The Self-immolation In Vietnam –

The
historical basis for self-immolation is unclear. The idea of sacrifice
is a key in Buddhist thought and self-immolation could be thought of as
the ultimate 
form
of sacrifice. However, it is hard to totally embrace such a violent act,
even if it is directed on the self. Scholars believe that the act can be
traced back in 
history
for thousands of years. Thich Nhat Hanh, a well-known authority on Buddhism,
believes that the practice of self- immolation may be connected to the
ritual of burning incense on one’s body as a form of vow taking. Several
sources point to Buddhist scripture, especially the Lotus Sutra, as one
possible origin 
of
the practice. 

No
matter what the specific historical origins are for self-immolation, there
is a definite connection between fire and the act of sacrifice. Many stories
come to 
mind
about pagan rituals in which plants or perhaps animals are sacrificed to
the gods by fire. Self-immolation can be best thought of as a way of sacrificing 
one’s
self in the name of ending suffering. In that sense, self-immolation transcends
the idea of a religious practice or a political statement and becomes a
spiritual plea for peace. 

One
of the earliest known uses of self-immolation as a protest against the
Vietnam War is also one of the most famous. On June 16, 1963, Buddhist
monk Thich Quang Duc immolated himself in downtown Saigon. Quang Duc was
actually protesting religious persecution under the Diem regime, not the
war. However, the case could be made that Diem would not have been in power
had it not been for U.S. intervention in Vietnam. 

Quang
Duc’s self-immolation was a rallying point for political protest in South
Vietnam. Directly following the self-immolation the political climate in
Saigon changed as if hit by the drop in pressure preceding a hurricane.
Vast demonstrations broke out. The city people, who had for years remained
passive, terrified before the Diemist police, crowded into the pagodas
to kneel and weep, then, following the bonzes [Buddhist monks], burst forth
into the streets calling for the downfall of the Ngos [the ruling family
in South Vietnam] (Fitzgerald, 74). 

Obviously,
Quang Duc’s self-immolation had a huge effect on the South Vietnamese population.
It is not surprising that Quang Duc’s act also affected the Americans who
later immolated themselves in protest to the war. 

It
is important to note that Quang Duc was not the only monk to use self-immolation
as a form of protest. On August 16, 1963, only 2 months after Quang 
Duc’s
self-immolation, another monk immolated himself in Phanthiet, about 100
miles from Saigon. The use of self-immolation continued as the war waged
on. 

In
May of 1966, Thich Nu Thanh Quang, a Buddhist nun, immolated herself in
the city of Hue. 

Her
death inspired a demonstration of some twenty thousand people in Saigon
and a series of eight other self-immolations by Buddhist bonzes and nuns
throughout the major cities of Vietnam…President Johnson called the suicides
“tragic and unneccessary” and said that they obstructed progress towards
holding the elections for a constituent assembly. On May 31, a group of
students and Buddhist youths burned down the U.S. consulate in Hue (Fitzgerald,
289). 

Again,
it seems that the self-immolations were a rallying point for political
protest in South Vietnam. While conducting my research, I was suprised
to learn that self-immolation is still used today as a form of protest
against religious persecution in Vietnam. Although Buddhist officials try
to downplay these self-immolations, they admit that that act is often revered
by the Vietnamese Buddhist community. 

Sources:
Fitzgerald, Frances. Fire in the Lake. Boston: Atlantic Monthly, 1972. 

The
orange-robed monks and the grey-robed nuns appeared to be part of a quiet
protest as they walked slowly down Phan-Dinh-Phung Street in Saigon on
a hot June afternoon. Heading the procession was an automobile filled with
monks. At the intersection of Phan-Dinh-Phung and Le-Van-Duyet streets
the priests got out of the car and lifted the hood. It appeared that they
were having engine trouble. The procession parted around the car as if
to move on, but instead the monks and nuns formed a surrounding circle
seven and eight deep. Slowly they began to intone the deep, mournful, resonant
rhythm of a sutra. The priests in the auto walked to the center of the
circle and seventy-three-year-old Thich Quang-Duc sat in the lotus position,
a classic Buddhist meditation pose. Nuns began to weep, their sobs breaking
the measure of the chant. A monk removed a five-gallon can of gasoline
from the car and poured it over Quang-Duc, who sat calmly in silence as
the gasoline soaked his robes and wet the asphalt in a small dark pool.
Then Thich Quang-Duc, his Buddhist prayer beads in his right hand, opened
a box of matches and struck one. Instantly he was engulfed in a whoosh
of flame and heavy black smoke that partially obscured him from view. The
chanting stopped. The smoke rose and, as the fierce flames brightened,
Quang-Duc’s face, his shaven skull and his robes grizzled, then blackened.
Amidst the devouring flames his body remained fixed in meditation.

The
text was written by Jerrold Shecter and can be found in the book Taking
Refuge in L.A. by Rick Fields and Don Farber.