The image of monks and nuns burning themselves in protest in Tibet is reminiscent of the Vietnamese monk Thich Quang Due’s self-immolation in 1963.
Fellow monk and countryman Thich Nhat Hanh wrote a few years after the incident, “The Vietnamese monk, by burning himself, says with all his strength and determination that he can endure the greatest of suffering to protect his people. What he really aims at is the expression of his will and determination, not death. To express will by burning oneself, therefore, is not to commit an act of destruction but to perform an act of construction, that is to suffer and to die for the sake of one’s people.”
I believe with this new form of protest we are seeing in Tibet, these monks and nuns are asserting their desperate voice with hope that their personal suffering may benefit their fellow countrymen and women. It is a sacrifice for others’ benefit, this much is clear.
Fellow monk and countryman Thich Nhat Hanh wrote a few years after the incident, “The Vietnamese monk, by burning himself, says with all his strength and determination that he can endure the greatest of suffering to protect his people. What he really aims at is the expression of his will and determination, not death. To express will by burning oneself, therefore, is not to commit an act of destruction but to perform an act of construction, that is to suffer and to die for the sake of one’s people.”
I believe with this new form of protest we are seeing in Tibet, these monks and nuns are asserting their desperate voice with hope that their personal suffering may benefit their fellow countrymen and women. It is a sacrifice for others’ benefit, this much is clear.