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Self-immolation is the act of setting oneself on fire. It is mostly done for political or religious reasons, often as a form of protest or in acts of martyrdom. Due to its disturbing and violent nature, it is considered one of the most extreme methods of protest. [1]
The English word immolation originally meant (1534) "killing a sacrificial victim; sacrifice" and came to figuratively mean (1690) "destruction, especially by fire". Its etymology was from Latin immolare "to sprinkle with sacrificial meal (mola salsa); to sacrifice" in ancient Roman religion. [2] [3] In the Mewar region of India, women practiced a form of self-immolation called Jauhar to avoid being raped by invading armies.[ citation needed ]
Self-immolators frequently use accelerants before igniting themselves. This, combined with the self-immolators' refusal to protect themselves, can produce hotter flames and deeper, more extensive burns. [4] Self-immolation has been described as excruciatingly painful. Later the burns become severe, nerves are burnt and the self-immolator loses sensation at the burnt areas. Some self-immolators can die during the act from inhalation of toxic combustion products, hot air, and flames. [5]
The human body has an inflammatory response to burnt skin, which happens after 25% is burnt in adults. This response leads to blood and body fluid loss. If the self-immolator is not taken to a burn centre in less than four hours, they are more likely to die from shock. If no more than 80% of their body area is burnt and the self-immolator is younger than 40 years old, there is a survival chance of 50%. If the self-immolator has over 80% burns, the survival rate drops to 20%. [6]
Self-immolation is tolerated by some elements of Mahayana Buddhism and Hinduism, and it has been practiced for many centuries, especially in India, for various reasons, including jauhar , political protest, devotion, and renouncement. An example from mythology includes the practice of Sati when the Hindu goddess Parvati's incarnation of the same name (see also Daksayani) legendarily set herself on fire after her father insulted her in Daksha Yajna for having married Shiva, the ascetic god. Shiva, Parvati and their army of ghosts attacked Daksha's Yajna and destroyed the sacrifice, and Shiva beheaded and killed Daksha. Later, Daksha was revived by Shiva and Daksha Yajna was completed when Daksha apologized. Certain warrior cultures, such as those of the Charans and Rajputs, also practiced self-immolation.[ citation needed ]
There are several well-known examples from antiquity to modern times. Kalanos, also spelled Calanus (Ancient Greek : Καλανὸς) [7] (c. 398 – 323 BCE), was an ancient Indian gymnosophist, [8] [9] [10] [11] and philosopher from Taxila [12] who accompanied Alexander the Great to Persis and later, after falling ill, self-immolated by entering into a pyre, in front of Alexander and his army. Diodorus Siculus called him Caranus (Ancient Greek : Κάρανος). [13]
Zarmanochegas was a monk of the Sramana tradition (possibly, but not necessarily a Buddhist) who, according to ancient historians such as Strabo and Dio Cassius, met Nicholas of Damascus in Antioch around 22 BC and burnt himself to death in Athens shortly thereafter. [14] [15]
The monk Fayu (Chinese :法羽) (d. 396) carried out the earliest recorded Chinese self-immolation. [16] He first informed the "illegitimate" prince Yao Xu (Chinese :姚緒)—brother of Yao Chang who founded the non-Chinese Qiang state Later Qin (384–417)—that he intended to burn himself alive. Yao tried to dissuade Fayu, but he publicly swallowed incense chips, wrapped his body in oiled cloth, and chanted while setting fire to himself. The religious and lay witnesses were described as being "full of grief and admiration".
