Thích Trí Quang
Thích Trí Quang | |
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Thừa Thiên-Huế , Vietnam |
Thích Trí Quang (chữ Hán: 釋智光) (21 December 1923 – 8 November 2019) was a Vietnamese Mahayana Buddhist monk best known for his role in leading South Vietnam's Buddhist population during the Buddhist crisis in 1963, and in later Buddhist protests against subsequent South Vietnamese military regimes until the Buddhist Uprising of 1966 was crushed.
Thích Trí Quang's 1963 campaign, in which he exhorted followers to emulate the example of
From 1964 onwards, Thích Trí Quang was prominent in Buddhist-dominated demonstrations against the military junta of
Early life
Thích Trí Quang was born as Phạm Quang on 21 December 1923 in the village of
Hue Phat Dan shootings
In 1963,
On Phật Đản, thousands of Buddhists defied the flag ban. Trí Quang addressed the crowd and exhorted them to rise up against Catholic discrimination against Buddhism. He called the Buddhists to congregate outside the government radio station in the evening for a rally. Tension increased throughout the day with demonstrators chanting and displaying anti-government slogans as the crowd grew. They expected to hear another speech from Thích Trí Quang, but the speech was withdrawn from broadcast by the government censor. The military were called in to disperse the discontented crowd and fired directly into the crowd, killing nine and severely injuring four.[4][5] Thích Trí Quang spent the night riding through the streets of Huế with a loudspeaker, accusing the government of firing on the demonstrators.[4][6] He then called on them to attend a public mass funeral for the Huế victims scheduled for 10 May. Such an emotion-charged spectacle would have attracted thousands of spectators and placed pressure on Diệm's regime to grant reforms, so the government announced a curfew and put all armed personnel on duty around the clock to "prevent VC infiltration". A confrontation was averted when Thích Trí Quang persuaded the protesters to lay down their flags and slogans and observe the 9 pm curfew.[7]
Buddhist reaction and protests
On the following day, 10 May, tensions increased as a crowd of around 6,000 Buddhists attended
Thich Tri Quang proclaimed a five-point "manifesto of the monks" that demanded freedom to fly the Buddhist flag, religious equality between Buddhists and Catholics, compensation for the victims' families, an end to arbitrary arrests, and punishment for the officials responsible.
As the crisis deepened, however, he traveled to the capital of
Following the
Nguyen Khanh era
After the
In early-1964, Thích Trí Quang continued to criticise Khánh and accused him of jailing Buddhists.[12] Khánh was in a quandary, as he could be perceived as being too soft on Diệm supporters, or being vindictive towards Roman Catholics.[13] To placate Trí Quang, Khánh agreed to remove all Roman Catholic chaplains from the military,[14] but Thích Trí Quang remained critical of what he saw as a lack of vigour on the part of Khánh in removing Diệmists from positions of authority.[15]
In July 1964, Khánh drafted a new constitution, known as the
In late-1964, Khánh and his generals tried to create a semblance of civilian rule by creating the High National Council, an appointed advisory body,
Buddhist Uprising
After Khanh was removed in a February 1965 coup, a civilian figurehead led the government, before the military, under Air Marshal Nguyễn Cao Kỳ and General Nguyễn Văn Thiệu took charge as prime minister and figurehead president, respectively in mid-1965. During this time, stability existed in Vietnam,[26] and the generals who commanded South Vietnam's four corps oversaw separate geographical regions, and were given wide-ranging powers. In central Vietnam, the pro-Buddhist Nguyễn Chánh Thi oversaw I Corps and was aligned with Thích Trí Quang's viewpoints.[26] Despite, the steady control of Kỳ and Thiệu, the religious tension remained. After one month, Thích Trí Quang began to call for the removal of Thiệu because he was a member of Diệm's Catholic Cần Lao Party, decrying his "fascistic tendencies",[27] and claiming that Cần Lao members were undermining Kỳ.[27] For Thích Trí Quang, Thiệu was a symbol of the Diệm era of Catholic domination, when advancement was based on religion. He had desired that General Thi, known for his pro-Buddhist position would lead the country, and denounced Thiệu for his alleged past crimes against Buddhists.[28] Thích Trí Quang said that "Thi is nominally a Buddhist, but does not really care about religion".[29]
