How Heaven Works : The Collective Shamanic Journeys of Phạm Công Tắc and the Syncretic Afterworld of Caodaism /

How Heaven Works : The Collective Shamanic Journeys of Phạm Công Tắc and the Syncretic Afterworld of Caodaism /

In 1948, Vietnam's great 20th Century mystic Phạm Công Tắc (1890-1959) began a series of sermons making Caodaism's claims to universal salvation the clearest. In only two decades, Caodaism had stamped its fast-growing presence on the nation. With potent creative and poetic skill Phạm Công...

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Main Author: Hartney, Christopher (Author)

Format: eBook

Language: English

Published: Leiden ; Boston : Brill, 2024.

Series: Numen Book Series ; 178.
Religious Studies, Theology and Philosophy E-Books Online, Collection 2025.

Subjects:

Asian Studies.
East Asia.
South East Asia.

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Call Number: DS501

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Table of Contents:
  • 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.