22 International Journal of Cultic Studies Vol. 4, 2013
Students are assured that tuition fees go directly
to “UE charity funds” that the Master
administers on their behalf (Luong, M. D.,
2007b, p. 41). This may well be the case.
However, during his trial in Belgium, Mr. Dang
was unable to prove that the money he received
from tuition payments between 1991 and 1999
was in effect destined for charity works.
Moreover, the court found that pseudo invoices
had been created to “distract the tax services
from profits of various seminars and
conferences” (de Cordes, 2011). These
documents showed that several HUE centers
were beneficiaries of large amounts of money
(50% of all tuition payments), but the money
was instead transferred directly to Mr. Dang’s
personal bank accounts in the United States. In
2006, the court concluded that “the abuse of
trust or gullibility of the victims was present” in
Mr. Dang’s organization (de Cordes, 2011). The
latter even encouraged students to obtain the
same academic titles that the Belgian court
adjudged to be false–a practice that started in
2002 (“Instructions…,” n.d.). Since the
application for obtaining these titles was
processed along with fees through HUE, one
may surmise what one will. The Master died
during the appeal process, but according to de
Cordes, “had Dang lived long enough to attend
his appeal trial” (2011), the court would not
have changed its verdict or reduced his
sentence.7
Disruption of Personal Identity and
Psychological Integration—Displacement of
Conventional Morality
Apart from deliberately controlling and
distorting information to make it acceptable, Mr.
Dang created confusion by frequently changing
his stories and varying information at different
levels. For instance, when he first started
teaching, Mr. Dang told his students that he had
learned everything he knew from an Indian
Master called Dasira Narada II but later he
dropped the story, claiming that everything came
7 Mr. Dang was sentenced to 4 years’ imprisonment (with a 2-year
reprieve) and a fine of 10,000 euros. According to the Center for
Studies on New Religions (CESNUR), in 2010, the Swiss Court of
Police ordered the confiscation of 4,500,000 Swiss francs
belonging to Mr. Dang as guarantee of possible claims by victims
of his organization. This decision is now on appeal (n.d., para. 4).
directly from God and the higher beings (cf.
Luong, M. D., 1989, p. 3, &2000, p. 26).
Starting at level 5, he tells his students his soul
has reincarnated many times at level 7, he says
that another soul entered his body at age 5 and
was placed beside his body, only to reveal at
level 18 that his soul had never before been here
on earth (Luong, M. D., 2000, pp. 10, 25). “It is
all so confusing,” says an ex-HUE member “he
blurs the lines between lies and truth, real and
false ...making it almost impossible to
distinguish what is real in the Master’s teaching”
(personal communication, May 2nd, 2012). This
blurring of boundaries may weaken the students’
sense of conventional morality and heighten
cognitive dissonance. In addition, this
weakening may be what allows Mr. Dang to
convince students at the highest level (who will
disseminate HUE’s teachings around the world)
that lying and telling the truth are somehow
interchangeable in this regard, Mr. Dang says,
The fact is that ...you can use lies to
help others. From now on whatever you
say, even if you’re joking, you will say
something true to their hearts. What I
mean is that in any case you can help by
telling lies, because the truth of what
you say will resonate in their hearts.
(Luong, M. D., 2007a, pp. 15–16, my
translation)
Evidently, the ends justify the means. Students
need to have the same ideas, beliefs, values, and
behaviors of the leader in order to complete the
work of the divinities. According to Mr. Dang,
there need to be many “Luong Minh Dangs ...
who will be the product of the activation of the
God Gene that is hidden inside people by
Universal Energy in order to have these
geniuses” (Luong, M. D., 2007b, p. 43).
Creating a new identity within the students is
apparently the only way to secure HUE’s growth
and survival. Furthermore, imparting the
organization’s teachings with a humorous and
joyful disposition is a prerequisite for success,
for doing so may help establish trust and rapport,
important for getting the message across and
winning support for its ideas. According to ex-
HUE members, Mr. Dang himself was
incredibly funny and charismatic. In the
Students are assured that tuition fees go directly
to “UE charity funds” that the Master
administers on their behalf (Luong, M. D.,
2007b, p. 41). This may well be the case.
