Why Have Some Monks Set Themselves on Fire? - as part of the news series by GeoBeats.

Buddhist monks have been setting themselves on fire as a form of protest against the Chinese government’s continued occupation of Tibet. This form of political protest is rooted in a story from a sacred Buddhist text called the Lotus Sutra where a king sets himself on fire as an offering to the Buddha. It is disputed as to whether the story is metaphorical or literal, but many monks have taken up the practice as a way of protesting China’s treatment of them, and telling the world that they need to pay attention.

There have been over 30 accounts of self-immolation, the act of setting one’s self on fire, in the past year not only in Tibet, but also in other countries where Tibetan immigrants are trying to raise awareness of the situation in their homeland. While the acts are not always fatal, Buddhists try not to involve others in their protests, so getting someone to put the flames out is not customary. Perhaps the most famous incident of self-immolation occurred in Saigon in protest of the Vietnam War. The protests usually happen in a public place and are aimed at garnering attention for the cause.