The Venerable Thich Quang Duc Monument
The Venerable Thich Quang Duc Monument
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4.5
275 reviews
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MaxManila
Manila, Philippines3,561 contributions
Dec 2019 • Family
This monument represents one of the most historical moments in Vietnamese history. From my childhood, I remember the iconic photo of a burning monk, but it was only when I visited the monument last month that I truly understood the background of the event.
I could feel the emotion of the event from the way the tour guide explained every detail. We’re glad to have taken a tour of the city including the Thich Quang Duc monument, with an official guide to give us a better perspective of Vietnam history.
I could feel the emotion of the event from the way the tour guide explained every detail. We’re glad to have taken a tour of the city including the Thich Quang Duc monument, with an official guide to give us a better perspective of Vietnam history.
Written January 5, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Nikhil_Mediratta5
Gurugram (Gurgaon), India18 contributions
Dec 2019 • Friends
This tour was planned to cover all landmarks in Ho Chi Minh City. The guide was well aware about the history and facts about the city. He made us walk through all points. He also recommend places of interest that can be covered depending on interest.
Written January 2, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Abovetheclouds
2,488 contributions
Jan 2023 • Business
I learnt so much. Part of Vietnamese history and such a touching story. However, take a guide with to really learn or you will mainly just look. I had a very good guide. So interesting. Located in district 3. Highly recommend to learn more about Vietnamese history.
Written January 12, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
jblaza
Marikina, Philippines713 contributions
Dec 2016 • Solo
When I was planning my trip to Ho Chi Minh, I said that I cannot leave Ho Chi Minh until I visit the monument to the Venerable Thich Quang Duc. I have been fascinated at his self-immolation in protest of the religious persecution of Buddhists done by the South Vietnamese government. Furthermore, he remained in the lotus position and did not utter a single word while he was consumed by the flames.
The actual site where the Venerable monk burned himself is marked by a small shrine. Across the street from the spot is a park with a massive monument of the self-immolation. Behind the monument is a series of relief sculptures that depict the life and death of the Venerable Thich Quang Duc. There are joss sticks available in front the monument. I am honored to have been able to burn incense in front of the monument.
The Venerable Thich Quang Duc Monument was part of my self-guided walking tour on my last day in Ho Chi Minh (Xa Loi Pagoda, Venerable Thich Quang Duc Monument, Mariamman Hindu Temple, Independence Palace, Notre Dame Basilica of Saigon, Saigon Post Office). It is about 500 meters from the Xa Loi Pagoda and 1.5 km from the Blue Diamond Hotel where I stayed.
The actual site where the Venerable monk burned himself is marked by a small shrine. Across the street from the spot is a park with a massive monument of the self-immolation. Behind the monument is a series of relief sculptures that depict the life and death of the Venerable Thich Quang Duc. There are joss sticks available in front the monument. I am honored to have been able to burn incense in front of the monument.
The Venerable Thich Quang Duc Monument was part of my self-guided walking tour on my last day in Ho Chi Minh (Xa Loi Pagoda, Venerable Thich Quang Duc Monument, Mariamman Hindu Temple, Independence Palace, Notre Dame Basilica of Saigon, Saigon Post Office). It is about 500 meters from the Xa Loi Pagoda and 1.5 km from the Blue Diamond Hotel where I stayed.
Written November 3, 2017
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
The_Pale_Ridah
Gladesville, Australia1,951 contributions
Dec 2013 • Couples
Many people know the 1992 Rage Against The Machine song from their debut album ‘Killing In The Name’, it’s one of the craziest songs of the 90’s with simple but powerful lyrics about racism & police brutality set to the illest beat. What most people don’t realise is the famous album cover is a real photograph of Vietnamese Buddhist monk The Venerable Thich Quang Duc sitting silently in the lotus position, meditating while his body is engulfed in flames, never moving, never screaming until he was charred to death.
The expression on Thich Quang Duc’s face is one of quiet concentration. An amazing photograph, overwhelmingly shocking yet powerful.
President John F Kennedy said “no news picture in history has generated so much emotion around the world as that one”. Malcolm Browne, the Associated Press photographer won a Pulitzer Prize for this picture in 1963.
Thich Quang Duc’s selfless act was sparked by the police brutality & government corruption in South Vietnam during the Vietnam War. In 1962 he decided to make a lone solitary statement without words. He drove to the city in front of the Cambodian Embassy, parked his car in the middle of the road, poured petrol over himself & set himself alight with a match. The whole world turned its attention while the solitary monk acted alone without a single cry in pain, Shaolin-monk type boldness. The Venerable Thich Quang Duc is today venerated in Vietnam as a bodhisattva, a being who has reached Enlightenment but wilfully chooses not to continue further to Nirvana in order to help other people out of compassion. A bodhisattva is something like a holy saint but on another level.
