By 6 a.m., a crowd of 50,000 Buddhist faithful had gathered for the sunrise service on the banks of the Saigon River. Packed shoulder to shoulder under a 120-ft.-high pylon put up with the help of army engineers, they were led in prayer by shaven-headed monks while a girls' choir sang hymns. Then down from a candle-laden altar was handed a glass case containing a small blackened object identified as the preserved heart of Thich Quang Duc, the first monk to burn himself alive during last year's Buddhist demonstrations.
The relic was placed on the lead float of a...
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