Xa Loi Pagoda

Famed as the repository of a sacred relic of the Buddha, Xa Loi Pagoda was built in 1956. In August 1963 truckloads of armed men under the command of President Ngo Dinh Diem’s brother, Ngo Dinh Nhu, attacked Xa Loi Pagoda, which had become a centre of opposition towards the Diem government. The pagoda was ransacked and 400 monks and nuns, including the country’s 80-year-old Buddhist patriarch, were arrested. This raid and others elsewhere helped solidify opposition among Buddhists to the regime, a crucial factor in the US decision to support the coup against Diem. This pagoda was also the site of several self-immolations by monks protesting against the Diem regime and the American War.