 1925 is 35 years.

On the night of September 30, Dinh Hoi (1947) at the Holy Temple of Duc Ho Phap, he preached: because of the two words NATIONAL RELIGION, Pham Cong Tac died at the age of 35.

1.2/- Page 221 writes: Phạm Công Tắc and his wife eventually had eight children, six of them dying in childhood (Đồng Tân 2006, 36), but these personal losses of descendants are not mentioned in his sermons. (end of quote)

I don't know where Mr. Dong Tan based his writing that Duc Ho Phap Pham Cong Tac had eight children. Then he wrote: six of them died when they were young, so I don't believe it. If the professor has reliable information about the six who died when they were young, please share it so I can have more understanding.

In the biography of Mrs. Nguyen Thi Nhieu (the wife of Duc Ho Phap), it is said that she gave birth three times but could only raise two people, the third daughter Pham Ho Cam and the fourth daughter Pham Tan Tranh.

Congratulations to the professor: In the reference section on page 247, the professor referred to the book of Trần Thu Dung. 1996. Le Caodaisme et Victor Hugo [Đạo Cao Đài và Victor Hugo]. Tiến sĩ luận án, Paris. (end of quote)

Tran Thu Dung is the author of the book Đạo Cao Đài & Victor Hugo (Published by the East-West Cultural Language Center Publishing House in 2011).

Page 151 writes: ...Vidal became more intimate with and directed Ho Phap Pham Cong Tac, when he married Pham Thi Tot - Pham Cong Tac's daughter. Pham Thi Tot was both a member of FB3 and a Cao Dai Dau Su. The Dau Su position is the highest dignitary of the female sect in Cao Dai. She turned Pham Mon into a secret gathering place for FB3 members. Ho Phap Pham Cong Tac could not have been present at Pham Mon every day working, not knowing anything about the activities of this secret organization.

Page 152 writers: Nguyen Phan Long, in charge of the General Association - a branch of Cao Dai, was a witness to the wedding of Vidal and Pham Thi Tot. (end of quote)

That was Mrs. Tran Thu Dung who made up the character Pham Thi Tot because Duc Ho Phap had two daughters as above, so how could there be a daughter named Pham Thi Tot. In Cao Dai religion, there is no Dau Su named Pham Thi Tot. Mrs. Tran Thu Dung also did not know that the law of Cao Dai religion is that when entering the rank of dignitary, one must leave the family to practice religion in the localities; so how could a female Dau Su get married and have a wedding?

Which individual or organization fabricated that document is their business; they have the right to draw a snake and add legs, and those who have never known a snake can believe that the snake has legs. Ms. Tran Thu Dung wrote a book about Cao Dai She said that she interviewed many Cao Dai dignitaries, consulted many books about Cao Dai but did not know the basics of Cao Dai law so believed in those fabrications, it proves the unscientific way of working. But unfortunately, there was a French Doctor of science named Pham Trong Chanh who believed in that fabrication and spread it. Those were the people who wrote about Cao Dai but did not know the multiplication table of Cao Dai.

I am very happy that the professor referred to Ms. Tran Thu Dung's book without using that information, congratulations to the professor.

1.3/- The two daughters of Duc Ho Phap were not arrested.

On page 240, the professor writes: On February 19, 1956, Phạm Công Tắc’s daughters and a number of other religious leaders were arrested, but he himself managed to slip away. He made contact with his followers several weeks later from Phnom Penh and lived out the last three years of his life in exile in Cambodia. (end of quote)

On October 5, 1955, General Nguyen Thanh Phuong obeyed Ngo Dinh Diem's ​​orders and brought soldiers to surround Ho Phap Duong as the professor wrote.

The truth is that the two daughters of Duc Ho Phap went to Nam Vang on February 15, 1956 (the third day of the Lunar New Year) and Duc Ho Phap went to Nam Vang at 3:00 a.m. on February 17, 1956 (the fifth day of the Lunar New Year). Both trips were driven by a single driver, a Giao Huu Thai Cua Thanh. (Giao Huu Thai Cua Thanh was the one who was massacred in the Lien Dai dam incident in 1975, I wrote in Letter No. 1).

