Thích Quảng Độ
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Thích Quảng Độ | |
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Hồ Chí Minh City, Vietnam | |
Religion | Buddhism |
Nationality | Vietnamese |
School | Thiền |
Senior posting | |
Predecessor | Thích Huyền Quang |
Thích Quảng Độ (
In 2002, he was awarded the
Life
Thích Quảng Độ was born Đặng Phúc Tuệ in Thanh Chau village
In the 1950s, Thích Quảng Độ travelled to India, Sri Lanka and other parts of Asia to further his Buddhist training and serve as an academic at various universities,
Political opposition
While a member of the leadership of the UBCV, Thích Quảng Độ became an activist, fighting against the anti-Buddhist policies of the Catholic President of South Vietnam
In 1965, Thích Quảng Độ was appointed as the Secretary-General of the Viện Hóa Đạo (Institute for the Dissemination of Dharma) of the UBCV.[4]
In 1975 Vietnam was under communist control, and the UBCV was once again unwelcome in Vietnam. As a result, the UBCV facilities were seized, and documents burned. Thích Quảng Độ was active in protesting the government's actions, and after attempting to gather Buddhists from other regions in non-violent opposition, he was arrested on charges of 'anti-revolutionary activities' and 'undermining national solidarity'.[3] He spent 20 months at the Phan Dang Luu Prison in solitary confinement in a cell approximately 2m2 in size with a hand-sized window,[9] before he was tried and released in December 1978. Later that year he was nominated by Betty Williams and Mairead Maguire to receive the Nobel Peace Prize.[10][7]
In 1982 the Vietnamese Government created a Buddhist alternative, called the Vietnam Buddhist Church, which was state sponsored and controlled by the
Yet again in 1995, while attempting to send a fax to overseas Buddhists to expose government abuse by obstructing flood relief efforts,
Thích Quảng Độ became the President of the UBCV's Institute for the Dissemination of the Dharma in 1999, meaning that he was the second-ranking UBCV dignitary after patriarch
In February 2001, just before the 9th Congress of the
In 2008, as one of his last wishes, Patriarch Thich Huyen Quang named Thích Quảng Độ as the new patriarch of the Unified Buddhist Church of Vietnam, a position he would occupy until his death.[4] Upon succeeding Thich Huyen Quang, Thích Quảng Độ stated that 'The best way to honour our late Patriarch is by putting his words into practice in our daily lives. The Supreme Bicameral Council pledges to do its utmost to re-establish the legal status of the UBCV and maintain its historic tradition of independence'.[3]
After 20 years at Thanh Minh, where he remained under continuous surveillance,[9] he returned north to Thai Binh, before returning to Saigon to stay at Tu Hieu Temple in November 2018.[4][5] Saigon authorities continued to send police to the temple to harass Thích Quảng Độ and abbot Thích Nguyên Lý about the residency status of the former,[5] and tried to restrict access by his disciples.[9]
Death
Thích Quảng Độ died on 22 February 2020 at age 91 at Từ Hiếu Temple in
Awards
In 2001, Thích Quảng Độ received the Hellman-Hammet Award from Human Rights Watch for persecuted writers.[3]
In 2003, Thích Quảng Độ was honored with the Homo Homini Award for human rights activism by the Czech group People in Need, which he shared with Thích Huyền Quang and Father Nguyễn Văn Lý.[13]
In 2006, Thích Quảng Độ was awarded the Thorolf Rafto Memorial Prize, in recognition of "personal courage and perseverance through three decades of peaceful opposition against the communist regime in Vietnam, and as a symbol for the growing democracy movement". Thích Quảng Độ was unable to the receive the award, as the government prevented him from attending the ceremony.[14]
In 2006, Thích Quảng Độ was also awarded the Democracy Courage Tribute by the World Movement for Democracy.[4]
References
- ^ Self-Immolation 'Only Possible Recourse', RFA, 17 February 2012
- People In Need. Archived from the originalon 1 May 2011. Retrieved 17 April 2011.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m "Thich Quang Do is appointed new leader of the Unified Buddhist Church of Vietnam" (PDF). European Parliament. 17 August 2008.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k "Hòa thượng Thích Quảng Độ 'hiến dâng cả đời đấu tranh cho tự do tôn giáo". BBC. 23 February 2020. Retrieved 23 February 2020.
- ^ a b c d e "Tương lai GHPGVNTN sau khi Hòa thượng Thích Quảng Độ qua đời". BBC. 25 February 2020. Retrieved 28 February 2020.
- ^ a b c "Vietnamese dissident monk, a Nobel Prize nominee, dies". The Straits Times. 24 February 2020. Retrieved 24 February 2020.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Taylor, p. 310.
- ^ Diệu Nghiêm (23 February 2020). "Trưởng lão Hòa thượng Thích Quảng Độ viên tịch".
- ^ a b c d e f g h "Vietnam dissident Buddhist monk Thich Quang Do dies at 91". 26 February 2020. Retrieved 26 February 2020.
- ^ a b c "Profile on Most Venerable Thich Quang Do, Head of the Unified Buddhist Church of Vietnam". Biography. Que me. Archived from the original on 25 January 2016. Retrieved 24 November 2015.
- ^ a b Taylor, p. 311.
- ^ "Vietnamese dissident monk who was a Nobel Prize nominee dies at 93". The Japan Times. 23 February 2020. Archived from the original on 23 February 2020. Retrieved 24 February 2020.
- ^ Martin Hrobský (11 April 2003). Homo Homini Awards recognize the work of three Vietnamese activists, Radio Prague International, Czech Radio
- ^ The Rafto Foundation, 2006 Laureate Thích Quảng Độ Archived 28 February 2020 at the Wayback Machine
Further reading
- Taylor, Philip, ed. (2007). Modernity and re-enchantment: religion in post-revolutionary Vietnam. Singapore: Institute of Southeast Asian Studies. pp. 310–312.
External links
- Video: interview of Thích Quảng Độ under house arrest (Oslo Freedom Forum, 2010) Archived 28 February 2020 at the Wayback Machine