. . . for there to be *violence*, there must be *violation*.
The only way a self-immolation could be considered violence, is if some other--say $DEITY--is assumed to have
rights to the continued life of the "victim".
This is why, for example, one is less likely to see a Christian self-immolate as a form of protest, since we
traditionally consider our G_d to have primacy in the right to our life or death. Indeed, one argument against
suicide is not based on the notion that "it is killing", per se, but on the notion that it is "presumption to
godhead".
Buddhism, in general, makes no claims regarding a deity, and thus, practitioners are free to assume as they see
fit, regarding who has the controlling rights over their own life, and *might* therefore conclude that there is
no violation--hence, no violence--in giving up their own life, as a sacrifice to their cause.
--
HadEnuf? |
