Hòa Hảo

Hòa Hảo is a Vietnamese Buddhist religious movement that was founded in 1939 by Pontiff Huỳnh Phú Sổ (Huỳnh Phú Sở) in Hòa Hảo village, Tân Châu district, Châu Đốc province (current name: Phú Mỹ town, Phú Tân district, An Giang Province). Hòa Hảo Buddhism was also one of the millenarian sectarian movements in southern Vietnam in 19th and 20th centuries. Born into a wealthy family as a fragile boy, Huỳnh Phú Sổ often needed medical assistance from different healers in the Mekong Delta region, and especially those from the sacred mountains of Thất Sơn (Seven Mountains). After a bodily collapse, he claimed himself to be the reincarnation of Đức Phật Thầy Tây An (the Buddha Master of Western Peace). The Buddha Master's real name was Đoàn Minh Huyên, who founded Bửu Sơn Kỳ Hương religion (Strange Fragrance from the Precious Mountain) in mid-19th century. Huỳnh Phú Sở gained popularity and attracted followers by the same methods of Đoàn Minh Huyên: predicting apocalyptic events, preaching religious philosophy, and healing a large number of people. Huỳnh Phú Sở had written Hòa Hảo Buddhist scriptures in verses and in literature texts (Sấm Giảng) during 1939-1947 before disappeared in an unclarified event. The circumstance around his death was contested, but his disappearance gave rise to debates about his alleged position towards Vietnamese Communist Forces (Việt Minh). The event took place in the power struggle context of southern Vietnam: imperialism, millenarian, colonization, nationalism, and later, the southern Buddhist Reform in 1930 (Chấn Hưng Phật Giáo). Caught in a conflicting position with different regimes, Hòa Hảo Buddhism has redefined and renewed its political and religious positions since 1937. The current Vietnamese government acknowledged Hòa Hảo Buddhism as a state-recognized religious group in 1999. Even though there are many different Hòa Hảo groups, The Central Executive Committee of Hòa Hảo Buddhism (Ban Trị Sự Trung Ương Phật Giáo Hòa Hảo) is the only recognized group who has headquarter in An Hòa Tự Temple in Phú Mỹ town, Phú Tân district, An Giang Province. The Central Executive Committee has rewritten the scriptures and pushed forward a social identity based on charity and volunteerism. Hòa Hảo Buddhism is currently one of the most influential religions in the Mekong Delta.