In Aulacese (Vietnamese) culture, cải lương (modern folk opera) is a popular theater art that dates back about three centuries, when the flourishing South was a new land. Among those who settled in the South at that time were musicians from the royal palace in the ancient capital Huế. Since then, the kind of ceremonial music often heard in the palace became more widely known among the populace.

Eventually, new songs were composed. Many amateur musical groups were formed, adopting music and song as a form of elegant entertainment. From about 1912 to 1915, the artists of these musical groups began to combine gestures to their songs. Since then, a new genre called ca ra bộ was born.

Performers conversed; sometimes a song would be used as dialogue.Ca ra bộ continued to develop to create the theatrical art that is now called modern folk opera.

The orchestra for Aulacese modern folk opera usually consists of the six-string guitar, the moon lute,
the pear-shaped lute, two-string fiddle,sixteen-string zither, and monochord zither.The themes of Aulacese modern folk opera highlight humanitarian and moral values.
The dialogues are profound, the song lyrics and tunes are rhythmic and rich in melody. These are some of the reasons cải lương (modern folk opera) has an enduring place in the hearts of the Aulacese people.

In the Lunar New Year 2007, during an outdoor gathering with our Association members in Formosa (Taiwan),
Supreme Master Ching Hai was moved to spontaneously sing a folk opera song “Spiritual Practice
is a Source of Blessing” written by Mr. Viễn Châu, which she knew by heart since her youth.

We now invite you to listen to an excerpt of this folk opera song through the voice of Supreme Master
Ching Hai.

Kneeling down, she sobs in the main hall of worship As the temple bell sounds the hour of prayer
O young devotee, why do you wish to be a nun?
Finding comfort in the script-xures, and acquainting yourself with spiritual practice?
But how can you achieve enlightenment when earthly traces are still evident on your seasoned countenance?
Are you rid of worldly debt or are still entangled?
Did you renounce the world because glory and fame have lost their appeal and life seems like an abyss?
Or was it because of a fleeting moment of jealousy and distress that you intend  to hide yourself
behind the temple’s gate to bury your grief and forget your sorrow?

On Enlightening Entertainment, Supreme Master Television is pleased to introduce different forms of arts
from Âu Lạc (Vietnam), as well as from other countries in the world, in order to share the beauty and cultures
of the peoples on our planet.

HOST:  Respected viewers, this week and next week, we are honored to present the world premiere of the
Aulacese (Vietnamese) modern folk opera “A Tale of Karma (Retribution),”specially based on the poem
“Words of a Piglet” written by Supreme Master Ching Hai in her late 20s, through the adaptation of
musician Thái An and playwright Hoàng Song Việt.