So, on February 19-1956, the two daughters of Duc Ho Phap were in Nam Vang with Duc Ho Phap. There was no arrest of Duc Ho Phap's two daughters; Professor, please verify the date and the event.

At 3:00 a.m. on February 17, 1956, Duc Ho Phap departed from Ho Phap Duong. When he turned on the car lights, he saw General Nguyen Thanh Phuong's guards on the other side of the road, and Pham Mon's car was following him. The car passed through many checkpoints of General Phuong; the professor understood that escaping was also a freedom of opinion. Page 03, The Communist verdict dated July 20-1978 stated that there was an arrangement by political forces so Duc Ho Phap was able to escape from General Phuong's siege, which was also a freedom of opinion.

Mr. Ho Bao Dao was the person present on the car going to Nam Vang with Duc Ho Phap, wrote in detail in Van Tich Phap Nhon Luan Chi Đao, I summarize as follows:

On the second day of Lunar New Year (February 14, 1956), Thai Cua Thanh from Kiem Bien returned to pay homage to the Supreme Being, the Mother Buddha... then visited the Duc Ho Phap. Duc Ho Phap asked how to get to Kiem Bien.

Giao Huu Thai Cua Thanh said that he had traveled many times, so it was easy for him to go and was ordered to take Duc Ho Phap safely. Duc Ho Phap asked Mr. Giao Huu to take his two children, Miss Ba Pham Ho Cam and Miss Tu Pham Tan Tranh, to go first to see how things would go. Mr. Giao Huu took them safely and returned to report on the third day. Therefore, Duc Ho Phap instructed to arrange and prepare the necessary things to be loaded onto the car to leave on the night of the fourth day and the dawn of the fifth day of Tet.

At 3:00 a.m. on January 5, Binh Than (February 17, 1956), Duc Ho Phap left the Toa Thanh Tay Ninh for Phnom Penh. The car went naturally, with the car of the Chief of the Pham Mon clan taking him there. Also, on the car were: Giao Huu Thai Cua Thanh driving. Mr. Ba Hieu and Ms. 2 Dam (the front row staff were both wearing white ao dai). The back row has Duc Ho Phap sitting in the middle (wearing a monk's robe), Mr. Ho Bao Dao (wearing religious uniform) sat on the left; Mr. Thoai (wearing white ao dai) sat on the right, and Mr. Ho Thai Bach (wearing scout uniform) sat on a package in front of Mr. Thoai.

According to Mr. Ho Bao Dao's writing, Duc Ho Phap did not assign anyone to go on this trip, only those who asked to go and were approved by Duc Ho Phap.

There is a special detail that only the participants know, the witness is Mr. Ho Bao Dao who wrote on page 61: On February 16, 1956, the Cao Dai faction that had split off to follow the communists (General Manh and Colonel Don) intended to go to Ho Phap Duong to pressure Duc Ho Phap to go through the forest to Cambodia (but actually kept Duc Ho Phap in the forest as a hostage), but on the way to the Holy See, the car broke down so he asked a liaison to ask for a car to pick him up. Mr. Ho Bao Dao replied that there was no car now and pointed to the empty garage and said that tomorrow would be fine... then at 3:00 a.m. Duc Ho Phap departed for Cambodia. Therefore, Mr. Ho Bao Dao believed that it was a divine arrangement, I also believe so.

1.4/- The guards were not disarmed by General Phuong.

On page 240 the professor writes: In October 1955, Ngô Đình Diệm ordered Caodai General Phương to invade the Holy See and strip Phạm Công Tắc of all his tem poral powers. Three hundred of his papal guardsmen were disarmed and Phạm Công Tắc became a virtual prisoner of his own troops… (end of quote)

The very bright point is that the professor wrote: Ngo Dinh Diem ordered General Cao Dai Phuong to invade the Holy See, this is a point that many people do not see. Thank you, professor, for clarifying this truth.

