The Story Behind The Infamous Burning Monk Photograph (GRAPHIC)
Why did he do it?
On June 11th, 1963, a handful of journalists in Saigon showed up on a street corner near the Cambodian embassy. The day before, a missive had gone out, informing interested journalists that something important was going to happen. One of the men who appeared on the scene was the journalist Malcolm Browne, who was about to witness one of the most horrific acts of the era.
Sitting in the street was a bonze with a second bonze behind him. As the journalists assembled around the Buddhists, the man standing doused the sitting man in ten gallons of gasoline. The bonze was thorough in his attempt to coat every inch of the other man. The man sitting, now soaked in gasoline, was Thích Quảng Đức.
Thích Quảng Đức struck the match that would kill him. The flame quickly spread and engulfed him. He sat silently as his body burned. He did not cry out, and he did not flinch. Malcolm Browne took out his camera and started photographing the scene.
The result was a picture that would go on to win the World Press Photo of the Year for 1963.
Many people have seen this image, but few people understand the meaning behind it. Why did Thích Quảng Đức burn himself on a Saigon street corner? Most people believe that it had something…
