Venerated Master Ngô Minh Chiêu (vegan): Founder of Cao Đài-ism, Part 2 of 2

When Master Ngô Minh Chiêu was 43 years old, He fully committed to spiritual practice under the guidance of the Supreme Being Cao Đài. In 1924, after three years of diligence and perseverance in His spiritual practice, Master Chiêu was praised by His Divine Master in a poem: “Three years of perseverance and diligence Enduring all hardships to attain the Tao.”

Master Chiêu rarely gave discourses but did mention that Cao Đài is omnipresent and the Macro-Divine Light, which is God Almighty. He explained that each sentient being is a Micro-Divine Light sent forth from the Macro-Divine Light that gradually sinks into the physical realm. The further the Micro-Divine Light sinks, the more karma it creates, and in turn, it becomes bound even more by physical desires and by the endless cycle of reincarnation. To liberate ourselves from this cycle, we must avoid creating new karma by keeping the Five Precepts and practicing spiritually. Only then can our soul become lighter and purer and be able to return to its origin.

Although very much loved and respected by His disciples, Master Ngô Minh Chiêu did not allow them to kowtow to Him. As for those who came to ask for initiation, He would tell them to kneel in front of the altar of God to promise to keep the precepts before He initiated them into the Method. He reminded the disciples: “The soul came to Earth to learn Rely on vegetables and fruits to live Rich or poor, exalted or lowly, pay no attention Attain the Tao, and one will find true happiness.”

In 2010, Supreme Master Ching Hai answered a question related to Cao Đài-ism’s scripture. “(In Cao Đài-ism, a religion of Âu Lạc (Vietnam), the scripture mentions that whoever couldn’t make it through this filtering period has to go into a bleak dimension and stay there until the plants and rocks on this planet Earth become human; only then they are allowed to come back here to join and continue to evolve. Is this why we must try with all our might to awaken people before it’s too late? ) Yes. It’s better now than later. That’s right. Many people do not know this and are harming themselves by acting without love, against the principle of love, yes? We are all from love: we must be love and we must act in love. Anything we do, not in tune with our nature, which is love, will ruin our chance of a faster and higher evolution.”