'Spark' for self-immolation unwilling to do the same(2)

POLITICAL AMBITION UNDER THE GUISE OF "NON-VIOLENCE"

Not satisfied with the effects of secessionist activities in the past, the Dalai clique has adopted planning and organizing self-immolations as new strategies.

The Second Special General Meeting of the Tibetan People, organized by the "Tibetan government-in-exile" in Dharamsala, India, in September, ranked self-immolation as the highest form of non-violent action.

"A special memorial hall should be built with displays of the pictures and the personal stories of each such martyr," according to the meeting's action plan and resolution.

"To commemorate the blood sacrifices made by Tibetan men and women in and outside Tibet, a day should be finalized for observing Martyr's Day each year," it said.

Believed by his devotees to be the reincarnation of a long line of tulkus who are considered to be manifestations of the bodhisattva, the Dalai Lama did not stop people from self-immolating, an act that is both inhumane and against Buddhist doctrines.

Instead, he has taken part in various prayer and memorial services for the self-immolators, demonstrating his passive approval of the deadly act.

"I am quite certain that those who sacrificed their lives with sincere motivation, for Buddha dharma and for the well-being of the people, from the Buddhist or religious view points, is positive," the Dalai Lama said in an interview with NBC in October.

Buddhism is mercy, with ahimsa, the philosophy of revering all life and not harming any living thing, as a fundamental rule. The instigators of the self-immolations have damaged believers' trust in Tibetan Buddhism.

On March 16, 2011, Phuntsog, 17, a former Kirti Monastery monk, self-immolated in downtown Aba County. Instead of trying to save the young man, Drongdru, Phuntsog's uncle, tried to keep his nephew's burned body from police.

Drongdru moved Phuntsog's body from the Kirti Monastery to a herdsman's house and then to a burial platform to help him complete his "heroic" mission.

When police found Phuntsog the next day, medical treatment was no longer an option. He died shortly after being found.

Most of the self-immolators are around 20 years old. The Dalai clique has taken advantage of their innocence and ignorance, said Xiong Kunxin, an ethnic policy expert with Minzu University of China.

The Dalai Lama uses his religious aura to allow young people to play toward his political ambitions, which is inhumane and sacrilegious, Xiong said.

"Samtan and Doran asked me to collect and send them information on the self-immolation practitioners, so they could publicize it overseas," said Lorang Konchok. "Otherwise, I would not do it."

FAMILY SHATTERED BY SELF-IMMOLATION

"Life is better than before, but he is gone. Every dinner I am heart broken, because I miss him," said Palho, father of the 19-year-old Jokba.

"I don't know if he is a hero. For me, my heart is broken," Palho said, unable to hold back his tears.

"I am already 60 years old. I thought I could depend on him for the rest of my life," he said of his youngest son.

Jokba had no schooling. He had gone to the mountains with his father to forage for herbs since he was six years old. He got along well with his peers, and he was not a bad guy, Palho said.

Jokba told Lorang Tsering in March this year that he was interested in self-immolation and asked him if he could help to send his personal information overseas. Lorang Tsering said his uncle, Lorang Konchok, could help.

On Aug. 9, Lorang Tsering encouraged Jokba to carry out the self-immolation sooner. He called his uncle in Jokba's presence, asking Lorang Konchok to help bring attention to Jokba overseas.

On the same afternoon, Jokba met Lorang Konchok in the Kirti Monastery. Lorang Konchok promised he could spread propaganda overseas. He wrote down Jokba's personal information, family background and took photos of Jokba with his cell phone.