Malcolm Browne's Film, The Burning Monk

Around 845 CE, Tang Emperor Wu states that the spread of the religion wore “out people’s strength” and “pilfers their wealth” (Document 6). The stealing of their wealth is an act of opposing the public policygoing against the rules that were made by the government, while the wearing out strength represented his impression of Buddhism. Emperor Wu did not approve Buddhism because he believed that the religion was corrupting his citizens since they were abandoning the those above them. As a result, he stated that the “evil” should be eradicated (Document 6). In 819 CE, Han Yun, a Confucian scholar at the Tang imperial court, called Buddhism a “cult of barbarian peoples.” He goes on to address that considering how Buddhism “did not exist in [China] in ancient times,” their clothes were different and their lives were lived out differently (Document 4). In his view as a governmental official, Han Yun felt that Buddhism had become such an integral part of their lives that they were tearing apart the foundation of their

However, Diem was a poor controller, a bad ruler. He, along with his brother, made brutal policies against Buddhists and eliminated a large amount of them in the Buddhists sanctuaries of Saigon. Diem's brother Nhu was heavily involved in these activities together with his brother's full support and the army trained by American military advisors (Moss, 2010). Nhu's wife even referred to the Buddhists as "barbecue" on a television show. All of this along with the fact that the Buddhists were denied the right to display their holy flags on the birthday of Buddha caused an immediate outburst in South Vietnam. Heavy protests started taking place and several Buddhist monks even burnt themselves to fatality as

Responses to Buddhism varied depending on the political and religious order in China. In docs 1 and 2, the response was conversion and hope in times of political instability. In docs 3 and 5, the response was to practice not just Buddhism but other religions as well to coexist. In docs 4 and 6, Confucianism was reinstituted and the response to Buddhism was xenophobic and negative because Confucianism was being threatened.

Marc Rosenbush’s film, Zen Noir (2004), is at first glance a film thoroughly ensconced in the themes of Zen Buddhism. Set in a dark and brooding film noir atmosphere, the film depicts the story of a deeply troubled detective, at the end of his rope, who finds himself at a Zen monastery in order to solve a murder. But once there, he realizes that things are not quite what they seem to be. As the film unfolds, we find that the world Rosenbush has created for us is wildly symbolic, and it becomes clear that the monastery is a symbol of the detective’s psyche and that he was not investigating a murder, but his own fear of death and loss. If this introspective, psychological element of the film is recognized, the Buddhist themes of the film become conflated with allegories of navigating the Western psyche. It is the contention of this paper that when the psychological themes of this film are investigated, we will find that the alleged Buddhist theme of enlightenment in the film must compete with a symbolic depiction of Jungian individuation.

Diem’s reaction to this event was denying responsibility and he put the blame on communists. Despite repeated encouragement from the United States government to reconcile with the Buddhists, Diem remained unyielding and asserted that there was no presence of religious persecution (Toong, 2008). The height of the Buddhist crisis was reached when Thich Quang Duc ignited himself and burned to death in as a protest in the street in front of a large crowd in Saigon (Moss, 2010). The appalling images of the self-immolation of Thich Quang Duc were spread throughout the world by international media coverage. Demonstrations by the Buddhists and retaliation by the GVN continued to escalate to a point where the United States could no longer support the Diem government, which despite financial assistance that amounted to over $1,000,000 per day and the support of the American military, refused to cooperate (Toong, 2008).

A slow yet, gradual increase of individuals in the West are coming to terms about the positive efforts of socially engaged Buddhism. Actualizing that modern Buddhism in Asia has transformed into this meditative vehicle for spiritual liberation which includes liberation movements for social and political changes. Engaged Buddhism is a form of dedication through movements committed to addressing social, political, economic and environmental concerns including the spiritual needs of beings. In efforts to solve problems of extreme magnitudes, specifically during times of social crisis. keeping Buddhist philosophy's at the forefront of these movements, they manage to propagate widespread awareness of current asian issues.

“When my troops were getting massacred and mauled by an enemy I couldn't see, I couldn't feel, I couldn't touch... nobody in the military system ever described them anything other than Communists.” (Simkin) These were Second Lieutenant William Calley’s words in response to the My Lai Massacre, but were an example of how most soldiers felt at the time. The My Lai Massacre was a killing of over 500 unarmed South Vietnamese civilians in March 16th, 1968. During this time, The Vietnam war was growing and US support towards the war was increasing.

