How Heaven Works

Christopher Hartney, Ph.D. (2004), University of Sydney, is Senior Lecturer and Chair of Studies in Religion at that university. He has published extensively on Caodaism, sacred creativity, and the nexus between religion and violence.

Preface

Acknowledgements

Part1 General Introduction and Context



1 Caodaism, Syncretism, and Renovation

 1 What, Then, Is Caodaism?

 2 Caodaism and Its Millenarian Project



2 The Textual-Historical Divisions of Tây Ninh Caodaism

 1 Stage One: 1925–1934

 2 Stage Two: 1935–1955

 3 Stage Three: 1955–1975

 4 A Fourth Stage: 1975–



3 Who Was Phạm Công Tắc and What Constitutes Mediumship in Caodaism

 1 Mediumship in Caodaism

 2 The Development of the Hiệp Thiên Đài

 3 The Second Period of Scriptural Development



4 Sources of The Divine Path

 1 Early Textual Developments at the Dawn of Caodaism

 2 Kinh Khai Cửu Đại Tường và Tiểu-Tường: The Prayers of the Faith

 3 Thiên Thai Kiến Diện [A Visit to Celestial Realms]



5 The Structure of The Divine Path

 1 The Tây Ninh Section (Opening)

 2 Approaching the Celestial Bát Quái Đài (First Orientation Section)

 3 The Cloud Cave Interregnum (Sermon Five)

 4 The Divine Mother and the White Jade Palace (Second Orientation Section)

 5 The Work of the Cung Thế Thiên Hành Hóa

 6 The “Tông Đường” or “Spiritual Family” Section

 7 Beyond Nirvana: The “Đại Hội Long Hoa” or Great Dragon Flower Assembly



6 Site, Space, Voice, Ritual, and Eventually, Text

 1 The Great Divine Temple as Performance Space

 2 Ritual, Voice, and Shamanic Suggestion



7 The Purpose of Turning Performance into Text, and Conclusions

 1 The Third Period of Text Development or the History of the Present Text

 2 The Divine Path as Theological Memory Palace

 3 The Ultimate Purpose of the Universe and of the Caodaist Paradise

 4 Conclusions

 5 A Short Note on the Translation



Part2 The Sermons and Commentary



Translators’ Note



1 What is the Divine Path to Eternal Life? There are Three Methods of Creating a Divine Position

 Commentary on Sermon One



2 The Realm of The Thừa Thiên Hành Hóa

 Commentary on Sermon Two



3 The Form of the Bát Quái Đài and the Sea of Suffering: A Sermon Given Specifically for Officials of the Cửu Trùng Đài

 Commentary on Sermon Three



4 Entering the Bát Quái Đài via the Ô-Trì pond, Gender Equality, and the Sea of Suffering

 Commentary on Sermon Four



5 The Paradise of Extreme Joy and the Image of the Divine Mother

 Commentary on Sermon Five



6 The Power of the Divine Mother

 Commentary on Sermon Six



7 The Ngân River and the Animal Nature of Humanity

 Commentary on Sermon Seven



8 The Secrets and Mysteries of the Bát Quái Đài and the Motion of the Eight-levels of Souls

 Commentary on Sermon Eight



9 The Dragon Flower Assembly Where Positions Will Be Granted to Worthy Souls

 Commentary on Sermon Nine



10 The Secret and Essential Philosophy of the Religion: The Perispirit and Civilization

 Commentary on Sermon Ten



11 The All-Pervasive Nature of the Four Sufferings/Four Noble Truths and the Story of the King of Hell

 Commentary on Sermon Eleven



12 The Power of Protecting the Souls of Human Beings in the Religion

 Commentary on Sermon Twelve



13 How Atheists Debate at the Cung Hiệp Thiên Hành Hóa

 Commentary on Sermon Thirteen



14 The Method of Cultivating the Way; Although Each of the Five Branches Is Different, They All Have the Same Aim: To Free Humanity from Suffering

 Commentary on Sermon Fourteen



15 The Secret Dharma that Develops an Altruistic Life, Destroys Selfishness, and Elevates Public Life against Individual Desire

 Commentary on Sermon Fifteen



16 The Law of Love and the Right of Justice; How to Lead Humanity Towards Union Through Belief

 Commentary on Sermon Sixteen



17 The Power of the Law of Love, the Dharma of Justice, and the Agreement Between the Supreme Being and Humanity

 Commentary on Sermon Seventeen



18 The True Happiness of Humanity

 Commentary on Sermon Eighteen



19 The Supreme Being Devised the Caodaist Religion to Create Happiness for All Humanity and for Peace on this 68th Planet

 Commentary on Sermon Nineteen



20 The Image of the Divine Mother on Earth Is the Image of Shiva; The Divine Extended Family of Each Individual Will Meet at Cung Diêu Trì

 Commentary on Sermon Twenty



21 The Secret Inherent in What We Have Done, What We are Doing, What We Must Do; The Relation Between the Angel and the Animal in Each of Us and How This Relates to the Court of Heaven

 Commentary on Sermon Twenty-One



22 The Philosophy of Civilization

 Commentary on Sermon Twenty-Two



23 The Desire to Progress on the Path to the Eternal Life Is Limitless

 Commentary on Sermon Twenty-Three



24 Our Sins Are Recorded by Our Own Perispirit; Therefore, There Is No Way We Can Deny Them

 Commentary on Sermon Twenty-Four



25 The Phục-Linh Realm and How to Preach the Way

 Commentary on Sermon Twenty-Five



26 The Method of Governing the Universe Lies in How We Govern Ourselves

 Commentary on Sermon Twenty-Six



27 Our Arrival at the Cung Phục Linh and the Secret Dharma That Liberates the Self

 Commentary on Sermon Twenty-Seven



28 Linh Tiêu Điện [The Ngọc Hư Cung] and the Governing Body of the Supreme Being

 Commentary on Sermon Twenty-Eight



29 The Difference Between the Process of Rising Through Heaven and the Process of Falling into the Dark Realms

 Commentary on Sermon Twenty-Nine



30 The Paradise of Extreme Joy: Where We Are Temporarily Liberated; Although This is Not the Ultimate Realm for Souls

 Commentary on Sermon Thirty



31 The Supreme Being Preserves Our Divine Extended Family

 Commentary on Sermon Thirty-One



32 What Is a Drop of Holy Water? What Is the True Appearance of Nirvana?

 Commentary on Sermon Thirty-Two



33 Few People Achieve a Position in Heaven Because Lucifer Blocks the Way

 Commentary on Sermon Thirty-Three



34 The Hổn-Ngươn Thượng Thiên

 Commentary on Sermon Thirty-Four



35 Lôi Âm Temple, Where Amitabha Buddha Reigns, and Where the Pilgrim Reaches His Lotus Throne

 Commentary on Sermon Thirty-Five



Appendix—Preface to the 1971 Edition: An Explanatory Introduction by Caodaist Historian Mr Trần Văn Rạng

Glossary

Bibliography

Index