Tuesday 22 March 2011

Malcolm Browne - Thích Quảng Đức in the full photo of his self-immolation, during which he remained perfectly still.

Original
Malcolm Browne - Thích Quảng Đức in the full photo of his self-immolation, during which he remained perfectly still. It was a Pulitzer Prize-winning photograph by Malcolm Browne. The act itself occurred at the intersection of Phan Dinh Phung Boulevard and Le Van Duyet Street. Thích Quảng Đức emerged from the car along with two other monks. One placed a cushion on the road while the second opened the trunk and took out a five-gallon gasoline can. As the marchers formed a circle around him, Thích Quảng Đức calmly seated himself in the traditional Buddhist meditative lotus position on the cushion. His colleague emptied the contents of the gasoline container over Thích Quảng Đức's head. Thích Quảng Đức rotated a string of wooden prayer beads and recited the words Nam Mô A Di Đà Phật ("homage to Amitabha Buddha") before striking a match and dropping it on himself. Flames consumed his robes and flesh, and black oily smoke emanated from his burning body. The last words of Thích Quảng Đức 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.

Delerium - Faces, Forms And Illusions
 Rage Against The Machine -  Rage Against The Machine


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