Throughout Vietnamese history, these acts of violence towards oneself were considered mysterious and exotic. "To those who knew Vietnamese history, Quang Duc's [the Buddhist who set fire to himself] death recalled the suicide of the great mandarins who could not reconcile their loyalty to the Emperor with their obedience to the will of Heaven." (Fire in the Lake, 179) However, even though Quang Duc's suicide recalled part of Vietnam's Buddhist history, the historical deaths were recalled as "quiet, gentlemanly suicides that indicated resignation and inability to resolve a fundamental conflict...." (Fire in the Lake, 179) Quang Duc's suicide was considered, "an advertisement of the intolerable gap between morality and the reality of the Diem regime." (Fire in the Lake, 179)
The Buddhist civilization in Vietnam, was not apparent to the Americans until the Buddhists began immolating themselves in Saigon's public streets to protest the Diem regime. In Vietnam, both schools of thought, Mahayana and Theravada worked together to end the violence that had separated and devastated Vietnam. The Unified Buddhist Church led historic marches and protests against the violence of the war promoting an "Third Way" of ending the war, a "neutral Vietnam which would cherish its own cultural identity" (1967Programme of the Buddhist Socialist Bloc )
The first act of fiery protest occurred on May 16, 1967 when a young Buddhist named Nhat Chi Mai made herself "a torch in the dark night" (The Social Face of Buddhism, Jones). After this first demonstration of protest and passion a rare coordinated efforts between the Buddhist and Catholic community took place to publish her poems and writings.
Later, in an even more public demonstration of protest Monk Quang Duc's sacrifice caught many off guard and confused many, it sent a message out to both sides of the war. The image of his immolation is one of the most lasting of the war, and one that symbolizes the intense passion of the Buddhists involved.
By taking the pose of Buddha, Quang Duc was indicating to both Vietnamese and Americans a morality and a responsibility for others that lay beyond the divisions of political systems and culture. To the Vietnamese his self immolation was a call first to reconciliation and then to rebellion. (Fire in the Lake, 179)
Students of Hue and Saigon, along with many Catholics became Buddhists. "They burst rough the 'net ropes' of Confucian authoritarianism that had paralyzed them with fear and suspicion of one another, and they became for the moment equals." (Fire in the Lake, 179) "...Society is breaking out from its untenable pyramid of superiors and inferiors [which is brought on by Confucianism] to become a brotherhood of trust." ( Fire in theLake,180) The city again joined together when Diem and Nhu were assassinated.
Buddhist social activism did not begin with protests against the conflict itself, but also included social organizing that reached out the poor and decimated. "From the two radical Buddhists of Van Hanh University and the School of Youth for Social Service young people went into the country to work alongside the peasants on rural development projects, and a number of unions and other organizations were formed which also embraced urban workers, women, youth, and students. Extensive anti-war literature flourished, of poetry, satire, song and prayer." (Jones, 261)
Thich Nhat Hanh, one of the keyanti-war organizers emphasized that "the struggle of the Vietnamese people is not only for peach and independence. The struggle of the Vietnamese people is to remain Vietnamese"