Professor writes: … and strip Phạm Công Tắc of all his tem poral powers ... in my humble opinion, we need to distinguish between two aspects.:

Rights with Cao Dai Army: On May 2, 1955, Duc Ho Phap and Prime Minister Ngo Dinh Diem signed an agreement to nationalize the Cao Dai Army. All Cao Dai soldiers belonged to the nation, so Duc Ho Phap no longer had any power over the Cao Dai Army; Mr. Diem could not take away the power when Duc Ho Phap was no longer there. Please read Holy Order 704 dated May 2, 1955:

First thing. From now on, the Cao Dai Army has been nationalized, that is, it has become a National Army under the control of the Vietnamese government, so the Ho Phap is no longer the Thuong-Ton Quan-The of the Army.

Second. The soldiers who have worked hard to regain independence for the Fatherland Vietnam have fought for 10 years to have the full right to choose whether to join the ranks of the National Army of Vietnam or return to the religion.

Power in religion: Mr. Ngo Dinh Diem wanted to destroy the power in religion of Duc Ho-Phap; so he ordered General Phuong to meet with the Holy See to remove the power of Duc Ho Phap; but the power of Duc Ho Phap was regulated by Phap Chanh Truyen, so Mr. Ngo Dinh Diem could not achieve his wish. When Duc Ho Phap ascended the throne (May 17, 1959), Mr. Diem forbade the Cao Dai Holy See from holding a funeral. At the Great Memorial Ceremony, Mr. Ngo Dinh Diem also ordered the Tay Ninh province chief to forbid the ceremony. When Mr. Diem's ​​regime collapsed, the Cao Dai people were allowed to hold a funeral for Duc Ho Phap (1964).

In Cao Dai religion, after the reign of Duc Ho Phap, the power of Duc Ho Phap is even more exalted: holding the power to reward the dignitaries of Hiep Thien Dai and Phuoc Thien at the Palace of Religion, Den Thanh Tay Ninh.

Mr. Ho Bao Dao wrote in Van Tich Phap Nhon Luan Chi Dao:

While at Tri Hue Cung, hearing this news, Duc Ho Phap quickly returned to Ho Phap Duong, ordered the guards serving Duc Ho Phap to surrender all weapons to Duc Ho Phap. Not knowing anything, the guards obeyed the order and surrendered all weapons to Duc Ho Phap.

About an hour later, the two generals Phuong and Tat called their troops to surround Ho Phap Duong. The guards got angry and wanted to fight back but had no choice but to surrender.

It turned out that Duc Ho Phap predicted that if General Phuong acted violently, there would be a bloody fight between Phuong's guards and subordinates, which could be an excuse for the Ngo Dinh Diem government to send regular troops to occupy the Holy See, under the name of maintaining order and security within Cao Dai... (Page 59)

I have talked to many seniors who were Duc Ho Phap's guards, so I know very well that they were ordered to put their weapons in storage before General Phuong arrived. If the guards no longer had weapons, how could General Phuong disarm them? Another evidence is that there is no document in Cao Dai religion that records any shooting or fighting when General Phuong and Tat surrounded Ho Phap Duong.

Also on page 59, Mr. Ho Bao Dao added:

General Phuong ordered that no one be allowed to enter the Ho Phap Duong and announced that he would set up four large mines to detonate at once, destroying the house. If Mr. Tac was a real Buddha, he would not die, otherwise he would die. Miss Ba Cam heard this and was scared, so she ran to the fence and called Mr. Bao The to come out and beg him, but Tat was still angry. The Disciple also saw it and said to General Tat: "I have never seen a mine explode before, so let me go to the Ho Phap Duong with Duc Ho Phap to see how the mine explodes."

Understanding the Disciple's intention, General Tat softened his voice after a while and led the entire army to retreat. The violence of the two generals was so sudden that the entire Dao was shaken quite a bit, but they were still helpless and had no way to deal with it.