Yang has an elaborate thesis. In this article he analyzes Browne’s photograph and how it was used by Vietnam protesters. Specifically Yang looks at the Ministers Vietnam Committee’s use of one of Browne’s photos to gain traction and supporters in their anti-war efforts. Yang also

After the self-immolation it was not only the Buddhist that were protesting against Diem leadership, it was people from everywhere. The group got increasingly bigger joining to support the Buddhists to bring his Diem’s leadership down. This event brought pressure on the United States because they were the ones that were supporting Diem’s in his governance. “The officials brought intense pressure on Diem to rescind the ban and conciliate the Buddhists.” Diem did not listen; he did not act on the U.S. request to make peace with the Buddhist. Instead his brother Ngo Dinh Nhu who was the right hand for Diem’s condemned the Buddhists cry for help. “On August 21, 1963 Diem and Nhu perpetrated a series of wanton acts that sealed their fate”(Moss, p.106). Nhu carried out several malicious acts instead of encouraging Diem to pacify the Buddhist. “The American trained praetorian guards and police forces take on a cascade of midnight raids on pagodas all over South Vietnam, over 2,000 temples were raided, they arrested more than 1400 monks, nuns, neophytes and ordinary citizen and initiated a curfew.”(p.106). Ngo Dinh Nhu even instigated Diem to disobey the American request and further “suppress the Buddhist revolt”(p.105). The Americans were getting very disappointed with Diem behavior against the Buddhist and his disobedience to change his regime. Although the Americans were supporting him

Ngo Dinh Diem was the first president of South Vietnam from 1955 until he was murdered in 1963. Ngo Dinh Diem was an anti-communist, who replaced Bao Dai in the South Vietnamese government in 1955. Diem refused to follow the Geneva accords, as he did not allow for South Vietnam to participate in free elections. Diem also executed hundred of Buddhists, as Diem was Roman Catholic, and this led to a retraction of support from the United States. In a coup d’état, Diem was assassinated, and the void of power left behind threw Vietnam into chaos and led to a civil war. Diem’s presidency and death weakened South Vietnam and left it susceptible to communism from the

During this era, the Vietnam War had become a part of the everyday American’s life. The war had been going on for eight years and America was supporting Southern Vietnam’s government. Vietnamese monks under the rule of President Ngo Dinh Diem were banned from observing their practices, one such example was the prohibition of flying their own flag. During a time of national separation, the president wanted to emphasize patriotism, however, his harsh treatment of the monks lead to them to protest.

Nguyen Xuan Bao was born in central Vietnam in 1926. He is better known as Thich Nhat Hanh, the Buddhist monk, highly respected Zen master, writer, and activist. Entering the monastery at age 16, Nhat Hanh was trained in the traditions of Mahayana Buddhism. With over one hundred books published, he has easily been able to spread his message of love, peace, as well as his belief in finding nonviolent solutions to all conflicts. During his time as a monk, Nhat Hanh has established quite a few terms and movements, some being “Engaged Buddhism” and the “Order of Interbeing”.

From 1954-1963, Diem presided over an increasingly corrupt, devious, and repressive regime. Communist guerrillas backed by North Vietnam launched a new rebellion, but a civil disobedience campaign led by the country's Buddhist monks contributed more directly to his downfall. Brutal persecution of the dissident monks in 1963 damaged the regime's already shaky international reputation. With American support, Vietnamese

view of the war was that it had to stop. I agree with him because of the homes that were being destroyed, the culture that was being subverted and the land that was being wasted in Vietnam. It is evident that the Buddhist leaders in Vietnam communicated that the war was increasing hatred in the hearts of the Vietnamese. Also the war was making the Americans friends to become their enemies. The religious leaders of Vietnam were of the view that the image of USA will never be seen as freedom and democracy but that of militarism and violence. It was evident that the world demanded maturity from America by admitting it had been wrong in the Vietnam adventure (Luther,

Buddhists have perhaps surprisingly contended, interpreted, and even perpetrated violence throughout history, whether it be through more contemporary Buddhist acts or violence that has been around for centuries. Contemporary acts of Buddhist violence include monks joining protests in Burma to stand up to government brutality, including the Saffron Revolution in 2007 which started due to Burma’s government removing subsidies on fuel prices, causing them to rise immensely. Violence has been around for ages in Chan Buddhism texts about killing or harming living creatures. A popular kōan, or story, in Chan Buddhism, called “Nanquan Kills the Cat”, discusses killing a cat with a sword. In Buddhism, you receive bad karma for doing bad things,