Buddhism is usually known for its gentle ways and belief in non-violence in order to solve problems, but occasionally more dramatic displays happen, like Thich Quang Duc – the burning monk.

Who was Thich Quang Duc – the burning monk? Duc was born in 1897 in Vietnam, and became a Vietnamese Buddhist monk who lived in the Linh-Mu Pagoda in the town of Hue. He lived in a monastic community from the age of seven up until his death at the age of 67. He practiced a very severe ascetic lifestyle and meditation practice for years – and was considered a bodhisattva at the time of his death, an enlightened one.

Thich Quang Duc came into the public eye on June 11, 1963, when he and two other monks drove to a busy intersection in Saigon, Vietnam. Duc sat in the middle of the road in the traditional lotus position, and had the other monks pour gasoline over his body. He then ignited a match, and set himself on fire. Duc burned to death in a matter of minutes, and he was immortalized in a famous photograph taken by a reporter who was in Vietnam in order to photograph the war. All those who saw this spectacle were taken by the fact that Duc did not make a sound while burning to death.

Thich Quang Duc was quick to point out (in letters left for the press) that his self-immolation was not an act of suicide, which would go against his Buddhist beliefs. Instead, Duc viewed the burning as a wake up call, a way to call attention to his cause. His death has been termed a “religious suicide” by Chinese Buddhism scholars, who state that it was religiously justified based on texts found dating back to the 5th and 10th centuries BCE. Others think the opposite, that this suicide was not at all religiously driven and was instead a political act.

Duc had burned himself in order to bring awareness to his cause, which was the belief that Vietnam was suffocating Buddhist tradition. He wanted the ban on flying the traditional Buddhist flag lifted, wanted Buddhism to have the same rights as Catholicism did, and wanted Buddhist monks to have the right to practice their religion, among other goals. Thich Quang Duc’s self-immolation, along with the picture it created, did have some impact on these goals, including the overthrowing of the Catholic Diem regime that was in possession of South Vietnam.

While burning to death may not seem the best way to attain one’s religious and even political goals, the experience of Thich Quang Duc – the burning monk shows that extreme measures can have an effect.

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