Pitiful and lovable were the bricklayers led by General Director Vo Van Khue, who volunteered barehanded to break through General Phuong's siege into the Ho Phap Duong fence to guard against Phuong's troops entering... (page 59)

General Tat here is Le Van Tat, the character in Letter No. 01 that I mentioned; after the Ngo Dinh Diem regime collapsed, Mr. Le Van Tat, the governor of Tay Ninh province, built the Chanh Mon Gate in 1965. The Church did not inaugurate it; it was not until June 3-1997 that the 1997 sect announced the inauguration of the Chanh Mon Gate, but in fact, it was opening the door to welcome the legal entity of the 1997 sect.

Nominal name of General Phuong and Tat.

These two came from the Cao Dai Army; but on May 2-1955 Duc Ho Phap signed Holy Order No. 704, Nationalizing the Cao Dai Army, as quoted above. That means that from May 2-1955 Cao Dai no longer had any generals. Generals Phuong and Tat had received salaries from the government of Prime Minister Ngo Dinh Diem for 5 months before being mobilized by Ngo Dinh Diem to terrorize Duc Ho Phap. Thus, they were generals of the Ngo Dinh Diem government and no longer Cao Dai generals. I understand that, but I respect the professor's opinion.

1.5/- The Protector was exiled to Madagascar (1941-1946):

Page 232 professor writes: when he was arrested and exiled by the French (1940–46), and “when the Đạo was in a state of emergency and about to fall” (Sermon #18, Jan 6, 1949, 58). (end of quote)

According to the history of the Religion: June 28, 1941. The French entered the Holy See and arrested Duc Ho Phap and other Heavenly-ordained dignitaries.

On July 27, 1941, the French exiled Pham Ho Phap and five dignitaries: Khai Phap Tran Duy Nghia, Phoi Su Thai Phan Thanh, Phoi Su Ngoc Trong Thanh, Professor Thai Gam Thanh and Si Tai Do Quang Hien to Madagascar (Africa).

Thanks to the Noi Ung Nghia Binh, France was forced to sign a cooperation treaty on June 9, 1946, to bring Duc Ho Phap and those exiled in Madagascar back to Vietnam, returning the Tay Ninh Holy See.

Duc Ho Phap returned to Saigon on August 22, 1946. Returned to the Holy See on August 30, 1946. Professor, please verify the year Duc Ho Phap was exiled.

1.6/- Page 224 professor wrote: Phạm Công Tắc and his companions borrowed a basket from Âu Kiệt Lâm, the found ing medium of Minh Lý Đạo, and this became the primary instrument for future spirit communications (end of quote).

This basket is the Dai Ngoc Co used in the mediumship.

According to Daoist history: From October 1-1925 three predecessors of Dai-Dao Tam-Ky Pho-Do, Cao Quynh Cu, Pham Cong Tac, Cao Hoai Sang, borrowed Dai Ngoc Co from Mr. Phan Ty (a neighbor of Mr. Cao Quynh Cu) to use.

Mr. Bao Phap Nguyen Trung Hau wrote in Dai Dao Can Nguyen page 29, 1930 edition: … so in the first week of August, year At Suu, a Fairy named That Nuong entered the table and taught us to find Ngoc Co to use. Mr. Cu asked around and was able to borrow the Co from Mr. Ky Ty (also on Bourdais Street).… (end of quote).

The Dharma of compiling the book History of the Government of Ngo Van Chieu, page 31, printed in 2006, wrote: ... Then there was a fairy who called herself That Nuong who taught how to find a jade-coil to use conveniently.

... The fairy also instructed how to support the jade-coil. Luckily at that time, the men borrowed the jade-coil from Mr. Ty who also lived on Bourdais Street (now Calmettle Street) ... (end of quote).

Both sources confirm: the three seniors borrowed Dai Ngoc Co from Mr. Ty, not from Mr. Au Kiet Lam professor please verify this.   

Further discussion: Why does Mr. Ty have Dai Ngoc Co?

Mr. Phan Van Ty was from Thu Dau Mot (Binh Duong), a follower of the Minh Thien Thu Dau Mot altar; he was the in-law of Mr. Tran Hien Vinh, the master of the Minh Thien altar (Hoi Khanh pagoda). Mr. Vinh created 12 Ngoc Co trees. Mr. Phan Ty invited one Ngoc Co tree. Mr. Ty lent it to Mr. Au Kiet Lam (Au Liet Lam), whose dharma name was Au Minh Chanh. Mr. Ty was Mr. Cu's neighbor. Seeing that his neighbors were building the altar to invite the gods very slowly, he wanted to help. When Mr. Cu asked to borrow the Ngoc Co, Mr. Ty went to Mr. Au Kiet Lam to get it for Mr. Cu to borrow.

