Hoa Hao Village

Huynh Mai Nguyen was born in 1947 at Long  Kien Village, Long Xuyen -An Giang province, by the side of the Nine-Dragon River (the Mekong).  She lived from the age of three with her family in a house near the Ancestral Temple at Hoa Hao Village (currently in Phu Tan District), where Prophet Huynh Phu So had founded Hoa Hao Buddhism in Tan Chau district, Chau Doc province, in the western part of South Vietnam.

The lifestyle, the people, and the peaceful atmosphere of a religious village --- with the sounds of the teachings and the oracles by the Prophet echoing through auditorium halls and recited by parents day and night --- penetrated the pure soul of the little girl and forged a deep faith in the Hoa Hao religion as well as a strong love for the country, the people, and peace for all humankind.

During the time of the First Republic in South Vietnam, when Hoa Hao Buddhism was persecuted, Nguyen Huynh Mai followed her parents to live in exile in Cambodia.  They returned to Vietnam in 1964 when the religion was officially recognized and restored under the Second Republic, but they had to flee again, this time to the United States, when the South fell to Communism in 1975.

With the objective of promoting her vision of the truth, Nguyen Huynh Mai obtained a B.A. in Journalism in 1972 at Van Hanh University in Saigon. She worked for the weekly magazine Tim Hieu and was associated with Chinh Luan newspaper while also working for PACEFOCO Co. in Saigon as Deputy Director of Administration, Human Resources and Logistics.

After fleeing to the U.S. in 1975, she resettled in Minnesota and later in California.  She continued her education and her career in journalism. In 1980, Ms. Mai graduated with a B.A. in television and radio from Long Beach University. She worked for television station KCET in Los Angeles and acted as advisor for television programs about South East Asian refugees for KOCE-50 in Orange County.

From 1976 until today Ms. Mai has written for various newspapers and magazines such as Việt Nam Hải Ngọai (San Diego), Người Việt Tự Do (Japan), Người Việt, Việt Báo (Orange County) and other Vietnamese publications in many countries with Vietnamese refugee populations.  From 1981 until July 2004, she served as Editor-in-Chief for periodical Đuốc Từ Bi, the official voice of  the Overseas Hoa Hao Buddhist Church.

As an activist for religious and humanitarian causes, Nguyen Huynh Mai visited many refugee camps in South-East Asia, campaigning for humane treatment of Vietnamese boat people and for freedom of religion in Vietnam.

Currently, Nguyen Huynh Mai devotes herself to writing books, publishing and updating news about Hoa Hao Buddhism at http://hoahao.org, and maintaining a personal home page at http://nguyenhuynhmai.com where she publishes her books, reports and interviews about activities of Vietnamese refugee communities, and articles she wrote for Chinh Luan newspapers before 1975.

Nguyen Huynh Mai is the author of several published books: Cô Bé Làng Hòa Hảo (The Little Girl of Hoa Hao Village) by Mõ Làng, 1995;  Hồn Thiêng Dân Tộc (The Sacred Spirit of the Nation), Mõ Làng, 1997;  Lên Đường (On the Road), Cửu Long, 2001.

Newly published books on Ms. Mai’s website since January 2005 include Lời Thầy Dạy (Nhật ký Tâm linh I) (The Teachings of The Prophet: A Spiritual Journal I), and Cửu Long Giang Vùng Dậy (Nhật ký Tâm linh II) (The Nine-Dragon River Awakens: A Spiritual Journal II) April 2005.

Books to be published: Tiếp Tục Hành Trình,  “The Journey continues” will be published in winter 2005, and if all goes well Thầy Không Vắng Mặt,  “The Prophet is not Absent (A Spiritual Journal III)” will be published in 2006.

Three of Nguyen Huynh Mai’s books, The Little Girl of Hoa Hao Village, A Spiritual Journal I, and A Spiritual Journal II, have now been translated into English and will soon be published due to the interest expressed by young overseas Vietnamese readers and foreign researchers.

Journals of reports published on Ms. Mai’s website include: Visiting Miami, Florida; Here’s New York; Visiting Houston and Dallas, Texas; and Vietnamese in the Philippines. Her “Exile Journal” and other reports on various topics including South Vietnamese soldiers, Vietnamese refugees, and Vietnamese in Cambodia have been published on the website in commemoration of 30 years of refugees.