Self- Immolation

What is Self-Immolation?

The act of Protest to government policies rooted in religious ties, performed by

many Tibetan monks

WHY?

In Buddhism, it is clearly stated that one should live life in accordance with the next (afterlife) Each person has the

right to his or her own free will. This includes and encourages the ability to liberate oneself from any desires,

suffering and any other hindrance from following the sacred eightfold path, thus achieving a state of all-knowing

peacefulness, Nirvana. Lately, as China is in turmoil and Tibetans are facing more and more oppression and less

and less religious and political freedom, this is a way Tibetans choose to protest these newly instated policies

and other unlawful Chinese acts.

Right or Wrong?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j7MyCWJkohU

With a recent spike in self-immolation, many are concerned weather or not this practice is morally right or just plane wrong. So; which one is it? It is hard for a predominately Christian western society to understand the views and practices of and ancient eastern religion. This clouds many peoples’ judgment and hinders their viewpoint as automatically wrong. However, Buddhism prides itself on freedom and making ones own decision of fate, in the video, the Dalai Lama doesn’t support nor condemn self-immolation, yet he simply calls it “sad”. He does, however, say that in order to fully practice Buddhism, one needs to look inside yourself and make decisions based on the good of the religion.

• Clouded Judgment?

• Buddhist monks self immolating is a heinous desperate act. This could be a thought of a Christian that is unknowledgeable of the Buddhist tradition. In the view of Buddhism pain is just a way of life as told by the first noble truth. The monks who burn themselves are honored for their sacrifice rather than titled a suicidal act of desperation. The perspective of the religion is the key to understanding why people do these things. So whether it is good or bad is not up to us unless we have extensive knowledge of the group or act displayed.

•Recent occurrences

• In September 28 of 2013, Shichung a 40 year old monk self immolated resulting in death. This was in protest against the Chinese. But do the two kids he left behind think so honorably of their father?

• An 18-year old monk called Kunchok Sonam set himself on fire on July 20 and died outside his monastery in Dzoege, Ngaba, where the crackdown has been among the most intense in Tibetan areas. Kunchok Sonam was regarded as ‘exceptional’ in his studies. He had told friends that living under Chinese rule in Tibet had brought too much suffering.

• As more and more Chinese government officials are beginning to crack down on this practice and monitor Tibetan monasteries, this seemingly only fuels the fire to which these monks already have burning inside them.

• We think that there are many other effective ways to channel their disagreement through a more positive message.

• After deeper investigation of Buddhist tradition we believe that there are alternatives to burning in protest of the Chinese laws. We would propose marches and peaceful gathering. This represents their religion more accurately than self immolation.

Conclusion• As a result of our analysis we have come to the conclusion that although we

can’t say that we know what they believe is right or wrong, we, like all other people in this world have the right to our own free will. Making the right and moral decision about issues in society that make the world a better place is a constant struggle within the Buddhist religion. Ultimately it is there divine right to make the decision on how to handle an issue that they feel is holding them back from not only a better life here on earth, but for the afterlife later on. One thing is true in that there is always a positive solution to such a severe showing of disagreement to government policies and religious setbacks.

• This is a problem in todays society and we as westerners should understand and respect others’ viewpoints on how they live their lives through their religion, much like millions of Americans live our lives throughout our own religions, rituals, Ideas and practices. We should promote people to learn more about what is happening to these burning monks and understand the motives before we pass judgment on such a complex tradition.