My sincere thanks.

Page 236 professor writes: Paul Mus, in trying to explain why the “mysticism” of the Caodaists tended to detach itself from the colonial project, argued that the French misunderstood the religious con tent of Vietnamese supernaturalism: “We mistook divinatory magic for instrumental magic” (1952, 292). (end of quote).

 According to me, the magic of divination and magic of tools here is about the planchette.

The planchette appeared in society long ago, often used to ask for medicine, fortune telling... and further, the forms of asking for fortune sticks, shaking the hexagrams, asking for yin and yang sticks, divination... also tend to be mainly about "fortune telling".

In 1926, God used the planchette to establish Cao Dai, teaching the establishment of a new religion, with formulas for building society, a human resources apparatus to build a peaceful, democratic and free society... God used the planchette to teach the establishment of a constitution with clear legislative, judicial and executive powers. The planchette taught the establishment of the Cao Dai Church, the administrative system, the establishment of Chau Thanh Holy Land... That is, God used the planchette as a tool to build a new civilization, a new order.

Thank you very much professor for writing on page 237: The Hộ Pháp established a more instru mental form of séance, which sought not only to understand the world but (in Marx’s words) also to change it. (end of quote).

Very wonderful! Not stopping there, the professor observed the reality and commented on the effects and achievements of the tool nature in Cao Dai spirit writing on page 219: Its master planning, its intricate administrative hierarchy is proof of this new religious movement’s ability to create something new, to capture modernity in both its Asian and European aspects—its institutions, forms of knowledge, modes of power, and radiant future—by means of its likeness. The copy itself becomes an original, a new model for a new order of being. (end of quote).

Right from the first page (213), the professor considers it utopian and repeats it on pages 216, 218, 223, 229... which is understandable and worthy of respect, because it shows that the professor is interested in learning about the feasibility and the ability of religion to become reality.

But the airplanes we use to travel today were also unimaginable in the past; the surgeon's scalpel used to transplant hearts and kidneys was also unimaginable in the past; the smartphones we use every day and every hour today were also unimaginable in the past. So many things that were unimaginable in the past have become reality today.

The Bible says that God healed the blind, walked on the sea as on flat land, which was also unthinkable at that time. But today's science and technology have made what was written in the Bible a reality. In 1926, the Cao Dai God came to teach the establishment of a new civilization, a new order, which is understood as utopia, which is completely normal. Today, civil society organizations are moving in that direction; Cao Dai is also a civil society organization for spiritually rich people to voluntarily cooperate with each other to care for each other and open their arms to the rest of humanity. The professor has been to Chau Thanh Thanh Đia, I would like to say that all the roads like a chessboard there were created by Cao-Dai people... from the belief in the new order.

The concept of civil society today is to organize, organize and organize for people to take care of each other, which is a progressive model, demonstrating the power of the infrastructure over the superstructure.

Looking back to 1926 when Vietnam was still under French rule, God came to use a planchette to establish Cao Dai. The religion has a constitution with three separate powers; the constitution nails down the superstructure in terms of personnel, ranks, public authority and especially gives the religionists control. The constitution of Cao Dai is a written constitution and is forbidden to be amended in any form.

God again decentralizes the unlimited development of the infrastructure to counterbalance the superstructure, not allowing the superstructure to encroach on the infrastructure. God teaches the Cao Dai Church to organize, organize and organize through the administrative levels that the professor has noted. God teaches the Cao Dai religion to create its own resources and environment to build a new society with a new order in Charity - Justice. Currently, science, technology and the social environment are completely favorable for the Cao Dai religion. When the Religion's own factors meet the modern environment and resources, the impossible becomes reality and is very possible.