Following Fayu's example, many Buddhist monks and nuns have used self-immolation for political purposes. While some monks did offer their bodies in periods of relative prosperity and peace, there is a "marked coincidence" between acts of self-immolation and times of crisis, especially when secular powers were hostile towards Buddhism. [17] For example, Daoxuan's (c. 667) Xu Gaoseng Zhuan (Chinese :續高僧傳; lit.'Continued Biographies of Eminent Monks') records five monastics who self-immolated on the Zhongnan Mountains in response to the 574–577 persecution of Buddhism by Emperor Wu of Northern Zhou (known as the "Second Disaster of Wu"). [18]
For many monks and laypeople in Chinese history, self-immolation was a form of Buddhist practice that modeled and expressed a particular path that led towards Buddhahood. [17]
Historian Jimmy Yu has stated that self-immolation cannot be interpreted based on Buddhist doctrine and beliefs alone but the practice must be understood in the larger context of the Chinese religious landscape. He examines many primary sources from the 16th and 17th century and demonstrates that bodily practices of self-harm, including self-immolation, were ritually performed not only by Buddhists but also by Daoists and literati officials who either exposed their naked body to the sun in a prolonged period of time as a form of self-sacrifice or burned themselves as a method of procuring rain. [19]
During the Great Schism of the Russian Church, entire villages of Old Believers burned themselves to death in an act known as "fire baptism" (self-burners: samosozhigateli). [20] A 1973 study by a prison doctor suggested that people who choose self-immolation as a form of suicide are more likely to be in a "disturbed state of consciousness", such as epilepsy. [21]
Regarding self-immolation as a form of political protest, the 14th Dalai Lama said in 2013 and 2015:
I think the self-burning itself [is a] practice of non-violence. These people, you see, they [could instead] easily use bomb explosive, [causing more casualties]. But they didn't do that. Only sacrifice their own life. So this also is part of practice of non-violence. [22] [23]
Self-immolations are often public and political statements that are often reported by the news media. They can be seen by others as a type of altruistic suicide for a collective cause, and are not intended to inflict physical harm on others or cause material damage. [24]
The Buddhist crisis in South Vietnam saw the persecution of the country's majority religion under the administration of Catholic president Ngô Đình Diệm. Several Buddhist monks, including the most famous case of Thích Quảng Đức, immolated themselves in protest.[ citation needed ]
The example set by self-immolators in the mid 20th century sparked similar acts between 1963 and 1971, most of which occurred in Asia and the United States in conjunction with protests opposing the Vietnam War. Researchers counted almost 1000 self-immolations covered by The New York Times and The Times . [25]
On November 2, 1965, Norman Morrison, an anti-war activist, doused himself in kerosene and set himself on fire below the office of Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara at the Pentagon, to protest United States involvement in the Vietnam War. [26]
In 1968, the practice spread to the Soviet bloc with the self-immolation of Polish accountant and Armia Krajowa veteran Ryszard Siwiec, as well as those of two Czech students, Jan Palach and Jan Zajíc, and of toolmaker Evžen Plocek, in protest against the Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia.
In 1972, Romas Kalanta, a 19-year-old Lithuanian student self-immolated to protest against the Soviet regime in Lithuania, sparking the 1972 unrest in Lithuania; another 13 people self-immolated in that same year. [27]
In 1978, Ukrainian dissident and former political prisoner Oleksa Hirnyk burnt himself near the tomb of the Ukrainian poet Taras Shevchenko protesting against the russification of Ukraine under Soviet rule. On 2 March 1989, Liviu Cornel Babeș set himself on fire on the Bradu ski slope at Poiana Brașov as a sign of protest against the communist regime.[ citation needed ]
In India, as many as 1,451 and 1,584 self-immolations were reported in 2000 and 2001, respectively. [28] A particularly high wave of self-immolation was recorded during the Mandal Commission protests of 1990 against the caste-based system of reservation. [24] Tamil Nadu has the highest number of self-immolators in India to date, although not all of them were politically motivated. [29] Tamils in Indian and Sri Lanka have protested against the imposition of the Hindi language, the assassination of Indira Gandhi, and their mistreatment by the Sri Lankan government. [30] [31] [32]
