Cao Dai Minh Chon Dao: history, organization, Ngoc Sac

IOverview

At the southern tip of Vietnam, among the melaleuca forests and canals of Ca Mau, stands a Cao Dai church with its own holy see: Minh Chon Dao.

The church is based at the Ngoc Sac Holy See in Xom So hamlet, Ho Thi Ky commune, Thoi Binh district, Ca Mau, using pre-2025 place names. Beside it stands the Diêu Trì Bửu điện, a shrine to the Mother Goddess. The church follows the Third Universal Salvation like the rest of Cao Dai, with the motto of relieving the suffering of humankind often cited in descriptions of it.

English Wikipedia lists Minh Chon Dao among the branches that formed between 1934 and 1975, alongside Cau Kho, Ben Tre, Minh Chon Ly, Tien Thien and the Missionary Church.

IIHistory

According to the historical record

According to a profile of the Ngoc Sac Holy See on the MIA travel site and a 2011 VietnamPlus report, the founder was Tran Dao Quang, later honoured as Đức Ngọc Chưởng Pháp. In 1928, after leaving the Tay Ninh Holy See, he went south to the Hau Giang region and started a new branch.

In 1929 he founded the Ngoc Sac temple in Ca Mau. Through the war years it survived, and in 1954 it formally became the Ngoc Sac Holy See. The building follows Cao Dai design with a Hiệp Thiên Đài, Cửu Trùng Đài and Bát Quái Đài, its main front facing north.

On 11 June 2007 the Ca Mau provincial authorities listed the Ngoc Sac Holy See as a provincial historical and cultural site, according to the same source.

1928Branch founded
Tran Dao Quang leaves Tay Ninh for Hau Giang and founds Minh Chon Dao.
1929Ngoc Sac temple
Temple founded in Ca Mau.
1954Holy see
The Ngoc Sac temple formally becomes a holy see.
1996Legal status
The church is recognized by the state.
2007Heritage listing
Ngoc Sac listed as a provincial historical and cultural site on 11 June.

IIITeachings and Distinctive Features

The basic teaching of Minh Chon Dao is that of Cao Dai as a whole: worship of the Supreme Being through the Divine Eye, veneration of the Mother Goddess, the Third Universal Salvation, the precepts and vegetarian days. The Divine Eye is a left eye in a circle, not in a triangle.

The library has not found a reliable source describing in detail how its doctrine or rites differ from other churches. The clearest difference is geographic: the church belongs to the Ca Mau peninsula and carries the identity of a faith community in a region settled late.

According to the tradition

The church describes its work as relieving the suffering of humankind and serving the nation, as in the title of an article on its social activities on the Government Committee for Religious Affairs site.

IVPractice, Ritual and Daily Life

Followers pray at set hours in temples and at home and keep the major feasts of the faith, such as the Supreme Being's day, the three seasonal festivals and the founding anniversary. The Diêu Trì Bửu điện beside the holy see hosts rites for the Mother Goddess.

The press mostly notes its charity and herbal medicine. According to VietnamPlus on 22 March 2011, between 2006 and 2010 the church's clinics treated patients with traditional herbal medicine more than 1.2 million times, and its humanitarian work was valued at about 25 billion dong.

VOrganization and Distribution

The church is governed through assemblies of believers held by term. The fourth assembly met on 21 March 2011 with about 800 delegates from 49 congregations and elected an 11 member leadership for 2011 to 2016. The assembly for the seventh term (2026 to 2031) was reported by the Ca Mau provincial department for ethnic and religious affairs.

Province names use pre-2025 boundaries. Bac Lieu is now part of Ca Mau, Soc Trang of Can Tho, Kien Giang of An Giang.
Measure	Figure	Source and year
Temples	49, in Ca Mau, Bac Lieu, Soc Trang, Kien Giang	VietnamPlus, 2011
Temples	47, in 4 provinces	Nhip Cau Giao Ly, undated
Fourth assembly delegates	About 800	VietnamPlus, 2011
Followers	No reliable figure

VIToday

Minh Chon Dao was granted legal status by the state in 1996, according to a 2024 study in the Vietnam Social Sciences journal. It has been part of the Cao Dai inter-church liaison since 2008.