The huge bronze statue was completed in 2010 & is 6.3m tall and stands at the busy intersection of Cach Mang Thang Tam and Nguyen Dinh Chieu streets where the self-immolation took place. Behind the statue is a 16m long, 3m high bas-relief depicting South Vietnamese troops in US Army gear beating down on women & children while patriotic communist soldiers are shown being kind to peasants. Notice how America is not directly targeted as the enemy here, it might have something to do with the several hundreds of millions of dollars of ‘aid’ money the US gives the Vietnamese government each year. The style is a mix of Soviet-realism, the helmeted square-jawed friendly soldiers & cartoon manga that adds that hint of Asian features. Interestingly, the Venerable Thich Quang Duc’s face & body are not in this Soviet-realism style that the government is known for but rather more true to the famous photograph by Malcom Browne.
It is surrounded by trees and a pond with lotus flowers. The waft of incense sticks hang in the air which are freely available at the altar, visitors are welcomed to light a few & pay their respects to a man that even Rage Against The Machine give props to.
The expression on Thich Quang Duc’s face is one of quiet concentration. An amazing photograph, overwhelmingly shocking yet powerful.
President John F Kennedy said “no news picture in history has generated so much emotion around the world as that one”. Malcolm Browne, the Associated Press photographer won a Pulitzer Prize for this picture in 1963.
Thich Quang Duc’s selfless act was sparked by the police brutality & government corruption in South Vietnam during the Vietnam War. In 1962 he decided to make a lone solitary statement without words. He drove to the city in front of the Cambodian Embassy, parked his car in the middle of the road, poured petrol over himself & set himself alight with a match. The whole world turned its attention while the solitary monk acted alone without a single cry in pain, Shaolin-monk type boldness. The Venerable Thich Quang Duc is today venerated in Vietnam as a bodhisattva, a being who has reached Enlightenment but wilfully chooses not to continue further to Nirvana in order to help other people out of compassion. A bodhisattva is something like a holy saint but on another level.
The huge bronze statue was completed in 2010 & is 6.3m tall and stands at the busy intersection of Cach Mang Thang Tam and Nguyen Dinh Chieu streets where the self-immolation took place. Behind the statue is a 16m long, 3m high bas-relief depicting South Vietnamese troops in US Army gear beating down on women & children while patriotic communist soldiers are shown being kind to peasants. Notice how America is not directly targeted as the enemy here, it might have something to do with the several hundreds of millions of dollars of ‘aid’ money the US gives the Vietnamese government each year. The style is a mix of Soviet-realism, the helmeted square-jawed friendly soldiers & cartoon manga that adds that hint of Asian features. Interestingly, the Venerable Thich Quang Duc’s face & body are not in this Soviet-realism style that the government is known for but rather more true to the famous photograph by Malcom Browne.
It is surrounded by trees and a pond with lotus flowers. The waft of incense sticks hang in the air which are freely available at the altar, visitors are welcomed to light a few & pay their respects to a man that even Rage Against The Machine give props to.
Written March 16, 2014
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Rob Nesbit
Warsaw, Poland4,542 contributions
Apr 2023
An iconic figure from the Vietnam war, the "burning priest" who set himself on fire in protest on how the South Vietnamese government were treating Buddhists in the country.
I know it from the RATM album cover, but still someone to be respected.
A serene place at the intersection to where the event took place all those years ago. Very well kept and worth a look.
I know it from the RATM album cover, but still someone to be respected.
A serene place at the intersection to where the event took place all those years ago. Very well kept and worth a look.
Written April 29, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
jonwick
Hemel HEMPSTEAD11 contributions
Feb 2020
Stopped to look at the on my Vintage Vespa Tour, I am old enough to remember the incident being commemorated here. A beautiful modern Buddha.
Written February 19, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Koen V
Romanshorn, Switzerland1,556 contributions
Jan 2020
After 7 years I wanted to see this amazing Monument again...every time again I am amazed about what happened that day in 1969...
Written February 5, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Marc B
Linz, Austria15 contributions
Oct 2018 • Solo
Awesome monument. And the backstory really makes you think. But the Tripadvisor location is wrong, its pretty close to the War Remnants Museum.
Written October 24, 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
RMonsta
Seminyak, Indonesia109 contributions
Aug 2018 • Couples
I found it very difficult to be there in front of the memorial. its a very moving experience and really made me appreciate life in general. I an very interested about budism and this just highlights some of the lengths that people will go to to make a difference in the world.
Written October 7, 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
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