As of June 2022, there had been 161 confirmed self-immolations in Tibet and ten others made in solidarity outside of Tibet. [33] [34] [35] The 14th Dalai Lama placed the blame on "cultural genocide" by the Chinese. [36] The Chinese government blamed the Dalai Lama and his supporters for inciting these acts. [37] Several Tibetan scholars criticized the Dalai Lama for not speaking more strongly against self-immolations. In 2013, the Dalai Lama questioned the effectiveness of self-immolations but said they are caused by Beijing. The United States called on both sides to moderate their stance. [38]
A wave of self-immolation suicides occurred in conjunction with the Arab Spring protests in the Middle East and North Africa, with at least 14 recorded incidents. The 2010–2011 Tunisian revolution was sparked by the self-immolation of Mohamed Bouazizi. [39] Other cases followed during the 2011 Algerian protests and the 2011 Egyptian revolution. [40] [41]
On 1 December 2023, a protester self-immolated in front of the Israeli consulate in Atlanta while draped in a Palestinian flag in response to the Israel–Hamas war. [42]
On 25 February 2024, Aaron Bushnell, [43] an active-duty U.S. Air Force service member, self-immolated outside the Israeli Embassy in Washington, D.C., in protest against the United States' ongoing support for Israel. He lit himself on fire while shouting "Free Palestine". [44] [45] It was filmed and livestreamed on Twitch. [46] Bushnell died of his injuries on 26 February. [47]
On 11 September 2024, a man named Matt Nelson self-immolated outside the Israeli consulate and the Four Seasons hotel in Boston, Massachusetts in protest of the United States' ongoing support for Israel. He recorded a video urging the United States government to stop sending weapons to Israel. [48]
On October 5, 2024, a photojournalist named Samuel Mena Jr attempted to self-immolate in front of the White House in Washington DC at a pro-Palestinian protest. He survived with burn injuries to his arm and was taken to a hospital. [49]
Other cases of self-immolation:
Dalai Lama is a title given by Altan Khan, the first Shunyi King of Ming China. He offered it in appreciation to the leader of the Gelug school of Tibetan Buddhism, Sonam Gyatso, who received it in 1578 at Yanghua Monastery. At that time, Sonam Gyatso had just given teachings to the Khan, and so the title of Dalai Lama was also given to the entire tulku lineage. Sonam Gyatso became the 3rd Dalai Lama, while the first two tulkus in the lineage, the 1st Dalai Lama and the 2nd Dalai Lama, were posthumously awarded the title.
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The Dorje Shugden controversy is a controversy over Dorje Shugden, also known as Dolgyal, whom some consider to be one of several protectors of the Gelug school, the school of Tibetan Buddhism to which the Dalai Lamas belong. Dorje Shugden has become the symbolic focal point of a conflict over the "purity" of the Gelug school and the inclusion of non-Gelug teachings, especially Nyingma ones.
The national flag of Tibet (བོད་ཀྱི་རྒྱལ་དར།), also unofficially known as the Snow Lion Flag, depicts a white snow-covered mountain, a yellow sun with red and blue rays emanating from it, two Tibetan snow lions, a multi-coloured jewel representing Buddhist values, a taijitu and a yellow border around three of its four sides. The flag was used as the national flag of the independent country of Tibet from 1916 until 1951, when Tibet was annexed by the People's Republic of China. It was adopted by the 13th Dalai Lama in 1916 and used in Tibet until the Tibetan uprising of 1959, after which the flag was outlawed in the People's Republic of China. While the Tibetan flag is illegal in Tibet today as it is governed by the PRC as the Tibet Autonomous Region, it continues to be used by the Central Tibetan Administration, the Tibetan government-in-exile based in Dharamshala in India, and by pro-Tibet groups all over the world to show support for human rights in Tibet and Tibetan independence.
Tashi Lhunpo Monastery is an historically and culturally important monastery in Shigatse, the second-largest city in Tibet. Founded in 1447 by the 1st Dalai Lama, it is the traditional monastic seat of the Panchen Lama.
Monlam, also known as The Great Prayer Festival, falls on the 4th to 11th day of the 1st Tibetan month in Tibetan Buddhism.
The 2008 Tibetan unrest, also referred to as the 2008 Tibetan uprising in Tibetan media, was a series of protests and demonstrations over the Chinese government's treatment and persecution of Tibetans. Protests in Lhasa, the capital of Tibet, by monks and nuns on 10 March have been viewed as the start of the demonstrations. Numerous protests and demonstrations were held to commemorate the 49th anniversary of the 1959 Tibetan Uprising Day, when the 14th Dalai Lama escaped from Tibet. The protests and demonstrations spread spontaneously to a number of monasteries and throughout the Tibetan plateau, including into counties located outside the designated Tibet Autonomous Region.
Tibetan Uprising Day, observed on March 10, commemorates the 1959 Tibetan uprising which began on March 10, 1959, and the Women's Uprising Day of March 12, 1959, involving thousands of women, against the presence of the People's Republic of China in Tibet.
