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Wednesday 21 September 2016

Flame of Eternal Fame

Thich Quang Duc was a Vietnamese Buddhist monk who along with other Buddhist monks fought for the equal rights for buddhists and against the persecution of Buddhist monks in South Vietnam, then ruled by the government led by Ngo Diem. The government, biased towards Catholic church curbed all Buddhistic growth and later went on to ethnically persecute them. Diem, a convert, dreamt of
Christianizing the whole of south Vietnam. In a rare protest of its kind, though not new to Indian asceticism, Thich Quang Duc, a premier monk, who was later conferred ‘Bodhisattva’, set himself ablaze sitting in meditation in the middle of a busy street in 11 June 1963. This act shook the entire political world and caught the imagination of millions. It was one of the most influential and illustrious event in the world. US to whom this government was an ally, was forced to retract and push Diem’s government to negotiate with the protests. This was followed by a coup led by the army in which Diem was assassinated.

The romanticism and stupefaction in Quang Duc’s protest was the entire event. Many have attempted it in the past but the way he walked into the street from the car with his brother monks , the way he sat in lotus posture diving in meditation on Buddha, the divine repose amidst fire, kerosene and burning flesh and the final fall of the body can be nothing but the most powerful expression for patriotism and monasticism. It showed the world what renunciation means, in gross terms. He has continued to be an inspiration to many monks world over. The Photographer who shot this event was Malcolm Browne who won an international award for it.

Watch the video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=drweP8rDT7k

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