Tay Ninh Holy See and interesting "secrets"

Among many famous landmarks in Tay Ninh, the Holy See is one of the places that every tourist wants to visit when coming to the westernmost land of the Southeast region.

Among many famous landmarks in Tay Ninh, the Holy See is one of the places that every tourist wants to visit when coming to the westernmost land of the Southeast region.

Tay Ninh Holy See is also known by the locals as the Holy Temple. The project is located at Pham Ho Phap street, Hoa Thanh town, Tay Ninh province, about 5km southeast of Tay Ninh city and about 100km west of Ho Chi Minh city.

The name Tay Ninh Holy See comes from the people who are used to calling it. In Cao Dai religion, the full name of the Holy Temple is "The Holy See of Tam Ky Pho Do" or "The Holy See of Cao Dai". The cluster of works with more than 100 large and small architectural works is located in a campus of more than 1.2km2, surrounded by 12 gates. The gates are carved with images of the Four Spirits (Long, Lan, Quy, and Phung) and lotus flowers.

The center of this cluster of works is the Holy See 135m long, 27m wide. The main door faces west with 36m high three dais, 27m high Hiep Thien Dai (two bell and drum floors), 36m high Nghinh Phong Dai, Cuu Trung Dai and 36m high bagua. Thus, there are many buildings in the Holy See built to dimensions that are basic multiples of 9.

In addition to the above numbers, it is also necessary to mention the 9m high Bat Quai Dai, built on a square pedestal, 27m each side. Next is the Cuu Trung Dai (main hall) 27m wide, 81m long. Hiep Thien Dai is built on a square, each side is 27m long.

This massive structure was built over 20 years (from 1926 to 1947), over 5 periods of construction. Notably, during this time, the people involved in the construction of the work must make a Hong oath (not to marry or get married), in order to keep "pure" to create the Holy See, a work that is popular with the followers of Christianity. Cao Dai considers it to be Thien's will (heaven's will) combined with Manpower (human power) to create.

This is the central place of worship of the Cao Dai religion, called To Dinh, because Tay Ninh is considered the ancestral land of the religion. According to the doctrine, Cao Dai religion has the following principles: Quy Nguyen Tam Dao (reconciling Confucianism, Taoism, and Buddhism) and Phuc Nhat Ngu Chi (unifying the 5 branches of Humanitarianism, Shintoism, Saint Dao, Tien Dao and Buddhism). religion).

Cuu Dung Dai (main hall) is the most popular tourist attraction in the Holy See. The space is 81m long, 27m wide, divided from other spaces in the Main Hall by 18 pillars divided into two sides, carved and decorated with elaborate dragons.

These rows of pillars divide the area of ​​Cuu Trung Dai into 9 compartments, each space is 18cm apart. This is the ceremony area of ​​each rank of devotee. When the worshiping ceremony takes place, the dignitaries and followers will each have a separate position corresponding to their goods in Cao Dai religion. Above the ceiling is a painting of stars and clouds representing the heavens.

Bagua Dai is the area located at the end of the Holy Temple, the tail of Long Ma facing directly to the East. The bagua tower has a yellow painted roof. This area has 8 dragon pillars arranged in the shape of the Bagua. In the middle is a Can Khon fruit with a diameter of 3.3m. This is also the special part of the Holy See compared to other shrines of the Cao Dai religion.

Each sanctuary of the Cao Dai religion is only allowed to worship the Thien Nhan statue (a painting of Thien Nhan). As for the Holy See, Thien Nhan will be drawn on a large sphere, called the Qiankun fruit, symbolizing the Tao's cosmology. The mind of Qiankun places a lamp called Taiji, which is kept bright day and night. Around the drawing of Thien Nhan on the Qiankun, there are 3,072 stars representing 72 globes and 3,000 worlds.

One of the more unique features at the Holy See is the painting of Tam Thanh Ky Thien Nhan Hoa Co. Tam Thanh is the top 3 saints of Bach Van Dong (the sacred realm of Cao Dai religion). The saints include: Thanh Son Taoist, incarnated on earth as Trang Trinh Nguyen Binh Khiem of Vietnam; Chan Nhan Nguyet Tam, embodied as the great French writer Victor Hugo and Trung Son Chan, embodied as Chinese revolutionary Sun Yat-sen.

The painting depicts Duc Thanh Son Taoist wearing Vietnamese court clothes, holding a brush and writing the words "Thien Thien Ha - Charity and Justice". Next to it is Duc Nguyet Tam Chan, wearing French court clothes, holding a quill pen and writing the French words: DIEU et HUMANITÉ - AMOUR et JUSTICE (meaning as above). And Duc Trung Son Chan stood next to him, holding red ink for the two to write.

Thien Nhan Peace Covenant is a covenant between Heaven and Man. In particular, human is the head of all species on earth, so it is on behalf of all things to make a covenant to live in harmony with nature, heaven and earth... According to Cao Dai religion, this peace treaty was signed in 1926, when religion this formed.

Arriving at the Holy See at 12 noon, visitors will be able to participate in the main ceremony of Cao Dai followers. In other time frames, visitors can visit the entire complex of sophisticated works. Some notes for visitors when visiting: Do not bring shoes inside. Wear polite clothes. Doesn't make noise. Keep clean. When entering the Great Hall, men enter through the right door, and women go through the left door.

Not only is it an important religious site for Cao Dai parishioners, with its unique architecture and long history built by the hands of untrained farmers, the Court Thanh Tay Ninh is also considered one of the most attractive tourist attractions in the Southeast.

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Update day : 03/08/2023