The origin of utopia becoming reality is due to the brain and the spirit. Cao Dai religion originates from the spirit of the pupil combined with the magnetic field of creation, of the sacred to create understanding for the brain, then Cao Dai civilization has a full basis to become reality.

On page 228, the professor quoted the Phap Chanh Truyen Chu Giai, which shows that God confirmed that He came to establish a new order without touching the previous order, and God gave humans the freedom to dialogue or question God.

“According to the teachings of Catholicism, the Pope has full power on the bodies and the spirits. Because of this extensive power, Catholicism has much material influence. If today, you remove part of the power on the spirits, I fear that the Pope would not have enough authority in guiding humanity to conversion.” His Master answers, smiling: “That was mistake on my part. When I carried a physical body, I gave to an incarnated person the same authority on the spirits as myself. He climbed on my throne, took over the supreme powers, abused them and rendered man slave of his own body. Moreover, I did not realize that the precious powers I gave you because I loved you represented a knife with double edges that encouraged you to generate disorder among your selves. Today, I am not coming to take these powers back but rather to destroy their deleterious effects… The best way is to divide those powers so as to prevent dictatorship… Once these powers belong to the hands of one, man escapes only rarely from oppression.” (Tòa Thánh Tây Ninh 1972c, Pháp Chánh Truyền, Bùi trans. 2002, 17) (end of quote)

Also on page 228 the professor quotes and comments:

In a later section, Phạm Công Tắc challenges his interlocutor, who had decreed that Caodaism would establish equal rights for female and male dignitaries, by asking why, if this was the case, women were not able to become Censor Cardinals (Chưởng Pháp) or Pope (Giáo Tông). The Supreme Being answers: “Heaven and Earth possess two con stitutive elements, yin and yang (âm-dương). If yang dominates, everything lives, if the yin rules, everything dies … If a day came when the yang disappeared and the yin reigned, the universe would fall into decay and be destroyed … If I allow the female college to hold the power of Pope in its hands, I will be sanctioning the triumph of yin over yang, so that the holy doctrine will be brought to nothing” (ibid., 119). Even after this strict correction, the Hộ Pháp presses once again for an explanation for an apparent A Posthumous Return from Exile 229 inconsistency in the doctrine of sexual equality, and the divine master answers angrily “The Law of heaven is thus set down,” closing off discussion and leaving the séance abruptly inconsistency in the doctrine of sexual equality, and the divine master answers angrily “The Law of heaven is thus set down,” closing off discussion and leaving the séance abruptly. (end of quote)

The professor felt God was angry… during the conversation. I respect that comment and understand that it is normal. I would like to add that perhaps due to the language barrier, when quoting the above passage, the professor could not feel the meaning of the Father, the Teacher that the professor wrote on page 234. That is the passage where Victor Hugo answered the Protector about God: “So why is it that the Supreme Being called himself Master?” He is answered with a poem: “As a Father I look after my children with love and diligence, As a Master I welcome them into My Divinity” (Sermon #17, 53).

I read the Vietnamese excerpt from the above Phap Chanh Truyen Chu Giai and realized that God teaches the truth in a practical way so that it can be done, not to deceive sentient beings. It is true because the Solar System we are living in has only one sun, a mountain has only one peak, a circle has only one center, a line segment has only one midpoint. God teaches the truth so that sentient beings can do it, to give sentient beings real bread; not to lead humanity into illusion. Especially the last sentence: Because of suffering the fate of being born unlucky, one must accept the fate of being disadvantaged, the will of Heaven has been determined, the Master only relies on you to have a loving heart to defend the Master, otherwise it will be a pity.

Look at society for some examples: women's and men's football must be separated to be fair, if women's football competes with men's football and then says it is fair, it is not practical. Volleyball and swimming also have separate tournaments for women and men, then it is practical.

In Cao Dai religion, God teaches to establish a separate administrative system for women to practice religion, that is very practical. Only when it is practical can it be done, only when it is done can there be the opportunity to build a new order. In short, thank you very much, professor, and I am very happy to write these lines.

Two issues need to be clarified.

Dear Professor.

