Friday, May 28, 2010

Monica's Reflection on Monkey Bridge


"In 1963, in an act that stunned the world, an elderly Buddhist monk stepped clamly from a car into the street, crossed his legs in a serene lotus position, meditated hinself into a contemplative state, and watched in silence as a group of monks and nun encircled him, dousing him with gasoline and lighting him with fire" (253).
This passage had very powerful imagery for me which allowed me to form a connection betweeen the monk's sacrifice, and Thanh's sacrifice of her own life for Mai. I believe that Thanh uses the analogy of this story to convey the reasoning of her suicied not as an act of selfishness, but as an act of the ultimate sacrifice that she can give to her daughter. Thanh believes that if she ends her life, she will end the bad Karma of her family and their history as well, leaving Mai with a clean slate for a better future. Therefore, like the monk, Thanh is willing to make a sacrifice for a greater cause.

7 comments:

  1. I definitely see the connection between Thanh and the monk. Yet, they both seem to sacrifice themselves for causes that can never truly be won. The monk sacrificed his life but what did it really do? It certainly did not stop the war. In the case of Thanh, she sacrificed herself to break the karmic chain, but where does this leave Mai? Certainly their sacrifice was selfless, but we have to ponder if the outcome is any better for it.
    -Teresa

    ReplyDelete
  2. Other than the fact that both the Monk and Thanh committed suicide, I personally refuse to compare the two cases to each other. The Monk’s suicide was a political statement which made it a noble sacrifice, whereas in my opinion Thanh’s suicide was just selfishness with the false justification of sacrifice. I think Thanh’s justification to her suicide is a false justification because it really accomplished nothing for Mai at all. Her death was supposedly going to end the bad karma, but nobody even took into account whether or not Mai believes in karma. All it did was add another trauma to an already traumatized person. Mai has been utterly abandoned by her mother, Thanh’s suicide is basically a statement which says “I would rather kill myself than make the extra effort it would take to connect with you,” I think she took the cowards way out. I kind of also get the feeling that Mai feels the same way because she seems to get over her mother’s suicide kind of fast.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Response to Monica's blogpost--after Teresa and David's comment:
    It's hard to approach either case being outside of the cultural context for both (speaking for myself). I find that there is that idea of suicide being the ultimate sacrifice for both--as I'm sure the monks made no actions purely to make a political statement void of any spiritual or cultural reason. For Thanh to commit suicide in order to clear the bad kharma was the only way in which she was born to believed to work for the situation her family was in. It's easy to say she was a "coward" or took the "quick way out" especially from the stand point of a 3rd person completely separate from the spiritual or emotional attachment made between a person and their foreign cultural beliefs, but to think of it in a manner including the cultural or spiritual context of both cases would provide support to Teresa's and Monica's assertions.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Thanh's suicide as a means of saving Mai from bad karma is not really convincing to me. I don't have a thorough knowledge of how karma is supposed to work in Vietnamese culture, but I'm under the impression that suicide in and of itself would do nothing to break the karmic chain. If anything it would be a negative act and only add to the bad family karma. It seems likely to me that Thanh was depressed or unstable and looking for a way to justify her suicide. The monk's suicide on the other hand seems like a more deliberate, rational act.

    ReplyDelete
  5. First of all I want to say I really liked your drawing. Second I agree with Matthew it is really odd how Thanh believed her suicide would break the bad karma. Suicide alone has such negative connotations because it is a selfish and reckless decision. Even though Thanh did it for the benefit of Mai ultimately it just added to her loneliness. Mai was left unattended because her family ceased to exist. Thanh's death brought no change or enlightenment.The truth behind Thanh's death is that she couldn't cope with life and was a searching for a way to get rid of the haunting memories that oppressed her.

    -Elaine

    ReplyDelete
  6. I think it was very insightful for you to make the connection between the burning monk and Thanh’s suicide. Yes, they were both shocking accounts and proved that each person was truly passionate about what they believed in. Your picture, in its simplicity, really helps emphasize the monks solace and peace with his actions, just like Thanh's. Her strong belief in karma led her to feel alone, one because her daughter did not believe, and two because she was in a world that did not believe. Her actions showed her faith and showed her true sacrifice for her daughter's sake. A true martyr.
    -Yadira

    ReplyDelete
  7. Wow. This quote gives such a vivid image of one's selfless desire. It really is amazing to understand the dedication that so many have to their beliefs. Stating this quote does suggest that Thanh's suicide is meant with the same intentions. However, considering that suicide is also often thought of as a selfish act, her intentions (i.e. offering "freedom" to Mai) could have backfired. The death of Mai's mother, could have been an incredible challenge for her. Luckily though, Mai felt as if she were "revived" in return for her mother's death. Even though Thanh was no longer on the earth, she was now a part of Mai's soul. This transformation-("rushing backwards into the folds of [her] mother's womb" pg. 259) was what proved to be a successful attempt for Thanh as she regained her connection to her daughter.

    ReplyDelete