I saw an article on Thich Quang Duc on Wikipedia's homepage and decided to create post about it. Although the anniversary of his immolation/death was 4 days ago, its never to late to offer our obeisances unto great historical figures.
He was a Buddhist monk who immolated himself to protest the religious bigotry of the Catholic Diem regime (GASP, peaceful and loving Christians oppressing other religious groups!!!!! SOOOOOOO surprising :o).
The Diem regime of South Vietnam was established during the Cold War, after the French's withdrawal from Indochina created a power vacuum the Russians and the Americans were hoping to exploit. It received considerable support from the U.S due to Diem's staunch Anti-Communism (surprise surprise, U.S ignoring moral flaws and megalomania tendencies of those who nominally support democracy in regions in danger of becoming Communist/fascist). However, the Diem regime turned out to be the very example of what the U.S was hoping to combat in the regions they hoped democracy would prevail. It was corrupt, religiously bigoted, and autocratic.
Ngo Dinh Diem began to pass/enforce laws that favored Catholics and discriminated against Buddhists, and maintained old anti-Buddhist French colonial laws. After several unsuccessful appeals to the government by Vietnam's Buddhists and after numerous episodes of Christian intolerance, Thich Quang Duc immolated himself on June 10, 1963.
David Halberstam of the New York Times wrote this of Duc's self-immolation:
"I was to see that sight again, but once was enough. Flames were coming from a human being; his body was slowly withering and shriveling up, his head blackening and charring. In the air was the smell of burning human flesh; human beings burn surprisingly quickly. Behind me I could hear the sobbing of the Vietnamese who were now gathering. I was too shocked to cry, too confused to take notes or ask questions, too bewildered to even think... As he burned he never moved a muscle, never uttered a sound, his outward composure in sharp contrast to the wailing people around him."
That evening, thousands of people in Saigon claimed to see Buddha's face in the sky...weeping.
Thich Quang Duc's body was later re-cremated during his funeral. Astonishingly, his heart did not burn and Buddhists viewed this as a symbol of his compassion and forever after, revered him as a Bodhisattva. They placed the heart in a glass chalice at the Xa Loi Pagoda. Sadly, even his remains were destined to be desecrated as the ARVN Special Forces run by Diem's brother invaded several Buddhist pogodas, found the heart, and confiscated it in the best Christian fashion.
The self-immolation event led to mass religious protests which garnered international attention for problems in Vietnam. Diem lost the backing of the U.S and was eventually assassinated in a military coup.
Observe how one person, one action can change the course of history.