The Ngoc Sac Holy See is both a working religious centre and a provincial heritage site. After the 2025 boundary reform, the church's main area lies within the new provinces of Ca Mau, Can Tho and An Giang.

VIISymbol of the Branch

No symbol of its own is recorded with a source for this branch, so the library uses the common symbol of the path.

VIIIOther Branches of Caodaism

Cao Dai Tay Ninh Holy SeeĐại Đạo Tam Kỳ Phổ Độ Tòa Thánh Tây NinhThe largest church, centred on the Tay Ninh Holy See.

Cao Dai Ban Chinh DaoĐại Đạo Tam Kỳ Phổ Độ, Hội Thánh Ban Chỉnh Đạo, Tòa thánh An HộiSeparated from Tay Ninh in 1934, based at An Hoi in Ben Tre.Uses the common symbol of the path

Cao Dai Tien ThienTiên Thiên Đại Đạo Tam Kỳ Phổ Độ, Hội thánh Cao Đài Tiên ThiênBased at Chau Minh in Ben Tre, founded 1937.Uses the common symbol of the path

Cao Dai Missionary ChurchĐại Đạo Tam Kỳ Phổ Độ, Hội Thánh Truyền Giáo Cao Đài, Trung Hưng Bửu TòaThe main Cao Dai church of central Vietnam, based in Da Nang since 1956.Uses the common symbol of the path

Cao Dai Minh Chon DaoĐại Đạo Tam Kỳ Phổ Độ, Hội Thánh Cao Đài Minh Chơn Đạo, Tòa thánh Ngọc SắcBased at Ngoc Sac in Ca Mau, rebuilt in 1954.Uses the common symbol of the path

Cao Dai Cau Kho Tam QuanĐại Đạo Tam Kỳ Phổ Độ, Hội Thánh Cao Đài Cầu Kho Tam QuanBased at Tam Quan in Binh Dinh, founded 1954.Uses the common symbol of the path

Chieu Minh LineageChiếu Minh Vô Vi, Chiếu Minh Tam Thanh Vô ViThe lineage of Ngo Van Chieu, first recipient of the Divine Eye in 1921.

Cao Dai Chon LyĐại Đạo Tam Kỳ Phổ Độ, Hội thánh Cao Đài Chơn LýBased in My Tho, built around 1928 to 1931, one of the earliest branches.Uses the common symbol of the path

Cao Dai Bach YBạch Y Liên Đoàn Chơn Lý, Tòa thánh Ngọc KinhAlso called Bach Y Lien Doan Chon Ly, based at Ngoc Kinh in Kien Giang since 1955.Uses the common symbol of the path

Independent Cao Dai templesCao Đài Bảo Thủ Chơn Truyền, Cao Đài Pháp Chánh TruyềnTemples and followers outside the recognized churches, describing themselves as keepers of the original 1926 rule.Uses the common symbol of the path

IXSources

The library cross-checks the sources below. Where they disagree, the page gives both.

?Quick Questions

Who founded the Cao Dai Minh Chon Dao church?

Tran Dao Quang, later honoured as Đức Ngọc Chưởng Pháp. He founded the branch in 1928 after leaving the Tay Ninh Holy See.

Where is the Ngoc Sac Holy See?

In Xom So hamlet, Ho Thi Ky commune, Thoi Binh district, Ca Mau, using pre-2025 names. It has been a provincial heritage site since 2007.

When was Minh Chon Dao recognized?

In 1996, according to a 2024 study in the Vietnam Social Sciences journal.

The Cao Dai Minh Chon Dao Church: The Ngoc Sac Holy See and Cao Dai on the Ca Mau Peninsula