Spiritual Temple -A Caodaist Experience

Spiritual Temple

During a trip to Vietnam, I had the pleasure of visiting a town called Tay Ninh. Tay Ninh is well-known for the great Caodaist Temple.

When I arrived to the Caodaist spiritual temple, I was immediately mesmerized by its architectural beauty. It was not like any other temple I had visited before. The outside walls were painted with dazzling colors, and embellished with symbolic designs and sculptures. On top of the front entrance was a painting of an eye surrounded by rays. According to our guide, the eye and rays represent wisdom, awareness and spiritual light pouring out onto the world. It was a magnificent work of art.

Caodaist Temple	Spiritual Altar	Caretaker of Temple

The inside was more breathtaking than the outside. There were high ceilings and huge columns. Each column was decorated with figures of colorful dragons. The richness of the artwork was beyond words. Whoever designed the spiritual temple was undoubtedly guided by God.

During my visit, I witnessed a temple ceremony. The music and the gestures of the participants were very captivating. You could sense a divine energy moving smoothly through the air. It seemed that a peaceful and spiritual atmosphere had descended over the entire temple. It was absolutely an enthralling experience.

The Caodaism religion was established by Ngo Minh Chien, also known as Ngo Van Chien. He was born in 1878. He was known to be a spiritualist with a passion for western and eastern theologies.

When he was approximately 41 years old, he began receiving divine revelations from God. During these divine revelations, the true meaning of religion was revealed to him. In addition, he was instructed to combine all religions-Catholism, Buddhism, Toaism, Confusianism, Islam, etc. into one. He was informed that by taking all of the good elements of each religion and incorporating them into one religion would promote peace and harmony in the world. The Caodaism religion was officially recognized in 1925.

The Caodaism religion consists of one God, an earth goddess and an array of saints who are the assistants of God. Its basic principles are to attain spiritual growth and end the continuous cycle of reincarnation. It teaches that man is inherently good, and killing is wrong.

Spiritual Temple -Go to Art Gallery