Nhất Chi Mai (February 20, 1934 – May 16, 1967), bornPhan Thị Mai and legally namedThích nữ Diệu Huỳnh, was a Buddhist nun who killed herself in an act ofself-immolation in Saigon on May 16, 1967, in protest at theVietnam War.
Nhat was born on February 20, 1934, in the Thai Hiep Thanh commune in the province ofTay Ninh. In 1956 she graduated from the National Teacher's School. In 1964 she graduated from theUniversity of Saigon Faculty of Letters, and in 1966 she graduated from theVan Hanh Buddhist University.[1]
She became an elementary school teacher atTan Dinh in Saigon after graduation. While in Saigon, she actively participated in the group "Youth Serving Society" and taught within various orphanages.[2] During this time she was a student ofThich Nhat Hanh and was deeply influenced by his vision ofEngaged Buddhism.[3]
Along with SisterChan Khong she was one of the first six lay people ordained in Nhat Hanh's Buddhist order, theOrder of Interbeing in February 1966.[4]
On May 16, 1967, at 7:20 a.m., in District 10 of Saigon/Ho Chi Minh City in front of the Tu Nghiem Pagoda, Nhat Chi Mai set herself on fire using a petrol accelerant. She was 33 years old when she died from her burns. Prior to herself-immolation she wrote ten messages outlining her anti-war beliefs and calling for an end to the Vietnam War.[5]