The 14th Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso, full spiritual name: Jetsun Jamphel Ngawang Lobsang Yeshe Tenzin Gyatso, also known as Tenzin Gyatso; né Lhamo Thondup; is the incumbent Dalai Lama, the highest spiritual leader and head of Tibetan Buddhism. Before 1959, he served as both the resident spiritual and temporal leader of Tibet, and subsequently established and led the Tibetan government in exile represented by the Central Tibetan Administration in Dharamsala, India. The adherents of Tibetan Buddhism consider the Dalai Lama a living Bodhisattva, specifically an emanation of Avalokiteśvara or Chenrezig, the Bodhisattva of Compassion, a belief central to the Tibetan Buddhist tradition and the institution of the Dalai Lama. The Dalai Lama, whose name means Ocean of Wisdom, is known to Tibetans as Gyalwa Rinpoche, The Precious Jewel-like Buddha-Master, Kundun, The Presence, and Yizhin Norbu, The Wish-Fulfilling Gem. His devotees, as well as much of the Western world, often call him His Holiness the Dalai Lama, the style employed on his website. He is also the leader and a monk of the Gelug school, the newest school of Tibetan Buddhism, formally headed by the Ganden Tripa.
The 2008 Tibetan unrest was a series of protests and demonstrations met by excessive force, focused on the persecution of Tibetans, in the buildup to the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. There was a mixture of outrage and understanding from leading figures abroad.
Human rights in Tibet has been a subject of intense international scrutiny and debate, particularly since the annexation of Tibet by the People's Republic of China. Before the 1950s, Tibet's social structure was marked by inequality and described as a caste-like system or, controversially, as serfdom. Severe punishments, including permanent mutilations of body parts, were common, although capital punishment was banned in 1913. Muslim warlord Ma Bufang caused widespread destruction and deaths in Amdo which is northeast of Central Tibet.
Altruistic suicide is the sacrifice of one's life in order to save or benefit others, for the good of the group, or to preserve the traditions and honor of a society. It is always intentional. Benevolent suicide refers to the self-sacrifice of one's own life for the sake of the greater good. Such a sacrifice may be performed for the sake of executing a particular action, or for the sake of keeping a natural balance in the society.
The Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy (TCHRD) is a Tibetan non-governmental nonprofit human rights organization.
The Phuntsog self-immolation incident occurred when a Tibetan Buddhist monk by the name of Rigzin Phuntsog self-immolated on March 16, 2011 in Ngawa County, Ngawa Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture, Sichuan province, People's Republic of China. This was followed by another self-immolation incident on September 26, 2011. By March 2012, more than thirty other Tibetans had self-immolated as a protest against Chinese rule of Tibet.
Kirti Gompa, is a Tibetan Buddhist monastery founded in 1472 and located in Ngawa, Sichuan province, in China, but traditionally part of Amdo region. Numerous other associated Kirti monasteries and nunneries are located nearby. As of March 2011, the Kirti Gompa was said to house 2,500 monks. Between 2008 and 2011, mass arrests and patriotic re-education programs by Chinese authorities have targeted the monks, reducing the population substantially to 600 monks. The wave of Tibetan self-immolations began at Kirti Gompa.
Protests and uprisings against the government of the People's Republic of China have occurred in Tibet since 1950, and include the 1959 uprising, the 2008 uprising, and the subsequent self-immolation protests.
As of May 2022, 160 monks, nuns, and ordinary people have self-immolated in Tibet since 27 February 2009, when Tapey, a young monk from Kirti Monastery, set himself on fire in the marketplace in Ngawa City, Ngawa County, Sichuan. According to the International Campaign for Tibet (ICT), "Chinese police have beaten, shot, isolated, and disappeared self-immolators who survived."
Antireligious campaigns in China are a series of policies and practices taken as part of the Chinese Communist Party's official promotion of state atheism, coupled with its persecution of people with spiritual or religious beliefs, in the People's Republic of China. Antireligious campaigns were launched in 1949, after the Chinese Communist Revolution, and they continue to be waged against Buddhists, Christians, Muslims, and members of other religious communities in China.
Tsem Tulku Rinpoche was a recognised tulku of Kalmyk descent, an incarnate lama of the Gelug school of Tibetan Buddhism, and the founder and spiritual guide of Kechara House Buddhist Association with its headquarters in Malaysia.
Topp ... suggested that such individuals ... have some capacity for splitting off feelings from consciousness. ... One imagines that shock and asphyxiation would probably occur within a very short space of time so that the severe pain ... would not have to be endured for too long.
