Part 2
Most Venerable Thich Duc Nghiep was one of the few witnesses during the most difficult period in the history of Vietnam Buddhism. He was also the bhikku who took care of every step in Bodhisattva Thích Quảng Đức's self-immolation. According to Thich Duc Nghiep, Vesak Day of 1963 coincided with the opening ceremony of a big cathedral in Quang Tri. On his way to the ceremony, President Ngo Dinh Diem saw many Buddhist flags displayed along the roads, and grouchily asked Quach Tong Duc, his Chief of Staff, who accompanied him on the trip. Quach said the flag display was to celebrate the Buddha's Birthday. Without discussing the issue with his advisors, Diem immediately ordered Quach to execute a ban of Buddhism flag display in public from all over South Vietnam. The flags could only be displayed within Buddhist temples. Diem's order was the last match that lit the fire from the smothery intense relations between Buddhism and Diem's religion discrimination policies beginning in early 1960s. Buddhists' protests quickly spread from Hue to Saigon, then to other provinces.
On May 8, 1963 the protest in Hue reached its climax when many Buddhists were killed, and some others were wounded in front of Hue Radio Station. Among the crowds were many civilians and children. Thich Duc Nghiep said Lieutenant Colonel Dang Sy was the officer in the Diem's administration who ordered this massacre.
In such extremely difficult time, Most Venerable Thich Tinh Khiet, Head of the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha,convened an emergency meeting of Buddhist dignitaries to issue a five-point declaration which asked President Diem to withdraw his recent order about banning Buddhist flags display, to stop religious discrimination, and to demand for freedom of Buddhist practice and dissemination. The declaration also asked the government to stop arresting, harrassing and prosecuting Buddhists, and to punish those were responsible for the massacre in Hue. At the convention a Defense Council of Multi-Buddhist Sects was formed with Venerable Thich Duc Nghiep as its Head. After that a delegation of Buddhist representatives including Most Venerables Thich Thien Hoa, Thich Tam Chau, and Mr. Chanh Tri Mai Tho Truyen were allowed to enter the President's Palace but without any progress. Religious oppression was still going on against Buddhists.
One morning at An Quang Temple Most Venerables Thich Tam Chau, Thich Thien Hoa, Thich Thien Minh, and Thich Duc Nghiep discussed the tension of the situation after lunch. Thich Thien Minh suggested that Buddhists be engaged, and take pro-active actions for defense. Thich Duc Nghiep was appointed as head of both internal affairs and diplomatic (or external) affairs.
There were more and more protest meetings in South Vietnam. On May 21, 1963 Most Venerable Thich Tinh Khiet ordered a memorial ceremony throughout the South of Vietnam to pray for the victims in the Hue massacre. In Saigon the ceremony turned into a huge protest march from An Quang Temple to Xa Loi Temple. The protesters carried banners asking for religious freedom, and the execution of the five-points in the declaration. The night before the ceremony Saigon-Cholon Mayor NguyenPhu Hai, Chief of Staff Quach Tong Duc, and a District Head came to An Quang and ordered to stop the ceremony, but Most Venerable Thich Thien Hoa refused to meet them. Thich Duc Nghiep firmly told the government representatives that Most Venerable Thich Thien Hoa was not in good health, and could not meet them. But only Most Venerable Thich Thien Hoa himself could not make such an important decision. The whole committee of representatives from the Buddhist Sangha had convened and decided on the five-point declaration, which they wanted to submit to the President.
The three government representatives waited from 10pm till 12am in vain, so they grudgingly had to leave the temple. As planned, the memorial ceremony began at 6am, and the huge crowd of Buddhist protesters marched from An Quang to Xa Loi, where it stopped at 10am.
Nguyen van Thong, a member of the government's Special Force, said that among the protesters and participants were ordinary people, and that at the center of Saigon many joined the fast to protest non-violently against the regime. Thich Duc Nghiep had ordered eight buses to carry monks and nuns from Tu Nghiem and An Quang Monasteries to participate in the peaceful protest in the center of the capital of South Vietnam. The participants joined the fast at Xa Loi. Among them was Most Venerable Thich Quang Duc, who had quietly drafted his letter asking for the Sangha's permission to let him sacrifice his body for the protection of the Dhamma.
Sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thich_Quang_Duc
Quoc Viet. The Immortal Heart. http://tuoitre.vn. A three-part document. Posted from May 31, 2010 to June 3, 2010.
