[Buddha-l] 3 Tibetan Monks Sentenced for assistingwith self-immolation

[andy]

Dan wrote:
> 
> Andy, I am being deliberately non-specific in order to solicit opinions.
> 
> Supporters of Tibet will likely have a knee-jerk reaction siding with the
> Tibetan "cause" and automatically denigrating the Chinese actions. But how
> sound or ethical is that?
> 

Well, Dan, we agree for once!  

> The opinion you express -- enablers of immolation are complicit, and thus
> prosecuting them may have some justification -- is one option. One could
> even make the case stronger, given the particulars of this particular case:
> 
 Yes, but jurisdiction is a question here. Is this a violation if the monastic 
rules?

> 
> On the other side, the prosecution is clearly part of a Chinese suppression
> of Tibetan resistance and protest, and thus can also be characterized as
> "persecution," not just "prosecution."
> 
> On the other side, the Tibetans and their supporters are insisting on the
> right to kill -- to inflict himsa (harm) on self and others. Unlike the
> parrot seeking to escape the falcon's clutches, this is harder to defend as
> "self-defense."

It certainly does get attention. Can actions like this ever be appropriate? 

> 
> More arguments might be offered on each side. Anyone else care to weigh in?
> It is "complex," not a simple matter of loyalty or picking sides.
> 
> Dan

Yes, please. 

Andy