Tension remained between Thi and Kỳ, who viewed him as a threat.[26] In March 1966, Kỳ removed Thi from his position. Despite Thi's good relations with the Buddhists in his area, there were reports Kỳ had Thích Trí Quang's support for Thi's removal. If Kỳ thought that Thích Trí Quang would not organize demonstrations against Thi's dismissal, he turned out to be wrong, as the monk used the crisis to highlight Buddhist calls for civilian rule.[30] There were claims that Thích Trí Quang had always intended to challenge Kỳ, regardless of whether or not Thi had been cast aside.[31] Widespread demonstrations, strikes and riots erupted across central Vietnam, led by Buddhist activists, and some military units joined the unrest and refused to go along with Kỳ's policies.[26]
At first, Kỳ tried to dampen discontent by meeting Buddhist leaders and promising elections and social reform; however, he also warned that street demonstrations would be suppressed.[32] US Ambassador Henry Cabot Lodge Jr. met with Thích Trí Quang to warn him about taking aggressive actions.[32] Although Thích Trí Quang accused Kỳ of "indulging in a cult of personality",[32] most of the Buddhist banners focused their criticism against the Catholic figurehead chief of state Thiệu.[32] Kỳ then promised a new constitution by November and possibly national elections by the end of the year, bringing it one year forward.[33] However, Thích Trí Quang's supporters appeared unwilling to wait for Kỳ's schedule, calling for the Constituent Assembly that would draft the new constitution to be chosen from provincial and city councils, where Buddhists did well in elections, but Kỳ refused.[34] Kỳ brought loyalist marines and paratroopers from Saigon to Da Nang to try and cow the dissidents, but this did not have the desired effect, so he returned to Saigon to meet Buddhist leaders for negotiations. The Buddhists demanded an amnesty for rioters and mutinous soldiers, and for Kỳ to withdraw the marines from Da Nang back to Saigon where they formed part of the strategic reserve.[30] However, Thích Trí Quang maintained a firm position on the constitution and the protests continued.[34]
In May, Thích Trí Quang went on a hunger strike, denouncing American support for the Kỳ-Thiệu junta, which he viewed as inappropriate interference in domestic affairs.[26] After government forces moved into the streets of Huế, Thích Trí Quang responded to the situation by calling on Buddhists to place their altars onto the street to block the junta's troops and military vehicles. According to the historian Robert Topmiller, 'Vietnamese understood the depth of revulsion this act signified in view of the fact that “[by] placing the family altar before an approaching tank, one symbolically placed one’s ancestors, the embodiment of the family, before the tank. In other words, one risked everything.'[35] Thousands complied, and the police and local ARVN forces did not stop them. For two days, the altars stopped all road traffic and prevented convoys from travelling north of the city for a military buildup.[36] Thich Tri Quang later relented and allowed a few hours a day for such traffic.[36] He then penned a letter accusing the US of "imperialism" and went on a hunger strike,[36] until he was eventually ordered to stop in September by the Buddhist patriarch Thich Tinh Khiet.[37] Kỳ ignored the Buddhist protests and sent 400 combat police as well as Airborne and Marines to secure the Hue, as well as Da Nang, Quang Tri and Qui Nhon. They entered unopposed, arrested dissident policemen and removed the altars to the side of the street.[36][38]
On 22 June,
Death
Trí Quang died at 9.45 pm on 8 November 2019 in
Notes
- ^ a b c d Hoài Hương (9 November 2019). "Hòa thượng Thích Trí Quang viên tịch, thọ 96 tuổi". VOA. Retrieved 12 November 2019.