Sometimes I am stopped by the wall of language, I wonder if I have understood the professor's writing correctly. But there is a voice from within that says what is known is known, what is not yet determined is said to be not yet determined.

As for the next two points, I would like to present them for the professor's reference only, please understand that this is just a presentation to understand the specific event accurately, and there is nothing in the professor's article that needs to be adjusted.

Furthermore, the professor does not intend to distinguish the Cao Dai religion established in 1926 and the Cao Dai branches, so this part is like the story of an extracurricular ball.

1/- The professor wrote: and see him as an important medium in the early years who later tried to monopolize access to spiritual communication. (Page 214)

As I understand it, the professor commented and mentioned about pho loan (planchette) in Dai-Dao Tam-Ky Pho-Do. I hope I understand the professor's meaning correctly, but I would like to say that my sharing below is also an afterthought. Because the special part of planchette in Cao Dai I have shared above.

Planchette has existed in society for a long time, but when God used planchette to establish Dai-Dao Tam-Ky Pho-Do, abbreviated as Cao Dai in 1926, there were regulations on planchette that were completely different from planchette in society.

God chose 16 mediums and announced them to society. God only descended through 16 mediums and clearly taught: So when you hear about Cao Dai here, Cao Dai there, do not believe it and be deceived by the evil tricks of the Evil Ones (Pho Cao Chung Sanh, October 13, 1926, page 06)

God gave people the freedom to decide their own path of merit; among the 16 mediums, there were diligent people, and there were not diligent people. God is the One who holds the scales of justice, so He teaches according to the students' hearts and deeds; those who are diligent and willing to practice the Dharma will be assigned one task after another, not those who are not diligent. Please see the link for more information, Professor:

https://khoinhonsanh2014.blogspot.com/2024/10/5473-vntb-phep-thu-ve-co-but-trong-ao.html#more  

As far as I know, it was Duc Ho Phap who defended the right to use the planchette for private study but forbade its dissemination or the use of the planchette as a command. Link:

https://khoinhonsanh2014.blogspot.com/2019/12/2986phuoc-thien-xin-cau-co.html

In summary: Among the 16 disciples chosen by God, did anyone plead or complain that the Duc Ho Phap Pham Cong Tac has exclusive rights to communicate with the divine? In Dai-Dao Tam-Ky Pho-Do, did anyone issue any document to plead with the Supreme Being? If so, please let me know so I can have more understanding.

Plane writing from the Cao Dai sect: There are 4 Cao Dai sects that separated from the Tay Ninh Holy See, namely Minh Chon Ly (1931), Minh Chon Dao (1932), Tien Thien (1932), Ban Chinh Dao, Ben Tre (1934). The other sects were born from the above 4 sects.

When the four sects separated, they all created mediums to have their own planes, that is their freedom. The sects have the right to request planes and the right not to recognize the planes from Duc Ho Phap; conversely Duc Ho Phap has the right not to recognize the planes of the sects; these two rights are equal. No one can prohibit anyone, so how can there be a monopoly?

The truth is that the mediums of the sects could not request any sutras to use, so in 1936 they had to copy the Thien Dao and The Dao Sutras of the Cao Dai Holy See for their own use. That is because they were not given the Sutras, but the Duc Ho Phap did not force them to take the Sutras for use and then claim that they had the exclusive right to communicate with the Gods.

Đức Hộ Pháp is a spiritual disciple who gives the Scriptures of Heaven and Earth. Is it because of that inferiority complex that they attribute monopoly to Đức Hộ Pháp? The professor wrote that Đức Hộ Pháp later tried to monopolize access to spiritual communication… so does the professor have a document from Đức Hộ Pháp prohibiting the sects from communicating to write like that?

Currently, the sects and the Đồng Tân Cultural Association are present in the US, France, Australia, Canada… which are countries with religious freedom, so they have the right to use the planchette to ask the Divine to give them Scriptures or teach other things. Đức Hộ Pháp did not prohibit it but said that there is a monopoly on access to the gods.

