Self-Immolation For Buddhist Rights
Source: Death And Taxes Magazine
Thích Quang Duc, seen in this photo, was a Vietnamese Mahayana Buddhist monk who burned himself to death in Saigon on June 11, 1963 in protest of the Catholic South Vietnamese government’s treatment of Buddhists. His actions would inspire other political protestors to follow suit.
Source: The Telegraph
Self-immolation describes the act of killing oneself as a sacrifice. Often used as a form of extreme political protest, at least 125 monks, nuns and Buddhist supporters have self-immolated in China since 2009 to protest China’s occupation of Tibet.
Source: The Daily Beast
Suicide is often considered a last-ditch option in any society, but to the Buddhists, this is a sacrifice that may prevent the immolated from being reincarnated. Seen here, a Tibetan monk engulfed in flames marches through the streets of New Delhi protesting the Chinese president’s visit to the country on March 26, 2012.
Source: The Daily Beast
Tibetan protestors clash with police over the occupation of their lands. Buddhist tenets require followers to be peaceful and respect all life. Not wanting to hurt any other human, they are left with self-immolation as their act of extreme protest.
Source: Irra Waddy
Tibetan supporters carry mock coffins through the streets of Beijing to mourn those who have died from self-immolation.
