The journey to uncover the truth about the Hoang Thien Long cult.

Lesson 1: Confronting those who "convert" to a religion.

Information about the Hoang Thien Long cult reached Nghe An Newspaper from a farmer in Nam Thanh commune, Yen Thanh district. Over the phone, his voice was filled with sorrow: “Because of this cult, we’ve lost all brotherly affection. What kind of perverse cult is this, daring to incite people to throw away their ancestral altars and offerings…?”

The story goes that the clan leader of a farmer's family in Nam Thanh commune converted to the Hoang Thien Long sect. The sect's followers propagated the idea that the world is currently plagued by evil spirits causing illness, war, and floods. To overcome these misfortunes, he had to follow the sect founded by Mrs. Dien and discard all his old ancestral altars and incense burners, replacing them with a new one with only one incense burner for communal worship according to the "new way of life." Blindly believing this, the clan leader threw all nine incense burners used to worship his ancestors into the river, causing great distress to his family and severing family ties. The farmer added that many people in Yen Thanh district also believe in this sect, and therefore, the press needs to investigate to prevent people from being deceived by this evil sect. He said, "Just go to Yen Thanh and you'll see the chaos among the people caused by this evil sect..."

The "scripture" of the Hoàng Thiên Long cult.

Posing as someone whose elderly mother was suffering from multiple illnesses and wanted to join the Hoang Thien Long sect, we approached some converts in Yen Thanh district. Mrs. Nguyen Thi Y, from Van Thanh commune, is about 60 years old, lives alone with her young grandchild, and has been a convert for nearly two years. When we introduced her to someone interested in learning more about the sect, she was visibly excited. Leading us to see the altar, Mrs. Y respectfully bowed three times and then spoke at length about herself, saying that she used to be constantly ill, but after learning about the Hoang Thien Long shrine, she went to Bai Ha village, Hong Quang commune, Ung Hoa district to learn how to worship according to the "new way of life," and now her health has improved significantly. Mrs. Y's altar was very unusual. In the center hung a picture of President Ho Chi Minh on a red cloth background resembling the Party flag and the national flag. On either side were couplets with the inscription: "The gathering of the Three Thousand Great Heroes has arrived; Y is the most revered in the house, honoring her ancestors." Below are an incense burner, three cups of water, and two sets of lanterns. Ms. Y explained that worshiping according to the "new way" only requires one incense burner. This incense burner is for worshipping Uncle Ho, the heroic martyrs, and even ancestors. Ms. Y's voice was mystical: "The mortal world is now in turmoil, with countless ghosts and demons, so Uncle Ho has returned to command the heroic martyrs to quell the chaos. He is now the President of the Vietnamese underworld, the head of the three realms of Buddha, Saints, and Gods. Setting up an altar in this new way, and regularly reciting the 'heartbreak sutra' will bring Uncle Ho's divine intervention, his spirit will be transferred into the three cups of water, and then you drink it to cure all diseases..." When asked about the method of worship, Ms. Y said that all old religious items need to be discarded, then a new altar should be set up, and she emphasized: "Remember to get rid of all Chinese items, anything with Chinese characters, otherwise the Chinese ghosts will come to cause trouble and the ritual will lose its effectiveness..." Then Mrs. Y brought out a stack of books she called "scriptures" and introduced these "works" as being composed by "Master" Dien, inspired by President Ho Chi Minh, to guide the people on how to follow the "new way of life." "I will invite the group leader here to explain it more clearly to you all..." - saying this, Mrs. Y pulled out her mobile phone and called a woman named H.

After about 15 minutes, Mrs. H arrived. Mrs. H was also over 60 years old, short and stocky, but quick and lively. She cheerfully inquired about the origins of the religion they were following. Like Mrs. Y, Mrs. H was very happy. She explained: "Speaking of the Hoang Thien Long religion is speaking of the 'Ho Chi Minh Spiritual' doctrine. 'Master' Dien in Ung Hoa District, Hanoi City, received a divine inspiration from President Ho Chi Minh, who sent forth a poem to write the scripture 'The Heart-Shattering Dharma for Family Cultivation,' which recounts the past, the future, and guides people on how to overcome suffering. After completing the scripture, 'Master' Dien erected a shrine to Hoang Thien Long to guide people on behalf of President Ho Chi Minh..." Mrs. H excitedly recited a few lines of her very unique "bamboo pen" poetry and said: "President Ho Chi Minh's religion is very powerful." Anyone who wants to "convert" can... Question: If our mother wants to convert, what needs to be done? According to Ms. H, the conversion process is quite simple; all that's needed is for the "ancestor" to go to the Hoang Thien Long temple, announce the names of everyone in the family before Uncle Ho, then buy new altar items to replace the old altar, and buy scriptures to read, and then they will be recognized. Question: Is it very expensive? Ms. H said: Besides the travel expenses, buying altar items and scriptures costs about 600-700 thousand dong, and the conversion ceremony itself depends on one's sincerity, 100-200 thousand dong or 500-1 million dong depending on one's devotion.