Page 233, the professor wrote: Victor Hugo and Jeanne d’Arc, the most famous “European saints” in Caodaism, were both spirits who initially conversed only with Phạm Công Tắc, refusing to “come down” to a séance if he were not there as a medium to “receive” them.14)

That is decided by the disciples and the divine. I do not understand why the Duc Ho Phap Pham Cong Tac is involved in it, but to understand that there is a monopoly.

2/- The professor wrote: Within the Caodai community, some 800 temples display his image facing the great altar and see him as the human being who came closest to achieving divinity. (Page 214)

I am very grateful to the Professor for his many articles on Cao Dai. I think that while studying, the Professor read the articles mainly in English, so sometimes it does not convey the spirit of Vietnamese. That means the Professor may also encounter a language barrier like I did when reading the Professor's articles in English. Therefore, I would like to present this specific case.

As I understand it, the word pagoda refers to the Thanh That Cao Dai; the large altar is the Altar of God. Thus, the image of the Duc Ho Phap Pham Cong Tac displayed opposite the Altar of God has two interpretations: Displaying the image but not the Altar of the Ho Phap and displaying the image of the Ho Phap as the Altar of the Ho Phap. From the two interpretations above, there are several things that need to be clarified.

2.1/- The Cao Dai Ho Phap Altar was established in 1926 at the Thanh That Cao Dai.

Any Thanh That Cao Dai in 1926, whether large or small, has a Ho Phap Altar with the word KHÍ, facing the Altar of God. The Ho Phap Altar only has the word KHÍ and ten other offerings such as flowers, fruits, incense, and lamps... After paying respect to God, turn back to pay respect to the word KHÍ, the source of life for oneself and humanity. The Thanh That Cao Dai in 1926 is not allowed to display the image of the Duc Ho Phap on the Ho Phap Altar. Please see the photo of the Ho Phap Altar.

2.2/- The Ho Phap Altar of the Cao Dai 1997 Sect.

If you go to any Thanh That Cao Dai where there is an image of the Duc Ho Phap Pham Cong Tac (standing or sitting) facing the Altar of God with incense, candles or other offerings as shown in the photo below, then that is the Ho Phap Altar at the Thanh That Cao Dai of the 1997 Sect. The Ho Phap Altar of the 1997 Sect removes the word KHI and replaces it with an image of the Duc Ho Phap.

In letter number 01, I emphasized that the Cao Dai 1997 sect is not Cao Dai. If we base our understanding of Cao Dai on an organization that is not Cao Dai (the 1997 sect) then it is very regrettable. The 1997 sect is a tool established by the Vietnamese government to destroy Cao Dai. Therefore, the 1997 sect distorts the doctrine, the meaning of worship, and creates superstition, which is a very sophisticated way to destroy the religion. It is like salt water and fresh water in two identical glasses, so it is impossible to distinguish, you have to taste them to know which glass is salt water and which glass is fresh water. I have a duty to tell the truth, so I would like to say that there is one real Monkey King but there are many fake Monkey Kings.

2.3/- Not the Ho Phap Altar: Some Cao Dai Temples in 1926 displayed pictures of the Duc Ho Phap or the ancestors on the wall opposite the God Altar without incense, flowers, fruits, etc., and not directly facing the God Altar. Those are souvenir pictures, not the meaning of an altar.

2.4/- Especially at Tay Ninh Holy Temple: the statues of Duc Thuong Pham, Duc Ho Phap, Duc Thuong Sanh facing the Altar of Duc Thuong De are to show their duties, not to worship (because there are no incense, flowers, or fruits). Holy Temples are absolutely not allowed to have these statues, but only the Altar of Duc Ho Phap with the word KHÍ as presented above.

2.5/- The Phap Mon Chieu Minh Tam Thanh.

In the next few lines after the above quote (also on page 214), the professor mentioned Mr. Ngo Van Chieu. As far as I know, on the Altar of the Phap Mon Chieu Minh Tam Thanh, there is a picture of Mr. Ngo Van Chieu together with the Altar of the God.

The story is long, I will stop here.

Thank you very much, professor.

Sincerely.

Dương Xuân Lương

Email: hoabinhchungsong220513@yahoo.com