- ^ Buswell (2013)
- ^ Hammer, pp. 103–05.
- ^ a b Jacobs, pp. 142–43.
- ^ Jones, pp. 247–50.
- ^ Jones, pp. 250–51.
- ^ a b c Jones, pp. 251–52.
- ^ Jacobs, p. 143.
- ^ Jacobs, pp. 152–153.
- ^ a b Topmiller, p. 4.
- ^ Karnow, p. 359.
- ^ Moyar (2004), p. 754.
- ^ McAllister, p. 760.
- ^ Moyar (2004), p. 755.
- ^ McAllister, p. 761.
- ^ a b McAllister, p. 762.
- ^ Moyar (2004), p. 757.
- ^ a b c d Moyar (2004), p. 761.
- ^ McAllister, p. 763.
- ^ Moyar (2006), p. 328.
- ^ Moyar (2004), pp. 765–66.
- ^ Moyar (2004), pp. 766–67.
- ^ a b c Kahin, pp. 267–269.
- ^ Moyar (2004), pp. 774–775.
- ^ Moyar (2006), p. 775.
- ^ a b c d e Brush, Peter (April 2005). "The 1966 Buddhist Crisis in South Vietnam". Historynet. Archived from the original on 17 July 2011. Retrieved 16 July 2010.
- ^ a b Moyar (2004), p. 779.
- ^ McAllister, p. 777.
- ^ Moyar (2004), p. 781.
- ^ a b "South Viet Nam: The Storm Breaks". Time. 15 April 1966.
- Time. 22 April 1966.
- ^ a b c d "South Viet Nam: Smoke, Fire & Welfare". Time. 25 March 1966.
- ^ "South Viet Nam: The Political Climate". Time. 1 April 1966.
- ^ a b "South Viet Nam: The Capital of Discontent". Time. 8 April 1966.
- ^ Topmiller, p. 132., further quoting scholar of Buddhism Sallie King.
- ^ a b c d e "South Viet Nam: Opposition at the Altar". Time. 17 June 1966.
- ^ Topmiller, p. 183.
- ^ a b c Topmiller, p. 132.
- ^ Karnow, pp. 463–465.
- ^ Topmiller, p. 148.
- ^ Topmiller, p. 150.
- ^ Corfield, Justin (2013). Historical Dictionary of Ho Chi Minh City, Anthem Press. p. 4.
- ^ Đình Toàn (9 November 2019). "Đại lão Hòa thượng Thích Trí Quang viên tịch, di huấn không lập bàn thờ, phúng điếu". Báo Thanh Niên (in Vietnamese). Retrieved 11 November 2019.
Sources
- ISBN 9780691157863.
- ISBN 0-525-24210-4.
- Jacobs, Seth (2006). Cold War Mandarin: Ngo Dinh Diem and the Origins of America's War in Vietnam, 1950–1963. Lanham, Maryland: Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN 0-7425-4447-8.
- Jones, Howard (2003). Death of a Generation: how the assassinations of Diem and JFK prolonged the Vietnam War. New York City: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-505286-2.
- ISBN 0-394-54367-X.
- ISBN 0-670-84218-4.
- McAllister, James (2008). "'Only Religions Count in Vietnam': Thich Tri Quang and the Vietnam War". Modern Asian Studies. 42 (4). New York: Cambridge University Press: 751–782. S2CID 145595067.
- S2CID 145723264.
- ISBN 0-521-86911-0.
- Topmiller, Robert J. (2006). The Lotus Unleashed: The Buddhist Peace Movement in South Vietnam, 1964–1966. Lexington, Kentucky: University Press of Kentucky. ISBN 0-8131-9166-1.
Further reading
- Langguth, A. J. (2000). Our Vietnam. Simon and Schuster. ISBN 0-684-81202-9.
- "A Talk with Thich Tri Quang" (The World), Times Magazine Vol. 87, no 16, 22 April 1966