# Video of Buddhist monk self-immolating in 1963 **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [October 31, 2009, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/video-of-buddhist-monk-self-immolating-in-1963/515870 "2009-10-31T19:13:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Lantern](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/d26b3c/32.png) [@Lantern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lantern)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2009, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/video-of-buddhist-monk-self-immolating-in-1963/515870/1 "2009-10-31T19:13:16Z")
I have read about this famous [incident](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Th%C3%ADch_Qu%E1%BA%A3ng_%C4%90%E1%BB%A9c) but I had no idea there was a video but [here](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E37cMtCrKoA)it is. One of the most aweinspiring things I have ever seen. It’s not as horrifying as one might expect because the monk was astonishingly still during the whole thing. Those Buddhist monks develop some serious will power I have to say; the toughest soldiers in the world would be screaming in agony. ---
**Author:** ![Rigamarole](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/77aa72/32.png) [@Rigamarole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rigamarole)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2009, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/video-of-buddhist-monk-self-immolating-in-1963/515870/2 "2009-10-31T19:24:28Z")
That’s hot. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2009, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/video-of-buddhist-monk-self-immolating-in-1963/515870/3 "2009-10-31T19:30:09Z")
> [@Lantern](#): > > the toughest soldiers in the world would be screaming in agony. There’s a reason why the film was shot without sound. > [@Rigamarole](#): > > That’s hot. I’d have chosen a Blue Öyster Cult song for the music track. Seriously though, that’s serious dedication to a Cause. ---
**Author:** ![Lantern](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/d26b3c/32.png) [@Lantern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lantern)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2009, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/video-of-buddhist-monk-self-immolating-in-1963/515870/4 "2009-10-31T19:36:09Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > There’s a reason why the film was shot without sound. The eye-witness reports, for example by David Halberstam say the monk didn’t utter a sound. From the Wiki article: > [@](#): > > I was to see that sight again, but once was enough. Flames were coming from a human being; his body was slowly withering and shriveling up, his head blackening and charring. In the air was the smell of burning human flesh; human beings burn surprisingly quickly. Behind me I could hear the sobbing of the Vietnamese who were now gathering. I was too shocked to cry, too confused to take notes or ask questions, too bewildered to even think… As he burned he never moved a muscle, never uttered a sound, his outward composure in sharp contrast to the wailing people around him. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2009, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/video-of-buddhist-monk-self-immolating-in-1963/515870/5 "2009-10-31T19:37:30Z")
Did he scream a lot? What is the historical account of it from eyewitnesses? ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2009, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/video-of-buddhist-monk-self-immolating-in-1963/515870/6 "2009-10-31T19:39:32Z")
> [@Lantern](#): > > The eye-witness reports, for example by David Halberstam say the monk didn’t utter a sound. From the Wiki article: I know. I was making a sick joke. ---
**Author:** ![Reply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/reply/32/15952_2.png) [@Reply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reply)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2009, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/video-of-buddhist-monk-self-immolating-in-1963/515870/7 "2009-10-31T19:39:45Z")
> [@Rigamarole](#): > > That’s hot. 😃 * * * It’s funny how the cops just keep pushing people away (and occasionally turning to enjoy the show) instead of doing anything to stop it… are suicides-as-spectacles allowed if they’re tied to religion? ---
**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2009, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/video-of-buddhist-monk-self-immolating-in-1963/515870/8 "2009-10-31T20:29:44Z")
IIRC, everyone was impressed when Buddhist monks set themselves on fire, but when a Quaker did so at the Pentagon & a Catholic at the UN, everyone thought they were pinko wack jobs. ---
**Author:** ![Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/malleus_incus_stapes/32/3293_2.png) [@Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malleus_Incus_Stapes)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2009, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/video-of-buddhist-monk-self-immolating-in-1963/515870/9 "2009-10-31T23:55:34Z")
Dear Og, WHY? ---
**Author:** ![rowrrbazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rowrrbazzle/32/414_2.png) [@rowrrbazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rowrrbazzle)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2009, 3:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/video-of-buddhist-monk-self-immolating-in-1963/515870/10 "2009-11-01T03:50:57Z")
video of “witches” being burned in Kenya (warning, graphic): h ttp://www.inewsit.com/video/gallery/Five-people-suspected-to-be-witchcrafts-were-bruterly-murded-in-kisii-Nyamataro-Village Man sets self on fire to protest Iraq war [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?p=8001152](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?p=8001152) November 3, 2006 - Priest burns himself to death to protest Islam > **[Latest news & breaking headlines](https://www.thetimes.com/)** > > The latest breaking UK, US, world, business and sport news from The Times and The Sunday Times. Go beyond today's headlines with in-depth analysis and comment. > [@](#): > > Roland Weisselberg, 73, poured a can of petrol over his head and set light to himself in the grounds of the Augustine monastery in the eastern city of Erfurt, where Martin Luther spent six years as a monk at the beginning of the 16th century. > > Witnesses said that Weisselberg climbed into a building site next to the monastery church, where a Reformation Day service was being held. He shouted “Jesus and Oskar” before the flames engulfed him. The latter name was an apparent reference to Oskar Brüsewitz, a priest who burnt himself in 1976 in protest against the Communist regime in East Germany. Monastery staff tried to put out the flames and Weisselberg was still conscious as a nun prayed with him before he was taken to hospital. He died a day later, on Wednesday. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2009, 3:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/video-of-buddhist-monk-self-immolating-in-1963/515870/11 "2009-11-01T03:54:36Z")
