"Self immolation by Buddhist activists in Viet Nam was a life saving personal sacrifice, not mere self-destruction as with typical suicide."


Re: Paganism and Suicide : the classical Buddhist teaching
Wed, January 23, 2008 - 4:29 PM

Re Ike on Modern Paganism:
"Right... if Buddhist teaching makes it emphatically clear, it makes me wonder how they feel about the guys who immolated themselves in protest during the Vietnam war..."

This is a completely valid criticism. I am aware of the specific situation. It happened in South Viet Nam, in about 1964.

These seven men and women deliberately immolated themselves, and they did so to protest the police state under the Dictator Diem.

The Diem regime had rounded up more than eight hundred Buddhist monks as subversives. The monks were all going to be killed.

This desperation move was done as a sacrifice to save the lives of many more. Although technically this does come under the heading of self-murder, it was done with the intent to save many hundreds of lives, with profound spiritual discipline and meditative awareness. This is quite different than a purely self-destructive act. It was bartering one's own life to save many lives.

The self-immolations were successful. World opinion was triggered, in France and so forth. The eight hundred monks were freed, and soon after the Diem regime completely collapsed.

It is a great lesson to us all. A handful of really great Buddhist practitioners or compassionate people can accomplish what an army of ordinary and unevolved people cannot.

As a noble and most painful self-sacrificing act, this is greatly meritorious in the sense of protecting the Buddhist community, and also more generally in terms of saving human life. As a an act of great compassion, the result is incredibly positive, not spiritually self-destructive.

Please note that this kind of desperation move is not recommended. Do not try this at home.

Note also that those who claim a religious authorization to commit mass murder of innocents as human bombs do go straight to hell, because that is what they chose. The presumed "creator god" cannot save these psychopaths from their own karma.

Thus it is karma and intention that rule, not religious belief systems.

Everyone makes their own destiny, for good or for evil. Think carefully on this and choose well.

And thanks for allowing me to honor those who have gone before, and who are by the examples of their own lives so much better at teaching the Law, so much better at helping others, than I am. I am simply bearing witness to really good practitioners.

As Lady Diana said,
"I am a humanitarian. I always have been. I always will be."

All Our Relations. Sarva mangalam.

In partial fulfillment of mahayana teacher vows,

K T, inner medical tantrika and dagger priest.