On June 11, 1963, Thich Quang Duc sat quietly on a divan at the corner of a busy Saigon intersection.
As a crowd began to gather, Duc relaxed himself into the traditional Buddhist lotus position, said a quick, barely audible prayer and struck a match – dropping it on his gasoline-soaked saffron robe.
Over the course of approximately 10 minutes, Thich Quang Duc became his own funeral pyre – almost every inch of the monk’s body was seared beyond recognition.
A lifetime of ritual meditation and concentration served Duc well – he didn’t move a muscle the entire time.
On June 16, the minority Catholic government of South Vietnam caved to Buddhist demands and vowed to stop the persecution of the Buddhist majority and grant freedom of religion for all.
Duc’s immolation set a precedent – but it hasn’t necessarily been a good one.
The world reeled as word of Thich Quang Duc’s martyrdom by fire spread across the wire.
A photograph of Duc’s immolation won the 1963 Pulitzer Prize for photojournalism, and South Vietnam’s dictatorial president, Ngô Äình Diệm, was toppled within the year. Vietnamese Buddhists preserved Duc’s untouched heart in a clear glass chalice and have revered him as a saint ever since.
Thich Quang Duc’s decision to set himself ablaze is seen world over as one of the most politically effective – and emotionally jarring – acts of civil protest committed in the modern age.
The problem? It worked too well.
Since Duc’s immolation, literally thousands of people have doused themselves in flammable liquids and followed suit.
So many have done so that some international organizations are beginning to consider the number of self-immolations to be nearing epidemic proportions.
Nearly 3,000 students burned themselves alive in India during the early 2000s, and Buddhist monks across China (specifically in P.R.C.-occupied Tibet) have continued in Duc’s footsteps – more than 40 in the last several months alone.
This recent spate of suicides has prompted an unusual debate in Tibet and elsewhere.
Many Buddhist sects condemn any act of self-flagellation, much less suicide, and both China and a number of human rights organizations have called on his holiness, the Dalai Lama, to intervene.
Many Buddhists hold the Dalai Lama as a bodhisattva, or the physical reincarnation of the spirit of compassion.
To Tibetan Buddhists, the Dalai Lama is not only compassion incarnate, but also a sort of pope, king and demi-god rolled into one.
Should the Dalai Lama condemn the practice of self-immolation, it would almost guarantee an end to the practice over night.
The Dalai Lama, however, has other concerns. “The reality is that if I say something positive, then the Chinese immediately blame me. If I say something negative, then the family members of those people feel very sad. They sacrificed their own life. It is not easy. So I do not want to create some kind of impression that this is wrong. So the best thing is to remain neutral,” said the Dalai Lama in a recent interview with The Hindu, an Indian English-language newspaper.
If it isn’t wrong, then it could at least be classified as ineffective.
It is understood that Tibet is in a fight for its life and its freedom. Tibetan Buddhists are inarguably suffering at the hands of their Chinese occupiers.
The reason why Thich Quang Duc’s sacrifice worked was because he understood his nation was at a tipping point, and all it would take was this spark – his spark – to affect massive social change.
And it worked – Duc’s death eased the lives of millions. The conditions in China are different. The character of the Chinese government is different.
The Dalai Lama’s answer, while pragmatic and politically aware, does not strike me as fitting with the Nobel Peace Prize winner’s character.
This newest group of self-immolators aren’t affecting the same sort of change.
Their sacrifice is not working – it took one Thich Quang Duc to free South Vietnam, it is clear no number of Duc imitators are going to free Tibet.
If the Dalai Lama wants to live up to his title and his reputation, he needs to quietly end this practice – and spare the people of Tibet further heartache.
Nicholas Pierce is a 22-year-old history senior from Baton Rouge. Follow him on Twitter @TDR_nabdulpierc.
Contact Nicholas Pierce at [email protected].