Some Western media have given a lot of attention to the three recent cases of Tibetan self-immolation. Unsurprisingly, these outlets and the Dalai Lama group call these obvious examples of China's religious persecution.
Since last year, there have been dozens of such cases. The victims are mostly young monks. These tragedies are unexpected in the history of Chinese and Tibetan Buddhism. The Dalai group erected monuments and held ceremonies for those who took their own lives, claiming them to be "heroes," but such a scene is by no means in accordance with Buddhist tradition.
The Internet has helped connect Tibetan temples and monks, but a few monks surrender their judgement of the world to the Dalai Lama.
The Dalai group has become an interest group outside China. They are exiles, but they need to survive. Therefore, they sell themselves to the West to help against China. If they only prayed and delivered sermons in foreign countries, their lives would be much worse.
China's Tibetan region has been affected by outrageous political influences under the name of religion. This concerns the interests of the Dalai group as well as those of the West. The interests involved could not only twist Tibetan Buddhism's moderate traditions, but also lead to a few monks committing suicide.
The selfishness and ruthlessness of the Dalai group are carefully packaged by the West. The so-called "Tibetan independence" or "high degree of autonomy" that the Dalai group is pursuing are unreachable. They know this very well. But what they really care about is not the results but the slogans to help the West interfere in China's domestic affairs. The slogans also helped the Dalai Lama win the Nobel Peace Prize and gain considerable sums of financial support from the West.
It is worth noting that the Dalai group saluted the monks as "heroes," but they never supported suicides in the same way. The fact is that the more self-immolations happen in Tibet, the more comfortable the life of the Dalai group becomes.
It is cruel to put political pressure on young Tibetan monks. They are unable to distinguish good from evil in international politics and cannot imagine they have been used.
The Dalai group should stop sacrificing these young monks. Those young lives are much more valuable than having the title of hero. Their blood should not be used to extend the political life of the Dalai group in the West.
The previous round of self-immolation suicides in China was conducted by followers of Falun Gong, a cult even acknowledged as such in the West. Hopefully the Dalai group will not become another cult. As time goes by, the believers of Tibetan Buddhism will finally know the Dalai Lama's true intentions.