11 June 1963, Thich Quang Duc, a Buddhist monk from Vietnam, burned himself to death at a busy intersection in downtown Saigon to bring attention to the repressive policies of the Catholic Diem regime that controlled the South Vietnamese government at the time. Buddhist monks asked the regime to lift its ban on flying the traditional Buddhist flag, to grant Buddhism the same rights as Catholicism, to stop detaining Buddhists and to give Buddhist monks and nuns the right to practice and spread their religion.
While burning Thich Quang Duc never moved a muscle.Photos of his self-immolation were circulated widely across the world and brought attention to the policies of the Diệm regime.
After his death, his body was re-cremated, but his heart remained intact. This was interpreted as a symbol of compassion and led Buddhists to revere him as a bodhisattva, heightening the impact of his death on the public psyche.
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3 comments:
I remember this image well.
I was 18 yeas old and accepting of my world. This shocked me out of my childhood. Forever.
I became involved in politics, I threw myself into anti-war campaigns and, 45 years later, I am still anti-war.
I am weeping again, reminded of it.
Did You now, that in poland were a hero inspired by the monk You are writting about ? Here is the info and video about it.
http://anglopolish.com/index.php/archive/4-famous-poles/152-ryszard-siwiec-hero-who-burned-himself-in-protest
For me it's very heroic to do act of self-immolation and I thin, that the world, where people had to do that isn't very good one :(
It is one of the awfullest photo in the history of the humanity , I cannot believe that level of savagery that the people can have!
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