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Hoa Hao (Vietnam)

Last modified: 2014-09-20 by rob raeside
Keywords: buddhism | hoa hao | vietnam |
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[Karma Ling Buddhist flag] image by Tomislav Todorović, 30 August 2014

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About the movement and flag

Hoa Hao is a Vietnamese Buddhist religious movement, named after the village in south Vietnam where its founder Huynh Phu So was born and where he started his preaching in 1939, simplifying the Buddhist religious practice in a way not unlike the way Protestant Reformation had simplified the practice of Western Christianity and stressing the importance of helping the needy. The movement was both anti-French and anti-Communist and even had formed a militia in late 1940s and early1950s. After the end of Vietnam War, part of believers migrated to the USA, but many remained in Vietnam, where the Hoa Hao Buddhism is an officially recognized religion, although there are occasional reports of the repression on the followers who oppose the strict government control to which all the religious communities are subject.

Followers of Hoa Hao Buddhism use a plain brown flag. The color is of particular importance, because the altars are made by placing a similar brown cloth on the wall to mark the point faced during the prayers; the habits of the clergy are also brown. The color shade is usually rather dark, but there are also the examples of use of lighter shades. The flag might have been inspired by the altar markings, which are also rectangular in shape. In Vietnam, the flag is usually accompanied with the national flag. In diaspora, it is used together with the pre-1975 flag of South Vietnam and the flag of USA.

Sources:
[1] Wikipedia page about the Hoa Hao Buddhism (in English): http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H%C3%B2a_H%E1%BA%A3o

[2] Wikipedia page about the Hoa Hao Buddhism (in French): http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/H%C3%B2a_H%E1%BA%A3o

[3] Wikipedia page about Huynh Phu So (In English): http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hu%E1%BB%B3nh_Ph%C3%BA_S%E1%BB%95

[4] Website of the Government Committee for Religious Affairs: http://btgcp.gov.vn/Plus.aspx/vi/News/38/0/248/0/5073/Dai_hoi_tru_bi_Dai_hoi_Dai_bieu_tin_do_Phat_giao_Hoa_Hao_cap_toan_dao_Nhiem_ky_IV_2014_2019_
(Photo: http://btgcp.gov.vn/uploads/resources/admin/images/2014)

[5] Photo of the Hoa Hao flag together with the national flag of Vietnam: http://thoaison.angiang.gov.vn/ (Image: http://thoaison.angiang.gov.vn/wps/wcm/connect/)

[6] Website of the Hoa Hao community in diaspora - flag description: http://www.hoahao.org/D_1-5_2-190_4-2215_15-2/

[7] Website of the Hoa Hao community in diaspora - photos of An Hoa Tu Temple, Hoa Hao village, Vietnam:
http://www.hoahao.org/D_1-5_2-94_4-3535_5-4_6-1_17-3_14-2_15-2/
(Image 1: http://www.hoahao.org/images/upload/HoaHaoTemples/AnHoaTuTemple/DSCN3423_533x400.jpg)
(Image 2: http://www.hoahao.org/images/upload/HoaHaoTemples/AnHoaTuTemple/DSCN3427_533x400.jpg)

[8] Website of the Hoa Hao community in diaspora - photos of Hoa Hao Buddhist Center, Santa Ana, California:
http://www.hoahao.org/D_1-5_2-94_4-3539_5-4_6-1_17-3_14-2_15-2/)
(Image 1: http://www.hoahao.org/images/upload/HoaHaoCenters/HoaHaoCenter7_626x400.jpg)
(Image 2: http://www.hoahao.org/images/upload/HoaHaoCenters/HoaHaoCenter1_694x400.jpg)
(Image 3: http://www.hoahao.org/images/upload/HoaHaoCenters/HoaHaoCenter2_608x400.jpg)

[9] Website of the Hoa Hao community in diaspora - photos from the temple in San Jose, California:
http://www.hoahao.org/D_1-5_2-97_4-3958_5-4_6-1_17-6_14-2_15-2/
(Image 1: http://www.hoahao.org/images/upload/Daile2010_Sanjose/DSC_0011.JPG)
(Image 2: http://www.hoahao.org/images/upload/Daile2010_Sanjose/SanJoseBanTho.JPG)
(image 3: http://www.hoahao.org/images/upload/Daile2010_Sanjose/SanJoseLamLe.JPG)

[10] Website of the Hoa Hao community in diaspora - photos from the temple in Dallas, Texas:
http://www.hoahao.org/D_1-5_2-97_4-3549_5-4_6-1_17-6_14-2_15-2/
(Image 1: http://www.hoahao.org/images/upload/HHBCelabrationDallas2009/DaiLeDallas1_538x400.jpg)
(image 2: http://www.hoahao.org/images/upload/HHBCelabrationDallas2009/DaiLeDallas5_597x400.jpg)

Tomislav Todorovic, 30 August 2014