IOverview
Hoa Hao Buddhism has no doctrinal schools. Its groups differ only in how they are organized. The Hoa Hao Buddhist Church is the one recognized by the state and has the largest structure.
The church is based at An Hoa Pagoda, known to followers as the Master's pagoda, in Phu Tan commune, An Giang, the former Hoa Hao village. Its structure consists of a Central Executive Board and local boards. All officers are lay followers elected by the faithful, known as chức việc. They farm and work like everyone else.
The church's doctrine, scripture and worship are those of the whole faith: Learning Buddhism and Cultivating Humanity, the Four Debts of Gratitude, the Oracles and Teachings, the brown altar cloth and the Thông Thiên sky altar.
IIHistory
Huynh Phu So, known to followers as Đức Huỳnh Giáo Chủ, founded the faith on the 18th day of the fifth lunar month of 1939 in Hoa Hao village. The library's main article covers this in detail.
Material on hoahao.org shows that before 1975 the faith had a multi-level system of boards from the centre down to provinces, districts, communes and hamlets.
On 11 June 1999 the Government Committee for Religious Affairs issued Decision 21/QĐ/TGCP recognizing the organization and activities of the Hoa Hao Buddhist Representative Board, later renamed the Central Executive Board, according to the Buddhist Studies Review. Some local religious affairs documents give 2004. The library's main article reads 2004 as the date when the present name and structure were settled.
- 1939FoundingOn the 18th day of the fifth lunar month in Hoa Hao village.
- 1999RecognitionDecision 21/QĐ/TGCP of 11 June recognizes the Hoa Hao Buddhist Representative Board.
- 2004ConsolidationPresent name and board structure, according to some local documents.
- 2024Sixth congressHeld on 18 and 19 December at An Hoa Pagoda, for the 2024 to 2029 term.
IIITeachings and Distinctive Features
The church keeps the teaching of Huynh Phu So: Learning Buddhism and Cultivating Humanity, and repaying the Four Debts owed to ancestors and parents, to the country, to the Three Jewels, and to fellow people and humanity. The main scripture is the six-volume Sấm Giảng Thi Văn Giáo Lý. The Eight Prohibitions are the shared rules of conduct.
What sets the church apart is not doctrine but the fact of having a legally recognized structure. Its legal status lets it hold places of worship in its name, run the two faith-wide festivals and coordinate charity on a large scale. The motto stated at the sixth congress was For the dharma, for the nation.
Some assume this church is a Buddhist body within the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha. It is not. Hoa Hao Buddhism is a separately recognized religion with its own organization, no monks or nuns, and no place in either the Mahayana or Theravada traditions.
IVPractice, Ritual and Daily Life
Followers practise at home, praying morning and evening before the Three Jewels altar with its brown cloth, the ancestor altar, and the Thông Thiên sky altar in the yard. Offerings are only clean water, fresh flowers and incense.
The church runs two faith-wide festivals at An Hoa Pagoda and the founder's family home: the Founding Day on the 18th of the fifth lunar month and the founder's birthday on the 25th of the eleventh lunar month. The fifth-month festival usually lasts three days.
Charity is its most visible side. According to Nhan Dan, in the 2019 to 2024 term the faith gave nearly 2,500 billion dong, including over 546 billion for rural bridges, over 523 billion for charity kitchens, over 327 billion for housing and over 326 billion in gifts to the poor.
VOrganization and Distribution
The structure has two levels: the Central Executive Board and local boards at commune, ward and town level. Provinces with many followers also have representative boards. The Buddhist Studies Review gives about 400 local boards.
The sixth congress of the whole faith met on 18 and 19 December 2024 at An Hoa Pagoda with 879 delegates. It elected a Central Executive Board of 25 members and 5 alternates for 2024 to 2029. Nguyen Tan Dat was re-elected chair.
| Measure | Figure | Source and year |
|---|---|---|
| Followers | Over 1.5 million | Government White Paper 2023, sixth congress 2024 |
| Coverage | 22 provinces, mostly 9 in the Mekong Delta | White Paper 2023 |
| Lay officers | About 4,000 | White Paper 2023 |
| Recognized places of worship | 50 | White Paper 2023 |
| Sixth congress delegates | 879 | Nhan Dan, December 2024 |
VIToday
The church is the only Hoa Hao organization with legal status. Beyond it are home-based followers who belong to no organization, the unregistered Pure Hoa Hao group, and communities overseas. The library presents each on its own page. All share the same teaching and worship.
After the 2025 boundary reform, An Hoa Pagoda lies in Phu Tan commune, An Giang province. Each year the two festival seasons still draw hundreds of thousands of people to the area.
VIISymbol of the Branch
Brown altar cloth and brown flag
Trần dà
VIIIOther Branches of Hòa Hảo Buddhism
Hoa Hao Buddhist ChurchGiáo hội Phật giáo Hòa Hảo, Ban Trị sự Trung ươngThe officially recognized organization since 1999, headquartered at An Hoa Pagoda in An Giang.
Unaffiliated Hoa Hao lay followersBecause practice is home-based, many families keep the faith at their own altars without joining any organization.
Pure Hoa Hao BuddhismGiáo hội Trung ương Phật giáo Hòa Hảo Thuần TúyA separately organized group outside the recognized church and not registered with the state.Uses the common symbol of the path
Overseas Hoa Hao communitiesPhật Giáo Hòa Hảo hải ngoạiTemples and committees of Vietnamese followers abroad, largest in the United States, such as the Southern California Hoa Hao hall.IXSources
The library cross-checks the sources below. Where they disagree, the page gives both.
- Tạp chí Nghiên cứu Phật học, Khái quát về Phật giáo Hòa Hảo
- Báo Nhân Dân, Đại hội đại biểu tín đồ Phật giáo Hòa Hảo cấp toàn đạo lần thứ 6 (tháng 12 năm 2024)
- Giáo hội Phật giáo Hòa Hảo, cổng thông tin chính thức
- Phật Giáo Hòa Hảo, Phụ bản: Hệ thống Ban Trị Sự Phật Giáo Hòa Hảo
- Phật Giáo Hòa Hảo, Cách thờ phượng
?Quick Questions
When was the Hoa Hao Buddhist Church recognized?
On 11 June 1999, by Decision 21/QĐ/TGCP of the Government Committee for Religious Affairs. Some local documents give 2004, read as the date the structure was consolidated.
Who leads the church today?
Nguyen Tan Dat, chair of the Central Executive Board, re-elected at the sixth congress in December 2024 for 2024 to 2029.
How many followers does it have?
Over 1.5 million in 22 provinces, according to the Government Committee for Religious Affairs White Paper of 2023 and the sixth congress report in 2024.
Does the church have clergy?
No. All officers are lay followers elected to the boards, and they continue to earn their living like everyone else.