Nguyễn Thành Nam studied chemistry in France, returned to Vietnam, and, in 1963, founded a religion centered on the coconut. Followers called him the Coconut Monk, or "His Coconutship." He reportedly ate nothing but coconut flesh, milk, oil, and leaves — for three years while meditating, and for a time lived inside a globe-shaped iron cage suspended over a lotus pond.
His compound on an islet in the Mekong was a "pop-art maze of towers, pennants, crucifixes, swastikas and colorful ornaments," complete with dragon pillars and a scaled-down replica of the Apollo 11 rocket.
The faith blended Buddhism and Christianity and preached peaceful reunification of North and South Vietnam; Nam walked a giant plaster map of the country every day, praying over its landmarks.
One of his followers was John Steinbeck IV, the novelist's son. Communist officials banned the religion as a cult in 1975.
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