The Self-immolation of Thich Quang Duc

Courtesy of Malcolm Browne / AP / Wikipedia

The June 10, 1963 photograph of Buddhist monk Thich Quang Duc’s self-immolation (or setting oneself on fire in protest) in response to South Vietnamese and Catholic President Ngo Dinh Diem’s ongoing oppression of the nation's Buddhist majority is a jarring image indeed. Although the practice of self-immolation is centuries old, this particular image struck a chord. U.S. President John F. Kennedy was famously quoted as saying that, “No news picture in history has generated so much emotion around the world as that one." It is a stark and profound image that has the power to not only indelibly imprint itself onto the viewer’s brain, but also to inspire and provoke enough dialogue and thought to last a lifetime.

The event took place at an intersection, a stone's throw from the Presidential Palace, in Saigon. Present were hundreds of Buddhist monks and nuns, some reporters, a sedan, and a can of gasoline. After assuming the lotus position in the middle of the intersection and saying a prayer, a fellow monk doused Duc in gasoline, and with the strike of a match, history was made. "In the air was the smell of burning human flesh ... 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." Such was a recollection of American journalist David Halberstam, an eyewitness.

I think that what resonates the most about this image with people is the stillness and composure that Quang Duc possesses, as previously recounted by Halberstam, as he is engulfed in flames. His conviction and integrity are evident just from the photograph, so I can hardly fathom how eyewitnesses might have felt at the scene. Historically, the photo represents an act of defiance that should shake viewers to their core. Photographed by American journalist Malcolm Browne, who would later win the Pulitzer Prize for his image (and rightfully so), it was only appropriate that this image shook the world. What we have here is a single photograph that single-handedly represents violence, compassion, peace, grace, sadness, and an array of other human qualities that transcend words.

Courtesy of http://www.quangduc.com/BoTatQuangDuc/09tieusu.html

In the wake of Quang Duc's death, it should be noted that despite self-immolation and even after a cremation of the remains afterwards, the man's heart refused to burn. At once chilling and beautiful, Buddhists hold this heart relic as an utmost symbol of compassion and regard Quang Duc as a bodhisattva, or in English, an "enlightenment-being." 

Quang Duc's last words before his self-immolation were documented in a letter he had left:

“Before closing my eyes and moving towards the vision of the Buddha, I respectfully plead to President Ngo Dinh Diem to take a mind of compassion towards the people of the nation and implement religious equality to maintain the strength of the homeland eternally. I call the venerables, reverends, members of the sangha and the lay Buddhists to organise in solidarity to make sacrifices to protect Buddhism.”

It is with these words that Quang Duc's philosophy and intent are truly revealed. With the persecution of minority groups still rife throughout today's world, and with rampant miscommunication between people ever-pervasive, the basic tenets of human goodness can seem to be forgotten. American rap-metal band Rage Against the Machine appropriated and cropped Browne's image of Quang Duc for the cover of their 1992 debut album. An outspoken leftist political group, I imagine that Rage's use of Browne's photograph was a statement of solidarity with the oppressed and that they felt it helped to represent the fiery message of their music. While Quang Duc's act of self-immolation is shocking to many people, it is sometimes acts like these that cause us to re-examine our actions, our practices, our perceptions of the world around us, and to shake off the chains of complacency that can bind us. For even that much, this man's self-sacrifice pays off in dividends.

Courtesy of http://quangduc.com

References:

Zi Jun Toong, “Overthrown by the Press: The US Media’s Role in the Fall of Diem,” Australasian Journal of American Studies 27 (July 2008), 56-72.

Halberstam, David. The Making of a Quagmire. New York: Random House, 1965. p 211.

Nhi Tuong (2005), Tieu Su Bo Tát Thích Quang Duc (in Vietnamese), Fawker: Quang Duc Monastery (published 1 May 2005), retrieved 20 August 2007