> [@rowrrbazzle](#): > > video of “witches” being burned in Kenya (warning, graphic): h ttp://www.inewsit.com/video/gallery/Five-people-suspected-to-be-witchcrafts-were-bruterly-murded-in-kisii-Nyamataro-Village How to make electricity? 😕 ---
**Author:** ![PandaBear77](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/edb3f5/32.png) [@PandaBear77](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PandaBear77)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2009, 4:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/video-of-buddhist-monk-self-immolating-in-1963/515870/12 "2009-11-01T04:06:40Z")
The mind boggles. I don’t know what has me more dumbfounded – that the guy self-immolated, or the people on YouTube leaving comments about how heroic it was. ---
**Author:** ![Randy\_Seltzer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ee7513/32.png) [@Randy\_Seltzer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Randy_Seltzer)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2009, 4:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/video-of-buddhist-monk-self-immolating-in-1963/515870/13 "2009-11-01T04:55:43Z")
I’ve never seen the video before, and watching it, I see some interesting differences from descriptions I’ve read. The wiki page says that police tried to reach him, but were blocked by the circle of monks. The video clearly shows that police were ten feet away holding back the crowds, and had an unobstructed path to the priest. Also, the wiki page says that after ten minutes, he tumbled forward. But you can see him tumble backwards on the video. I wonder if either of these discrepancies is significant. ---
**Author:** ![Ale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@Ale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ale)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2009, 5:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/video-of-buddhist-monk-self-immolating-in-1963/515870/14 "2009-11-01T05:35:32Z")
> [@PandaBear77](#): > > The mind boggles. > > I don’t know what has me more dumbfounded – that the guy self-immolated, or the people on YouTube leaving comments about how heroic it was. What do you mean about the heroism comments? :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/malleus_incus_stapes/32/3293_2.png) [@Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malleus_Incus_Stapes)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2009, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/video-of-buddhist-monk-self-immolating-in-1963/515870/15 "2009-11-01T15:38:11Z")
From the first page of comments: > [@](#): > > your a piece of shit, your belittling probably one of the greatest and most notable protests/ human sacrifices for the sake of ideals ever, that you could even begin to say anything about this man who is thought to be the first man to attain nirvana and is revered as a hero and saint, blows my mind > [@](#): > > thats amazing. the self discapline and dedication required to do that to yourself. Its probably the most impreshionable thing ive ever seen. > [@](#): > > To live is to desire. To desire is to suffer. To live is to suffer. He did not flinch because he was being enlightened and so he could not desire relief. The Buddhist’s prospective on life. ---
**Author:** ![PandaBear77](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/edb3f5/32.png) [@PandaBear77](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PandaBear77)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2009, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/video-of-buddhist-monk-self-immolating-in-1963/515870/16 "2009-11-01T15:42:09Z")
> [@Ale](#): > > What do you mean about the heroism comments? :dubious: I figured it was pretty self-explanatory. If you look at the comments on YouTube, there were people gushing about heroism, etc. I’m not seeing the heroism, m’self. ---
**Author:** ![Lantern](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/d26b3c/32.png) [@Lantern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lantern)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2009, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/video-of-buddhist-monk-self-immolating-in-1963/515870/17 "2009-11-01T15:47:43Z")
Well I do think his act was heroic. He was showing total dedication to his cause which was a pretty good one: stopping the persecution of Buddhists by the Diem government. As the article mentions the self-immolation was a critical moment in the successful protests against the government which was ultimately overthrown. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2009, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/video-of-buddhist-monk-self-immolating-in-1963/515870/18 "2009-11-01T16:16:46Z")
Less famously, in 1970 a student at my alma mater, UC San Diego, did the same thing to protest the Viet Nam War. He was a former member of the ROTC who had no previous affiliation with the relatively large anti-War movement on campus. I was at that school for most of the 80’s and there was still a sparsely attended annual vigil for him on the anniversary of the event. [George Winne Jr.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Winne_Jr.) ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2009, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/video-of-buddhist-monk-self-immolating-in-1963/515870/19 "2009-11-01T17:02:31Z")
> [@PandaBear77](#): > > I’m not seeing the heroism, m’self. He did it as an act of attack and ended up winning the war. As far as non-violence goes, the man was the Rambo of monks. ---
**Author:** ![Carl\_Corey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Carl\_Corey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Carl_Corey)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2009, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/video-of-buddhist-monk-self-immolating-in-1963/515870/20 "2009-11-02T17:06:04Z")
Ugh. Something similar happened on the campus of my alma mater back in the '90s. A woman who was a local artist and struggling with mental issues immolated herself in front of the main library. It was horrific. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/video-of-buddhist-monk-self-immolating-in-1963/515870.md?page=2)