[Buddha-l] Self-inmolation in the Buddhist tradition

[Benito Carral]

Dear Buddha-L friends,

   Does  anyone know any study about self-inmolation in
the   Buddhist   tradition?  It's  a  topic  I'm  quite
interested  in  and  hardly  understand. It seems to me
that  there  is  a  long  self-inmolation  tradition in
East-Asian Buddhism. Any remark would be very welcomed.

              While   I  was  at  Sheng-yin  Temple,  I
           noticed  his  work  in the gardens and inner
           cultivation  which  was exemplary and rarely
           found.  That year, during the trnamission of
           the  rules  of  discipline  elsewhere on the
           mountain, he came and asked me to verify his
           achievements  and  after  the had been fully
           ordained,  he  asked  for leave to return to
           the Sheng-yin Temple.

              On  the  twenty-ninth of the third month,
           after  midday  meditation  he  went  to  the
           courtyard  behind the main hall where he put
           on his robe, heaped up some bundles of straw
           and  sat  upon  it  cross-legged,  his  face
           turned   towards   the  West,  reciting  the
           Buddha's   name  and  then,  with  one  hand
           ringing  the  bell and the other beating the
           wooden  fish,  he set fire to the straw. The
           numerous  people in the temple at first knew
           nothing  about  what was happening, but when
           those outside saw the blaze they entered the
           temple  but  could not find the Bhiksu. When
           they  went  to  the  courtyard,  the saw him
           sitting  motionless with crossed legs on the
           ashes.  His  clothing  was  intact  but  the
           wooden  fish  and  handle  of  the bell were
           reduced to ashes.

              I  was  told of his death but since I was
           preparing   for   the   ceremony   for   the
           transmission  of the Bodhisattva precepts on
           the  eight  of  the following month, I could
           not  descend  the  mountain. I then wrote to
           Wang   Zhu-cun,   head   of   the  Financial
           Department  and  Zhan  Jue-xin, Chief of the
           Conservancy  Bureau,  asking them to see his
           funeral  on  my  behalf.  Whe  they  saw the
           remarkable  occurrence,  they reported it to
           Governor  Tang, who came with all his family
           to  observe  it.  When  the bell was removed
           from  the Bhiksu's hand, his body, which had
           until  then remained erect, collapsed into a
           heap  of  ashes.  Those  present praised the
           occurence  and  developed their faith in the
           Buddhadharma.

           (From  Xu-yun's  autobiography, which I have
           already finished translating into Spanish)

   What  does  it  mean?  It's  clear  that  the monk's
self-inmolation  was  a key factor in people developing
faith  in  the  Buddhadharma. But why did the monk burn
himself? What does it mean in a Buddhist context?

   Thank you very much.

   Best wishes,

   Beni