Currently studying early Popes of the Catholic church, (Hygenius, Pius I, etc.) and the significance of martyrdom. From early figures like St. Elmo, to more recent acts such as the Buddhist monk Thích Quảng Đức’s self-immolation during the Vietnam War. It’s eerie and almost beautiful, the way the monk keeps perfectly calm as the volatile flames consume him. I’m in awe of the way that he is able to separate the intense pain from his mind as he majestically returned to his eternal home. (See figs. 1-3) Miraculously, his heart remained intact, and is still venerated to this day as a sacred artifact. It is such a moving and intense condemnation against the persecution of Buddhists under the Roman Catholic regime in South Vietnam at the time. After him, Other monks followed in his footsteps, calmly assuming a lotus position, dousing themselves in gasoline, and dropping a match. Ask yourself: