Charity Work as the Core Religious Practice: A Case Study of Hoahao Buddhism in the Mekong Delta

Abstract

Hoahao Buddhism in the Mekong Delta was born on the basis of combining Mahayana Buddhism with local ancestor worship and eschatological beliefs originated in southern China, thus extending the family bloodline culture to the society and becoming a special Buddhist sect in southern Vietnam. Hòa Hảo followers build their Buddhist faith on the Dharmaplatform, and the relationship between followers together and with outsiders becomes closer and more comprehensive. Despite the strong influence of the current market economy and the rise of materialism, Hòa Hảo believers still maintain their enthusiasm for social charity, which is most vividly reflected in the core concept of faith and the May 18 festival every year. How do Hoahao believers persist and maintain a spirit of compassion and charitable activities? How do Hoahao believers engage in local socio-political machanisms with such a socialized religious activities? This paper mainly uses Pierre Bourdieu's theory on the transformation of various types of social capital among the Hoahao Buddhist group and adopts semi-structured interviews, literature analysis, and other methods to demonstrate that the core concepts of repaying the country, repaying the people, repaying the parents and ancestors, repaying the Three Jewels contained in the Hoahao Buddhist philosophy constitute the organic compassionate mentality of believers in secular life.