But what if our mother is too old and frail to ride a bike?

- If that's the case, I'll introduce you to Ms. Thuy; she'll have a way to help.

- What kind of person is Ms. Thuy?

- "She" is "Teacher" Dien's representative in Nghe An. If you need anything, contact "Teacher" Dien for guidance. If our "elder" can't come, "she" will write down the name and address and call outside so "Teacher" can inform Uncle Ho that "our elder" has requested the "ritual," and that will also be effective...

"Ms." Thuy (the woman carrying the bag), representative of the Hoang Thien Long cult in Nghe An.

"Ms." Thuy lives near Roc Market, in Doi Cung Cultural Village, Trung Thanh Commune, Yen Thanh District. She's petite, agile, and speaks with a Northern accent. She seems to be a skilled preacher, eloquently expounding on the teachings of "Master" Dien. She claims that "Master" Dien is blessed by Uncle Ho and can subdue evil spirits and cure all illnesses. Writer Le Luu and even a PhD from America have come to listen to "Master" Dien's lectures. "Master" Dien has also sent his "scriptures" to the Institute for Human Potential Research for study. I follow "Master" Dien because of this. And she recounted: “My husband and I lived in Russia for about ten years. He's from Nam Dinh. After returning to Vietnam, he suddenly developed a mental illness. We tried countless treatments, spending all our money, but nothing worked. I consulted several 'healers,' but to no avail. He destroyed every altar we set up; once, he even threw the incense burner into an unclean place, causing me great distress. Then, someone took pity on me and suggested I consult 'Master' Dien, who could cure my husband's illness. I listened to him and tried it, and indeed, my husband recovered. Not only that, but he also learned how to write poetry from Uncle Ho...”

"Ms. Thuy (Tran Thi Thuy) talks about the Hoang Thien Long cult."

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Returning to the story of our elderly mother wanting to convert to Buddhism, "Ms." Thuy presented a scripture titled "The Heart-Shattering Method of Cultivating the Mind" and several video discs, saying, "Take the scripture and video discs home for her to read. If she wholeheartedly converts, then bringing her to the temple will be effective." She also instructed: "You must discuss and agree with everyone in the house. Only if everyone is wholeheartedly committed will it work."

- If the "old man" wishes to be "reformed," how can electricity be generated?

- On July 21st (Lunar Calendar), everyone will make a pilgrimage to Kim Lien to offer incense to Uncle Ho. Then, on July 24th (Lunar Calendar), they will continue the pilgrimage to the Hoang Thien Long shrine. On that day, please contact the group in Ha Tinh so that "Uncle Ho" can join them.

- Although we're in Ha Tinh, we're closer to Vinh City. I wonder if there's a tour group from Vinh?

- The Vinh group is very large. If so, you can contact Ms. Nguyet at the number provided to join the Vinh group.

Working with the Trung Thanh commune authorities (Yen Thanh district), it turned out that the officials there also knew quite a bit about the Hoang Thien Long cult. According to Mr. Tran Thuong Hoang, the Party Secretary of the commune, "Ms." Thuy (Tran Thi Thuy) was once a citizen of the commune, the daughter of two Party members with 40 years of Party membership, who had passed away some time ago due to illness. Thuy went abroad, got married, and later lived in Block 1, Rang Dong Town, Nghia Hung District, Nam Dinh Province. Thuy's husband suffers from mental illness; Thuy often says he has recovered, but when he occasionally visits her hometown, he still shows signs of the illness. The commune is aware of Thuy's activities and had previously instructed her not to spread the cult in the area. However, Trung Thanh commune once had about 27 households following a cult, and some have abandoned it because they gained nothing from it. Some people even nearly died because they didn't go to the hospital for treatment... "We know it's a cult, but they set up altars with pictures of President Ho Chi Minh, so it's very difficult. We are hoping for clear guidance from higher authorities..." – said the Party Secretary of Trung Thanh commune.

Mr. Tran Thuong Hoang reflects on the infiltration and extent of influence of heretical sects.

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From what we have heard and seen in Yen Thanh district, the Hoang Thien Long cult is like a harmful virus silently spreading throughout Nghe An province.

(To be continued)

Text and photos: Nhat Lan - Viet Long