Buddhist monk burns himself in protest

The Charlotte Observer ^ | 2/13/04 | MCAJ

[MCAJ]

The Charlotte Observer

Buddhist monk burns himself to death at temple Followers say act was a protest by man who wrote out final wishes

ROBERT F. MOORE Staff Writer

A Vietnamese monk, who had written his final wishes on a paper scroll, doused himself with gasoline and then burned himself to death as he kneeled in front of a Buddhist statue at a temple in east Charlotte Wednesday.

Followers said Thich Chan Hy, 74, committed an act of self-immolation, a form of protest that first gained worldwide attention in Vietnam. During the Vietnam War, a monk set himself on fire on a Saigon street to object to the oppression of Buddhism by the South Vietnamese government. The 1963 image became an antiwar symbol.Charlotte-Mecklenburg police and officials at Lien Hoa, the temple off The Plaza, said that Wednesday morning's incident was the first of its kind in the city.About 5:30 a.m., one of three people sleeping in a house a few feet from the prayer hall felt a draft. The man got up and noticed a sliding door was open. He looked outside and saw flames, not realizing one of the temple's spiritual advisers was in the middle of the blaze.Thich Chan Hy died in front of a white 15- foot statue of Avalokita, the symbol of compassion that mourners described as "Loving Mother."Police are investigating the monk's death as a suicide, an act that is normally considered contrary to nonviolent Buddhist teachings, temple-goers said.Earlier this year, police arrested four men in connection with the Jan. 9 beating of Thich Chan Hy at the house next to the temple. The monk was treated for bruises to his head, back, ankles and wrists.Temple-goers said then that they forgave the monk's attackers.Phuong Huynh, the temple's youth group leader, separated Thich Chan Hy's act from most suicides."When someone commits suicide, it is an ending," he said. "This (self-immolation) is self-sacrifice for a cause. There is a difference."Buddhists believe in reincarnation, the idea that an individual can travel through several cycles of birth and death.After the monk's death, members of the temple spotted a plastic bag on the kitchen table. It contained a set of keys and a paper scroll that had been used as a wall hanging.Huynh, who said he listened as another member of the temple read the scroll, said it contained the monk's final three wishes. Thich Chan Hy wanted freedom of religion in Vietnam and around the globe, human rights for all Vietnamese people, and for his country to retain its land rights in a dispute with China."He was following in the tradition of many great monks," said Lawrence Galea, who was among dozens paying their respects outside the temple Wednesday afternoon. "He was a great man. He was deeply loved by all the members of the temple and all members of the Buddhist community. What he said in the note should not go unheeded."Lien Hoa, with about 200 members, was founded in 1987 with an initial membership of about 30.Dozens of mourners Wednesday afternoon kneeled in front of the statue where the monk died hours before. Some cried. Others appeared to collect ashes that remained from the morning fire.Leaders of the temple held a service Wednesday for Thich Chan Hy, which members said included the reading of the sutras, part of a ceremonial passage into the afterlife.The smell of nhang, or incense prayer sticks, hung in the air throughout the day.More than 100 pairs of shoes lay outside the temple Wednesday night as temple-goers came to pray for Thich Chan Hy. The temple's spiritual leader flew in from Washington to be with the mourners.Another service will be held in the next few days. Thich Chan Hy's master will decide what happens to his cremated remains, said Trang Surles, president of the Vietnamese Buddhist Society of North Carolina.Thich Chan Hy's actions came as a surprise to Huynh, the youth group leader. The monk described as always happy will be missed by everyone, including the temple's many children, Huynh said."We'll have to spend some time to explain what happened and why he did what he did," Huynh said. "It's definitely going to be a challenge."-- STAFF WRITERS CRISTINA BREEN BOLLING AND HOWIE PAUL HARTNETT CONTRIBUTED TO THIS ARTICLE. -- ROBERT F. MOORE: (704) 358- 5934; RFMOORE@C....

[MCAJ]

This isn't exactly new but I thought I would post it anyways.....interesting to say the least.

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Formatting?