China: Tibet: Qinghai, monk’s remains paraded after self immolation

Dharamsala - Hundreds of angry Tibetans took to the streets the remains of a Buddhist monk who set himself on fire, in protest against the Communist occupation and the ban on the Dalai Lama. The parade with the remains took place this morning in the county of Dari, in the Chinese province of Qinghai. Despite the appeals of their Buddhist leader, the number of men who chose to commit suicide by fire has thus risen to 15.

According to Radio Free Asia, the crowd forced the police to return the remains of 42 year-old Monaco, Nyage Sonamdrugyu known as Sopa, who were then carried through the streets of the county. Sopa set himself alight yesterday morning, after drinking and soaking his clothes with kerosene. According to some witnesses, "his body exploded after he approached a flame." His case is a special one because he was considered a bodhisattva, a "living Buddha": monks considered revivals of great masters of the past.

The Chinese authorities had denied a visa to Sopa, who wanted to go to India to listen to the teachings of the Dalai Lama and the Karmapa Lama. According to some sources, this is the reason that drove him to suicide. On January 5 and 6, two other young monks attempted self-immolation: one died, while the other is seriously. According to the Chinese government they are "common criminals who belong to the clique of the Dalai Lama."

The Buddhist leader has repeatedly begged his followers in Tibet and Tibetan provinces in China not to commit suicide: "Life is the most valuable asset we have. We know the suffering of these people, but in these cases we need patience. "

The majority of monks who choose self-immolation belonged to the monastery of Kirti, which has a great historical tradition and whose abbot lives in exile in Dharamsala (India).

Geshe Gedun Tharchin, a lama who for years studied the five great treatises of Buddhism, told AsiaNews: "In our religion, all life is sacred, and killing is an enormous loss for the soul. But those who live in Tibet are hungry for freedom, especially religious freedom: a hunger which is spreading all over China. The government is certainly very hard with them. I saw videos of sacrifices appeared on the Net, and I could only feel compassion for these people. "