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Vice Secretary of the HCMC Party Committee Nguyen Ho Hai (blue tie) and the city's leaders attend the ceremony. (Photo: SGGP) |
Attending the ceremony were Vice Secretary of the HCMC Party Committee Nguyen Ho Hai; deputy head of the HCMC Party Committee's Commission for Mass Mobilization Tran Xuan Dien; Vice Chairwoman of the Vietnam Fatherland Front in HCMC Phan Kieu Thanh Huong; Most Venerable Thich Tri Quang, Supreme Patriarch of the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha's Patronage Council; Most Venerable Thich Thien Nhon, Chairman of the VBS’s Executive Council; Most Venerable Thich Le Trang, head of the Executive Committee of the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha in the city.
Speaking at the ceremony, Most Venerable Thich Le Trang informed that Most Venerable Thich Quang Duc was born as Lam Van Tuat in Hoi Khanh Village, Van Ninh District’s Van Khanh Commune of the central coastal province of Khanh Hoa in 1897. He left home for studying Buddhism with Most Vanobale Thich Hoang Tham at Long Son Pagoda in Khanh Hoa Province at seven. He got ordained as a novice when he was 15 years old and became a Buddhist monk under the Dharma name Thich Quang Duc.
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| Most Venerables Thich Tri Quang, Thich Thien Nhon and Thich Le Trang offer incense to commemorate Bodhisattva Thich Quang Duc. (Photo: SGGP) |
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| Most Venerable Thich Le Trang speaks at the event. (Photo: SGGP) |
In 1948, left Khanh Hoa for the southern region and traveled throughout southern provinces, such as Saigon (now HCMC), Gia Dinh (a province surrounding Saigon), Dinh Tuong (an area in the old days covering four provinces of Tien Giang, Long An, Ben Tre and Dong Thap), Tay Ninh, Ba Ria, Ha Tien.
In 1953, he was appointed as Deputy Head of the Executive Board and Head of the Ritual Committee of the Vietnamese Sangha Bhikshu Buddhist Association, and Abbot of Phuoc Hoa Pagoda in Ban Co of District 3, HCMC where the General Buddhist Association of Vietnam was established.
In 1958, when the headquarters of the General Buddhist Association of Vietnam moved to the Xa Loi Pagoda, he left all positions to spend the rest of his life in meditation.
In 1963, Bodhisattva Thich Quang Duc burned himself to death in Saigon on June 11, 1963, to protest against the South Vietnam regime’s oppression of Buddhists.
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| HCMC's leaders offer incense to Bodhisattva Thich Quang Duc. (Photo: SGGP) |
Most Venerable Thich Thien Nhon called on Buddhist dignitaries, and followers to continue to develop the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha and promote patriotism and national solidarity contributing to the development of HCMC and maintaining international peace.
The Bodhisattva Thich Quang Duc Memorial is located at the intersection of Cach Mang Thang Tam and Nguyen Dinh Chieu Streets in District 3. It is a destination for local and foreign visitors to recall the monk's patriotism, determination to fight against oppression, and willingness to die for his country's independence and unification.
