Toward an Understanding of Self-Immolation (as ‘fire suicide’ or ‘auto-cremation’): A Basic Reading Guide

I’ve been doing a bit of research for a forthcoming post on self-immolation in Tibet and I thought I’d share some basic source material (I may add to this list if I come across anything else worthy of inclusion).

• Benn, James A. Burning for the Buddha: Self-Immolation in Chinese Buddhism. Honolulu, HI: University of Hawai’i Press, 2007.
• Benn, James A. “The Lotus Sūtra and Self-Immolation,” in Jacqueline I. Stone and Stephen F. Teiser, eds. Readings of the Lotus Sūtra. New York: Columbia University Press, 2009: 107-131.
• Benn, James A. “Multiple Meanings of Buddhist Self-Immolation in China—A Historical Perspective,” Revue d’Etudes Tibétaines, no. 25 (Décembre 2012): 203-212.
• Biggs, Michael. “Dying Without Killing: Self-Immolations, 1963-2002,” in Diego Gambetta, ed. Making Sense of Suicide Missions. New York: Oxford University Press, 2005: 173-208.
• Biggs, Michael. “How Suicide Protest Entered the Repertoire of Contention,” Sociology Working Papers, No. 2012-03, Department of Sociology. Available: http://users.ox.ac.uk/~sfos0060/repertoire.pdf
• Biggs, Michael. “Self-Immolation in Context, 1963-2012,” Revue d’Etudes Tibétaines, no. 25 (Décembre 2012): 143-150.
• Biggs, Michael. “Ultimate Sacrifice: What’s the Difference between Self-Immolation and Suicide Bombers?,” Foreign Policy (December 3, 2012). Available:  http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2012/12/03/ultimate_sacrifice
• Cholbi, Michael, “Suicide,” The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Winter 2012 Edition), Edward N. Zalta (ed.), http://plato.stanford.edu/archives/win2012/entries/suicide/   
• Hope, Marjorie. “The Reluctant Way: Self-Immolation in Vietnam,” The Antioch Review, 27 (1967): 149-163.
• International Campaign for Tibet Report. “Storm in the Grasslands: Self-Immolations in Tibet and Chinese Policy.” Washington, DC, 2012. Available: http://www.savetibet.org/resource-center/ict-publications/reports/storm-grasslands self-immolations-tibet-and-chinese-policy
• King, Sallie B. “They Who Burned Themselves for Peace: Quaker and Buddhist Self-Immolators during the Vietnam War,” Buddhist-Christian Studies, 20 (2000): 127-150.
• Verini, James. “A Terrible Act of Reason: When Did Self-Immolation Become the Paramount Form of Protest?,” The New Yorker (May 16, 2012). Available: http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/culture/2012/05/history-of-self immolation.html
• Yun-hua, Jan. “Buddhist Self-Immolation in Medieval China,” History of Religions, 4 (1964-1965): 243-265.

 Image: Manish Swarup/Associated Press