The intensifying friction between Tibetan Buddhists and the government of China which has led to a series of self-immolations by protesting Buddhists seems endless. Now there are deep concerns among Buddhists in Syracuse about news that this all appears to be part of a vicious cycle making attempts to help with this tragedy appearing to be almost hopeless at times.
The Buddhist Channel has reported "China's Tibetan Buddhists in vicious cycle". Human rights groups have said China's Tibetan Buddhists are locked in a "vicious cycle" of radicalization as an intensifying government crackdown has spured them to increasingly desperate acts of protest. Over the past year at least 15 Tibetans have set fire to themselves to protest repressive Chinese rule.
Experts on Buddhism have said that suicide is a major taboo in Tibetan Buddhist culture, and that the ramifications of self-immolation for reincarnation are serious. And so even more troubling has been reports that the most recent self-immolation was perpetrated by a high-ranking Buddhist cleric for the first time. Sonam Wangyal, who was reported to be in his 40s,set himself on fire in the northwestern province of Qinghai on Sunday. He was known as a "living Buddha", the reincarnation of a line of high-ranking lamas.
Nicholas Bequelin, a Hong Kong-based researcher for Human Rights Watch, has said "The self-immolation of a living Buddha will confer legitimacy on this kind of protest... It marks an escalation, it is a very worrying trend." Bequelin has gone on to say "You are going to see more of this. These acts of protests come from a reaction from too much control, but the government response is to bring even more repression and control. This is the definition of a vicious cycle of radicalization."
