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Đạo Bửu Sơn Kỳ Hương (道寶山奇香,Vietnamese:[ɗâːwˀɓɨ᷉wʂəːnkîhɨəŋ], "Way of the Strange Fragrance from the Precious Mountain") refers to a religious tradition originally practiced by themysticĐoàn Minh Huyên (1807–1856) and continued byHuỳnh Phú Sổ, founder of theHòa Hảo sect. The phrase itself refers to theThất Sơn range on the Vietnamese-Cambodian border, where Huyên, claiming to be a livingBuddha sent into the world to rescue humankind,[1] and accepted as such by followers of Hòa Hảo, is said to have made his first appearance in 1849.[2]
Đoàn Minh Huyên, a native ofSa Đéc (nowĐồng Tháp) province in theMekong Delta region of Vietnam, came to be known as the "Buddha Master ofWestern Peace" (Phật Thầy Tây An) during thecholeraepidemic in 1849, which killed over a million people. Huyên was reputed to have supernatural abilities to cure the sick and theinsane. His followers wore amulets bearing the Chinese characters forBửu Sơn Kỳ Hương, a phrase that became identified, retrospectively, with the religion practiced by Huyên, and themillenarian movement associated with the latter.
Huyên, along with Huỳnh Phú Sổ, are regarded by Hòa Hảo followers as living Buddha destined to save mankind from suffering and to protect the Vietnamese nation. Historian Hue-Tam Ho Tai suggests that the phraseBửu Sơn Kỳ Hương may have been coined by writers belonging toHòa Hảo.[citation needed]