[Buddha-l] Re: Self-inmolation in the Buddhist tradition

[curt]

One thing to take into account, for those who are sufficiently cynical, 
is that Vietnam's Buddhist establishment (or at least some part of it) 
was at the time desperately trying to be a "player" in determining the 
future of Vietnam (or at least some part of it). They were in danger of 
being sidelined by the military conflict between the supporters of the 
NLF, on the one hand, and those supported by the United States, on the 
other hand - and in the end they were in fact completely sidelined. I 
recently picked up Nguen Cao Ky's autobiography, modestly entitled 
"Buddha's Child", in the bargain bin at a bookstore. He claims to have 
been part of "Buddhist/Nationalist" political movement devoted to 
"saving Vietnam" (the subtitle of the book is "My Fight to Save 
Vietnam"). But I haven't had the time (or the stomach) to do more than 
just skim through it.

I think that when dealing with self-immolation, as well as other less 
extreme practices, like hacking off or burning off fingers or arms or 
one's penis, that a certain amount of skepticism at the very least 
should be brought to bear. It is a well known fact that mentally 
unstable people are attracted to religion, and so any discussion of 
these kinds of practices should, in my opinion, steer clear of any 
assumption that setting oneself on fire is a good thing. Perhaps under 
some extraordinary circumstances it might serve some purpose - but I 
would prefer to put forward the "position" that one should assume that 
anyone who would do such a thing is just plain crazy. People who are 
genuinely driven by pure spiritual motives will not be in any way 
affected by such criticism.

- Curt

Richard P. Hayes wrote:

>On Tue, 2005-10-11 at 19:42 +0200, Benito Carral wrote:
>
>  
>
>>   Does  anyone know any study about self-inmolation in
>>the   Buddhist   tradition? 
>>    
>>
>
>A good place to start is Thich Nhat Hanh's book, Lotus in a Sea of Fire.
>It is his attempt to explain to a shocked world why one of Vietnam's
>most highly respected monks, know for his insight and compassion, set
>himself on fire in the streets of Saigon in front of cameras that
>broadcast the scene into every living room in the world. It's a powerful
>and informative read.
>
>  
>