Remember this Image



The monk was protesting religious oppression in South Vietnam. His protest help to turn world opinion against South Vietnam and help Ho Chi Minh win his political war.

According to this ariticle from Pacific News:
http://www.fva.org/0595/monk.html



Today, the same order that this monk is in is outlawed in Vietnam under the communist government. The head abbot has been arrested when he attempt to protest religious oppression by the communist regime. His followers then tried to immolate themselves (burn themselves like the guy in the picture) , but the communist government intervened and arrested them too.

From the same article:


Buddhists believe in karma right? I think this order had bad karma for its past actions. It help to take down one government (which allowed it to protest); only to be banned by a worst government.

pro-communist monks who hated the Diem government were not thinking real far into the future were they? I really shouldn't say I told you so...but I told you so.

Oh yes...here's the case of another buddhist(it's from human rights watch):
http://www.hrw.org/press/2003/09/vietnam091703.htm

he's one dedicated monk

It's not right for you to take spirtuality concerns and twist them into properganda.

It's like saying that God is on the side of the South Vietnamese government, so beware.

Samething with you saying, that anyone who furthered the Communists aim must have bad Karma. Lets just debate without the need to incite religious paranoia.

Now you claim that Buddhist monk was protesting FOR COMMUNISM, but he wasn't.

He was protesting against Diem's restriction against Buddhist, and not because he believed Communism should take over Vietnam.

Again, byron. It is propaganda and it's the most effective kind too--> it's the truth.

Oh yes, Byron, please tell your government to stop manipulating religion for its own "false" propaganda. We want the ability to freely choose our leaders from Buddhists to Catholic Priest. Respect our rights. Afterall, in your own bylaw you gurantee freedom of religion. Don't communists believe in the rules of law, even laws they have written themselves?

At least the current government treats all the main religions equally. While the South Vietnam government restricted Buddhism and boosted up Catholicism because Diem was a Catholic.

Yes Byron. They treat religion all equally. All equally $hitty. They spread out their oppression. Isn't Vietnam a much better society for it? Look the monk group that once protested South Vietnam is now completely ban. You're right there is equality in Vietnam. Everyone equally suffers.

People are never happy no matter which form of government is in power, unless it is their own form of goverment. I heard what people said about the government pre-1975 and what they are saying now post-1975. What is the difference... No one is happy, only the ones at the top. We are not united enough as a group of people that is why we continue to be weak as a nation.

I understand that many so call "monks", "men of the cloth" at the time so loved communism that they wanted the south to lose and hand the government over to the north. As supposedly, communism is the best form of government where everyone is equal, no rich and poor, only the ones with power and the ones oppressed. You don't need to work hard because no matter how hard you work, the benefit of your labor does not change. Don't you love living under communism. I do, as long as I can be one of those with the power.

It is interesting how some of us can be so misguided and easily misled... All those who died, were it all in-vain... oh well.

I hope that you are being sarcastic... or truely was he a fool? An instrument of communistic properganda.

what a nice excuse !! 2

i remember that...wasnt he protesting against the war??

he must of been one enlightened monk. i hear he didnt scream at all...crazy mind strength.

I guess if you want to consider him enlighten...you can....If you read the rest of the thread you will realize why he was not so enlightened. He wasn't protesting against a war, but more against a government. It helped to bring down South Vietnam's government and help the communist North win the political war. Now everything he has protested for is lost. The communist government now in power bans the very group that he was in, and when his buddies tried to pull a similar stunt they (the communists) arrested all them before they could immolate themselves. He helped to destroy one government only to usher in a worst one. I find the whole situation ironic. If you think of this in terms of karma, it's even more ironic.

is he dead?

That's a very retarded question.

hahaha..just messin..since buddhas have krazy man powers..like that movie with chow yun fat...i forgot the title..but it was an american flick?

Truly ironic , indeed . All those who died, was it all in-vain.

I think you have it all wrong here. first, the picture that turned the opinion on the War was the picture of Gen. Loan putting a shotgun on the head of the VC in 1968.
2nd, you assumed anyone who protested against the South government were VCs - wrong! of course there were VC infiltration but the Buddhist movement in 1963 was against the family rule of Diem. why didn't we see big protests like in 1963 in '64 to '75????
Like in 1963, Buddhist leaders protest of the oppression of the ruling government.