However, during his trial in Belgium, Mr. Dang
was unable to prove that the money he received
from tuition payments between 1991 and 1999
was in effect destined for charity works.
Moreover, the court found that pseudo invoices
had been created to “distract the tax services
from profits of various seminars and
conferences” (de Cordes, 2011). These
documents showed that several HUE centers
were beneficiaries of large amounts of money
(50% of all tuition payments), but the money
was instead transferred directly to Mr. Dang’s
personal bank accounts in the United States. In
2006, the court concluded that “the abuse of
trust or gullibility of the victims was present” in
Mr. Dang’s organization (de Cordes, 2011). The
latter even encouraged students to obtain the
same academic titles that the Belgian court
adjudged to be false–a practice that started in
2002 (“Instructions…,” n.d.). Since the
application for obtaining these titles was
processed along with fees through HUE, one
may surmise what one will. The Master died
during the appeal process, but according to de
Cordes, “had Dang lived long enough to attend
his appeal trial” (2011), the court would not
have changed its verdict or reduced his
sentence.7
Disruption of Personal Identity and
Psychological Integration—Displacement of
Conventional Morality
Apart from deliberately controlling and
distorting information to make it acceptable, Mr.
Dang created confusion by frequently changing
his stories and varying information at different
levels. For instance, when he first started
teaching, Mr. Dang told his students that he had
learned everything he knew from an Indian
Master called Dasira Narada II but later he
dropped the story, claiming that everything came
7 Mr. Dang was sentenced to 4 years’ imprisonment (with a 2-year
reprieve) and a fine of 10,000 euros. According to the Center for
Studies on New Religions (CESNUR), in 2010, the Swiss Court of
Police ordered the confiscation of 4,500,000 Swiss francs
belonging to Mr. Dang as guarantee of possible claims by victims
of his organization. This decision is now on appeal (n.d., para. 4).
directly from God and the higher beings (cf.
Luong, M. D., 1989, p. 3, &2000, p. 26).
Starting at level 5, he tells his students his soul
has reincarnated many times at level 7, he says
that another soul entered his body at age 5 and
was placed beside his body, only to reveal at
level 18 that his soul had never before been here
on earth (Luong, M. D., 2000, pp. 10, 25). “It is
all so confusing,” says an ex-HUE member “he
blurs the lines between lies and truth, real and
false ...making it almost impossible to
distinguish what is real in the Master’s teaching”
(personal communication, May 2nd, 2012). This
blurring of boundaries may weaken the students’
sense of conventional morality and heighten
cognitive dissonance. In addition, this
weakening may be what allows Mr. Dang to
convince students at the highest level (who will
disseminate HUE’s teachings around the world)
that lying and telling the truth are somehow
interchangeable in this regard, Mr. Dang says,
The fact is that ...you can use lies to
help others. From now on whatever you
say, even if you’re joking, you will say
something true to their hearts. What I
mean is that in any case you can help by
telling lies, because the truth of what
you say will resonate in their hearts.
(Luong, M. D., 2007a, pp. 15–16, my
translation)
Evidently, the ends justify the means. Students
need to have the same ideas, beliefs, values, and
behaviors of the leader in order to complete the
work of the divinities. According to Mr. Dang,
there need to be many “Luong Minh Dangs ...
who will be the product of the activation of the
God Gene that is hidden inside people by
Universal Energy in order to have these
geniuses” (Luong, M. D., 2007b, p. 43).
Creating a new identity within the students is
apparently the only way to secure HUE’s growth
and survival. Furthermore, imparting the
organization’s teachings with a humorous and
joyful disposition is a prerequisite for success,
for doing so may help establish trust and rapport,
important for getting the message across and
winning support for its ideas. According to ex-
HUE members, Mr. Dang himself was
incredibly funny and charismatic. In the
