Repaying the Debts, Remaking the World: Hoa Hao Buddhist Charity as Vernacular Development in Vietnam's Mekong Delta

Abstract

This thesis investigates the Hoa Hao Buddhist charitable movement in the Mekong delta of Vietnam. The Hoa Hao Buddhist sect is heir to a syncretic millenarian tradition originating in the mid nineteenth century Mekong delta. Hoa Hao followers undertake charity in keeping with a prophetic injunction to repay existential debts, be meritorious, and thus save their world from the apocalypse. As a seemingly parochial religious movement with a history of conflict with various outgroups, it could be assumed, in line with secularisation theses, that such a sect would not thrive in a modern Vietnam transformed by communist nation-building, modernisation and globalisation. One might reasonably predict that in such conditions, the Hoa Hao would become obsolete, or at best survive as a marginal vestige. However, the powerful resurgence of Hoa Hao charitable practices throughout the Mekong delta that has occurred in the context of Vietnam's integration into the global market system confounds such expectations. This thesis investigates the beliefs that drive Hoa Hao charity and how Hoa Hao charitable practice has responded to the demands of modernity. It shows that the religious-inspired giving of the Hoa Hao sect has been remarkably adaptive to changing conditions and standards while remaining faithful to its traditional values.

The thesis draws upon a year's ethnographic research in a network of Hoa Hao localities in the Mekong delta undertaken in 2016 and 2018. I conducted participant observation with charitable practitioners in a variety of rural and urban settings, such as herbal clinics, processing facilities and farms; house, road and bridge construction sites; and charitable kitchens in state hospitals, markets and schools. I found that, informed by a distinctive belief system, Hoa Hao charity addresses a diverse and changing set of circumstances and needs. In a context of anomie, incertitude and rapid social change, Hoa Hao charitable workers have helped to build social cohesion, secure communities and overcome mistrust between antagonistic groups. Their activities have had a transformative effect in lives and localities, providing an infrastructure for individuals to build social capital and engage in self-cultivation. The findings also show how responsive and flexible Hoa Hao charity groups have been in meeting needs in diverse settings and their ability to offer large-scale, rational and effective services that are compliant with state standards. Hoa Hao charitable actors are able to co-opt local authorities in development projects, despite these actors' divergent visions, methods and rationales.

Today Hoa Hao Buddhists are highly visible in social service provision, healthcare and rural infrastructure initiatives, where they are renowned for their high standards, efficiency and transparency. While demonstrating an adaptation to modernity and relevance in rapidly changing conditions, they still act in accordance with the values of their local religious tradition. Indeed, they have stepped up to fill various gaps in social service provision in fulfilment of a religiously-informed conception of social responsibility. The Hoa Hao charitable movement thus could be seen as an example of vernacular development. Acting in keeping with a unique indigenous worldview, the sect's practitioners have managed to adapt to and influence changes in their social environment and in doing so embody an autonomous path of development.