On another forum, someone posted a video of a Buddhist Monk setting himself on fire in protest of something. Why would this person choose such a death? Isn't suicide considered taboo in Buddhism? Can someone explain this to me please?

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"Philosophy is a walk on a slippery rock
Religion is a smile on a dog."

The only incident I am aware of is the one that happened in Vietnam during the American war there and it was done to show the extreme problem that was occurring there to the media and thereby garner world opinion via the media display. I haven't read up on it though and don't want to just put forward conjecture, but the media exposure was a factor, and things have to be pretty bad before they start doing that.

His heart remained, even after his self-immolation and his final cremation. It is preserved in a Pagoda in Ho Chi Minh City; he is revered as a bodhisatva for his act of compassion.

He was protesting against the frequently violent suppression of Buddhists by the Diem government. (Diem was a Roman Catholic, and favoured the Roman Catholic minority in South Vietnam, as well as being personally corrupt). The Buddhists were, in the main, opposed to the war against the North, and wanted a peaceful solution.

He immolated himself at rush hour, in front of hundreds of on-lookers. He never uttered a sound as he burned, but remained totally composed and in the lotus position until he fell in death.

He wrote a letter explaining his action. It is called the "Letter of Heart's Blood." I have not been able to locate an English translation.

His example inspired Norman Morrison, a Quaker and anti-war activist, to burn himself to death in the same manner on the steps of the Pentagon about 18 months later.

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Grassaf, Eolas

I don't know what to say. I am in awe of his dedication to bringing peace to the world.

Thank you. I understand this slightly better now. Maybe it is my Catholic upbringing and thier stance on suicide that won't allow me to fully understand it, but I don't think I will ever fully understand it.

EP, if you find an English translation of his letter, please post it. I would love to read it. Thank you.

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"Philosophy is a walk on a slippery rock
Religion is a smile on a dog."

...emulated Thic Quang Duc, a week or two later, I think, in front of the U.N. He belonged to the Catholic Worker movement -- Roger Allen LaPorte.

I use Thic Quang Duc as an example of Buddhist Compassion when I teach World Religions. My students -- even the Buddhist ones -- often struggle to understand the act as well.

"Greater love hath no man but this; he lay down his life for his friends" It isn't totally foreign to Christianity, but it is a very unusual position.

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Grassaf, Eolas

I have to admit that the people you are introducing me to are much more dedicated to a cause than I am. I could not set myself on fire, and die a horrific death for an ideal. I start thinking about that, and my mind immediately goes to my children, and what would happen to them.

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"Philosophy is a walk on a slippery rock
Religion is a smile on a dog."

...Thic Quang Duc did this when he was an elderly man, having spent his life in meditation and teaching. Morrison was much younger, and had three children, as I recall; I have often wondered what happened to them, and how they feel about their father's act.

I think that, except for truly exception people, most of us take a much more moderate approach to our causes. I do not think that is bad; I do not even think that it is necessarily less heroic -- believing something, living it, for years and years even though much less spectacular, can require great reserves of self-discipline and courage.

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Grassaf, Eolas