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.

• PrefaceAcknowledgementsPart1 General Introduction and Context1 Caodaism, Syncretism, and Renovation1 What, Then, Is Caodaism?2 Caodaism and Its Millenarian Project2 The Textual-Historical Divisions of Tây Ninh Caodaism1 Stage One: 1925–19342 Stage Two: 1935–19553 Stage Three: 1955–19754 A Fourth Stage: 1975–3 Who Was Phạm Công Tắc and What Constitutes Mediumship in Caodaism1 Mediumship in Caodaism2 The Development of the Hiệp Thiên Đài3 The Second Period of Scriptural Development4 Sources of The Divine Path1 Early Textual Developments at the Dawn of Caodaism2 Kinh Khai Cửu Đại Tường và Tiểu-Tường: The Prayers of the Faith3 Thiên Thai Kiến Diện [A Visit to Celestial Realms]5 The Structure of The Divine Path1 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 Hóa6 The “Tông Đường” or “Spiritual Family” Section7 Beyond Nirvana: The “Đại Hội Long Hoa” or Great Dragon Flower Assembly6 Site, Space, Voice, Ritual, and Eventually, Text1 The Great Divine Temple as Performance Space2 Ritual, Voice, and Shamanic Suggestion7 The Purpose of Turning Performance into Text, and Conclusions1 The Third Period of Text Development or the History of the Present Text2 The Divine Path as Theological Memory Palace3 The Ultimate Purpose of the Universe and of the Caodaist Paradise4 Conclusions5 A Short Note on the TranslationPart2 The Sermons and CommentaryTranslators’ Note1 What is the Divine Path to Eternal Life? There are Three Methods of Creating a Divine PositionCommentary on Sermon One2 The Realm of The Thừa Thiên Hành HóaCommentary on Sermon Two3 The Form of the Bát Quái Đài and the Sea of Suffering: A Sermon Given Specifically for Officials of the Cửu Trùng ĐàiCommentary on Sermon Three4 Entering the Bát Quái Đài via the Ô-Trì pond, Gender Equality, and the Sea of SufferingCommentary on Sermon Four5 The Paradise of Extreme Joy and the Image of the Divine MotherCommentary on Sermon Five6 The Power of the Divine MotherCommentary on Sermon Six7 The Ngân River and the Animal Nature of HumanityCommentary on Sermon Seven8 The Secrets and Mysteries of the Bát Quái Đài and the Motion of the Eight-levels of SoulsCommentary on Sermon Eight9 The Dragon Flower Assembly Where Positions Will Be Granted to Worthy SoulsCommentary on Sermon Nine10 The Secret and Essential Philosophy of the Religion: The Perispirit and CivilizationCommentary on Sermon Ten11 The All-Pervasive Nature of the Four Sufferings/Four Noble Truths and the Story of the King of HellCommentary on Sermon Eleven12 The Power of Protecting the Souls of Human Beings in the ReligionCommentary on Sermon Twelve13 How Atheists Debate at the Cung Hiệp Thiên Hành HóaCommentary on Sermon Thirteen14 The Method of Cultivating the Way; Although Each of the Five Branches Is Different, They All Have the Same Aim: To Free Humanity from SufferingCommentary on Sermon Fourteen15 The Secret Dharma that Develops an Altruistic Life, Destroys Selfishness, and Elevates Public Life against Individual DesireCommentary on Sermon Fifteen16 The Law of Love and the Right of Justice; How to Lead Humanity Towards Union Through BeliefCommentary on Sermon Sixteen17 The Power of the Law of Love, the Dharma of Justice, and the Agreement Between the Supreme Being and HumanityCommentary on Sermon Seventeen18 The True Happiness of HumanityCommentary on Sermon Eighteen19 The Supreme Being Devised the Caodaist Religion to Create Happiness for All Humanity and for Peace on this 68th PlanetCommentary on Sermon Nineteen20 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 TrìCommentary on Sermon Twenty21 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 HeavenCommentary on Sermon Twenty-One22 The Philosophy of CivilizationCommentary on Sermon Twenty-Two23 The Desire to Progress on the Path to the Eternal Life Is LimitlessCommentary on Sermon Twenty-Three24 Our Sins Are Recorded by Our Own Perispirit; Therefore, There Is No Way We Can Deny ThemCommentary on Sermon Twenty-Four25 The Phục-Linh Realm and How to Preach the WayCommentary on Sermon Twenty-Five26 The Method of Governing the Universe Lies in How We Govern OurselvesCommentary on Sermon Twenty-Six27 Our Arrival at the Cung Phục Linh and the Secret Dharma That Liberates the SelfCommentary on Sermon Twenty-Seven28 Linh Tiêu Điện [The Ngọc Hư Cung] and the Governing Body of the Supreme BeingCommentary on Sermon Twenty-Eight29 The Difference Between the Process of Rising Through Heaven and the Process of Falling into the Dark RealmsCommentary on Sermon Twenty-Nine30 The Paradise of Extreme Joy: Where We Are Temporarily Liberated; Although This is Not the Ultimate Realm for SoulsCommentary on Sermon Thirty31 The Supreme Being Preserves Our Divine Extended FamilyCommentary on Sermon Thirty-One32 What Is a Drop of Holy Water? What Is the True Appearance of Nirvana?Commentary on Sermon Thirty-Two33 Few People Achieve a Position in Heaven Because Lucifer Blocks the WayCommentary on Sermon Thirty-Three34 The Hổn-Ngươn Thượng ThiênCommentary on Sermon Thirty-Four35 Lôi Âm Temple, Where Amitabha Buddha Reigns, and Where the Pilgrim Reaches His Lotus ThroneCommentary on Sermon Thirty-FiveAppendix—Preface to the 1971 Edition: An Explanatory Introduction by Caodaist Historian Mr Trần Văn RạngGlossaryBibliographyIndex