Posted on 01/12/2012 4:59:28 PM PST by smokingfrog
Recently, there has been an uprising of protests by Tibetan monks over China’s occupation of Tibet and the exile of the Dalai Lama. The protests are not done with signs and chanting but with self-immolation or the act of burning oneself alive. Richard Gere has praised the actions of the Buddhists monks calling them “a pure act.”
Gere, a long-time Buddhist, says, “It all really comes down to motivation. I mean none of these self-immolators have harmed anybody else. It is totally a self-sacrifice for their people, for others. So on that level it’s a pure act. But I think it’s more important to look into the causes of why people would feel they need to do these kinds of things.”
The hollywood star goes on to discuss how difficult it is for “free thinkers” and “artists” to live in China due to the push for communism. He says, “I think they (Chinese officials) have so wrongly gauged the Tibetan people, thinking they could subvert the deep, deep, deep religious beliefs and make them true Communists. It’s never going to happen.”
The latest monk to practice self-immolation died on Sunday. He was the 15th Buddhist monk documented in a string of fiery deaths.
(Excerpt) Read more at ecorazzi.com ...
I just thought of something Richard Gere could do to earn my praise.
I wonder if Gere sees self-immolation as an option for himself?
Richard Gere Praises Self-Immolating Monks
Wonder how he feels about self-immolating gerbils?
Hey, the Dalia Lama has come out and said he was a Marxist. I thought everything was kosher now?
Imitation is the most sincere form of flattery.
Not to mention the lack of fine American gerbils which is why he thinks he's a Patriot. Or at least that's what I read in the article about him in, Habitrail News.
From Wikipedia: "Nitrogen, the main constituent of air, is the primary gas released during flatulence, along with carbon dioxide. The lesser component gases methane and hydrogen are flammable, and so flatus containing adequate amounts of these can be ignited."
Is self-immolation supposed to be a shortcut to Nirvana or something?
Lemiwinks!
It is a stupid senseless act and accomplishes nothing. Every Monk in Tibet could fry themselves and the Tibetans would be no better off than they are now. If they really want to die for the people they should take out a few dozen Chinese soldiers(or politicians might be better)while they are taking out their selves.
Don’t know what’s so noble about it. Why isn’t Gere concerned about those monks exacerbating the globull warming “problem”?
Some Mahayana Buddhists think imitating one of the Buddhas (Bhaisajyaguru; who ritually self-immolated spreading the light of the Dharma for a thousand years) will bring healing and cleansing to those left behind. The problem being that Bhaisajyaguru had entered the state of ‘Eliminating All the Suffering and Afflictions of Sentient Beings’ before doing so.
You know, SF, any Richard Gere thread could be a drinking game, like the Bob Newhart show.
For those of you still with green shoots, every time someone said, “Bob” you had to take a drink.
“Gerbil”!
Then he should emulate the immolation.
That is exactly what I was going to post! LOL Great minds...
Imitation is the greatest form of flattery.
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