Thích Quảng Độ facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Thích Quảng Độ
Religion	Buddhism
School	Thiền
Personal
Nationality	Vietnamese
Born	27 November 1928 Thành Châu, Thái Bình Province, French Indochina
Died	22 February 2020(2020-02-22) (aged 91) Hồ Chí Minh City, Vietnam
Senior posting
Title	Tăng Thống (Patriarch)
Predecessor	Thích Huyền Quang

Thích Quảng Độ (釋廣度) was an important Buddhist monk and scholar from Vietnam. He was the leader, or "patriarch," of the Unified Buddhist Church of Vietnam (UBCV) from 2008 until he passed away.

From a young age, Thích Quảng Độ was involved in speaking up for what he believed was right. He first spoke out against unfair rules made by the Catholic President of South Vietnam, Ngô Đình Diệm, which were against Buddhists.

After the fall of Saigon, the UBCV was not allowed by the new government. Thích Quảng Độ was a senior monk and bravely stood up to the government. He refused to join a new Buddhist church that the government controlled. Because of his strong beliefs and his calls for more freedom and different political parties, he was held by the government many times during his life.

He was also a university teacher of Buddhism. He translated many important Buddhist texts and wrote books, including a huge nine-volume Buddhist encyclopedia. He also created a two-volume dictionary between Vietnamese and Sino-Vietnamese.

In 2002, he received the Homo Homini Award for his work in human rights. He shared this award with Thích Huyền Quang and Thadeus Nguyễn Văn Lý. He also won the Thorolf Rafto Memorial Prize and was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize.

Life of a Monk and Scholar

Thích Quảng Độ was born as Đặng Phúc Tuệ in Thanh Chau village, Thái Bình Province, in northern Vietnam. He became a monk when he was 14 years old.

During a terrible famine in 1945, he walked for two days to help his older brother who was very sick from not having enough food. He cared for him until he was healthy again. When he was 17, he saw his religious teacher, Thích Đức Hải, executed by a revolutionary court. This event deeply affected him. In 1994, he wrote that he then promised to fight against unfairness and work for justice using Buddhist teachings of peace.

In the 1950s, Thích Quảng Độ traveled to India, Sri Lanka, and other parts of Asia. He studied Buddhism further and taught at different universities for seven years. After this, he returned to Saigon in South Vietnam to teach Buddhism. He was a professor at Van Hanh Buddhist University and Saigon University in the 1960s and 1970s. He translated many Buddhist books into Vietnamese and wrote textbooks. He also helped create a large nine-volume Buddhist encyclopedia in Vietnamese.

Standing Up for Beliefs

As a leader in the UBCV, Thích Quảng Độ became an activist. He fought against the unfair rules of the Catholic President of South Vietnam, Ngô Đình Diệm, who was against Buddhists. After a military attack on Buddhist monasteries in 1963, Thích Quảng Độ was arrested. He and thousands of other Buddhists faced harsh treatment while in prison. He was set free when the Diem government was overthrown in November 1963. Because of his time in prison, he became sick with tuberculosis and had lung surgery in Japan in 1966.

In 1965, Thích Quảng Độ was chosen as the Secretary-General of a key part of the UBCV called the Viện Hóa Đạo.

In 1975, Vietnam came under communist rule. The UBCV was again not welcome. Their buildings were taken, and documents were burned. Thích Quảng Độ protested these actions. He tried to bring Buddhists from different areas together for peaceful opposition. Because of this, he was arrested for 'anti-revolutionary activities'. He spent 20 months alone in a small prison cell. He was released in December 1978. Later that year, he was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize.

In 1982, the Vietnamese Government created a new Buddhist church that it controlled. Thích Quảng Độ opposed this new church and was jailed again. He told other monks that they should protect the independent UBCV, even if it was struggling. He refused an offer to lead the government-backed Buddhist group. Thích Quảng Độ then spent 10 years in exile in a village. His 84-year-old mother was also sent away with him and died in 1985 due to poor care. In 1992, he returned to Saigon.

In 1995, he was arrested again. He was trying to send a message to Buddhists overseas about how the government was stopping the UBCV from helping flood victims. He was sentenced to five years in prison. Many famous people around the world, including the 14th Dalai Lama and Madeleine Albright, spoke out against this. He was released in 1998 because of international pressure. In 2000, he led monks to help people in a province, but police stopped them.

Thích Quảng Độ became the President of the UBCV's Institute for the Dissemination of the Dharma in 1999. This made him the second-highest leader in the UBCV. The government held him again but released him in 2003. In February, he wrote a public letter asking for more political parties and civil rights. He said these were "more important than economic development." In an interview, he said, "People are very afraid of the government ... Only I dare to say what I want to say. That is why they are afraid of me." He was held again in October 2003 after a UBCV meeting that was not approved. He was officially released in 2005, but he was still watched closely.

In 2008, the previous patriarch, Thich Huyen Quang, named Thích Quảng Độ as the new patriarch of the Unified Buddhist Church of Vietnam. Thích Quảng Độ held this position until he died. He promised to work hard to make the UBCV legally recognized again and keep its independence.

After 20 years, he moved back north, then returned to Saigon in 2018. The government continued to send police to bother him and limit who could visit him.

Death

Thích Quảng Độ passed away on February 22, 2020, at the age of 91. He had been dealing with health issues like diabetes and a heart condition. He asked for his ashes to be scattered in the sea.

Many people spoke about his importance. A Vietnamese writer, Điếu Cày, said his death was a "great loss" for the UBCV and for freedom in Vietnam. He called Thích Quảng Độ "one of the main pillars" of the UBCV, who stood strong against government pressure. Thích Quảng Ba, a UBCV leader in Australia, said Thích Quảng Độ's greatest gift was his "indomitable spirit," meaning he never gave up. He was seen as the "conscience" of the Vietnamese people. The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom said his death was "an incredible loss" and that he fought for religious freedom with "quiet strength and grace."

Awards and Recognition

In 2001, Thích Quảng Độ received the Hellman-Hammet Award from Human Rights Watch for writers who face persecution.

In 2003, he was honored with the Homo Homini Award for human rights activism. He shared this award with Thích Huyền Quảng and Father Nguyễn Văn Lý.

In 2006, Thích Quảng Độ was given the Thorolf Rafto Memorial Prize. This award recognized his "personal courage and perseverance" in peacefully opposing the government for three decades. He was also seen as a symbol for the growing movement for democracy. The government stopped him from attending the ceremony to receive the award.

Also in 2006, Thích Quảng Độ received the Democracy Courage Tribute from the World Movement for Democracy.

See also

In Spanish: Thích Quảng Độ para niños