How do veteran buddhist monks calmly endure being burned alive?

[CreamCat]

Some buddhist monks calmly burn themselves alive to protest bad government policies. In other words, they calmly commit suicide in public spaces.

99.999% of people would dance crazily if they are being burned alive.

Is that what enlightened people are capable of? Awesome. I think they would make excellent warriors. They are warrior sages because they are sages and they are fit to be warriors.

I want to become a warrior sage for my life purpose, too.

Edited December 27, 2018 by CreamCat

[pluto]

The Enlightened One can disconnect at will.

Edited December 27, 2018 by pluto

[CreamCat]

2 minutes ago, pluto said:

The Enlightened One can disconnect from the illusion at will.

Do you think enlightened monks can turn off pain at will?

[Shadowraix]

7 minutes ago, CreamCat said:

Do you think enlightened monks can turn off pain at will?

I don't think they are necessarily turning off pain at will but they are reprogramming the perception of it. Think of like the sensation of having your back scratched. You could probably experience that and be ok with it for hours. The difference between that and pain? How the sensations are interpreted.

 

[Joseph Maynor]

It helps if you want to die.  They’re trying to make a political point by doing it too which gives a certain fortitude.  Nobody is lighting themselves on fire for the hell of it.  Those self-immolations were serious protests of war and oppression.  You make it seem like this is something routine for Buddhist monks.  There have only been a very small handful of people (not just monks) who have used self-immolation in this manner for protest.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Self-immolation

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thích_Quảng_Đức

Edited December 27, 2018 by Joseph Maynor

[pluto]

@CreamCat Its less about "turning off" and more about "disconnecting" from physicality completely. At least that's how i remember it.

[CreamCat]

@Joseph Maynor As far as I know, only enlightened monks were able to endure fire without dancing crazily.

[CreamCat]

23 minutes ago, pluto said:

@CreamCat Its less about "turning off" and more about "disconnecting" from physicality completely. At least that's how i remember it.

That sounds like god mode. God is a great warrior.

Edited December 27, 2018 by CreamCat

[Joseph Maynor]

49 minutes ago, CreamCat said:

@Joseph Maynor As far as I know, only enlightened monks were able to endure fire without dancing crazily.

Sure beats putting a bullet in your head.  At least there's some good that comes out of it.  At the end of the day we will all die some way.  It's not like this guy was burning himself alive at 21 years old.  Dying on purpose gives death a kind of meaning that's gotta make chosing to die more palatable.  Contrast this with laying in a nursing home just waiting for the universe to slowly eat away at you and kill you.  You can die on your own terms, which changes the entire dynamic of dying.  We live in a culture where all of that is taboo and you're basically just supposed to get sicker and sicker, weaker and weaker, until your life can't be medically prolonged any longer.  Burning yourself alive is basically suicide with a purpose.  This is a lot different than putting a bullet in your head in some hotel room where somebody has to find your dead body in there the next day.  In both cases you have committed suicide, but they differ in the dignity that is attached to it.  And when you burn yourself alive it's not like somebody has to discover your dead corpse, it's all done out in the open.  These are all very uncomfortable issues that are very taboo to talk about usually.  But as you face death in your own family, you'll start to think more about your own death.  You'll think more long-term.  How do you want your own death to go?  You ever think about that!  Keep in mind too that death is a process that usually begins like a year before you actually die.  What are you gonna do during that year?  I know this is all uncomfortable, but this is life.  You're gonna face it.  And when you face it, it's something that you wanna be prepared for.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thích_Quảng_Đức

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Self-immolation

Edited December 28, 2018 by Joseph Maynor

[CreamCat]

@Joseph Maynor I was not particularly talking about death. I was talking about enduring the pain of being burned alive without moving crazily. How can one do it while calmly sitting? Only enlightened ones can do it. The ones who can nonchalantly endure being burned alive are fit to be great warriors. Thus, they are warrior sages.

Enlightenment makes you an excellent warrior. I want to become a life purpose warrior.

I don't want to think about death too deeply until I nail down my execution and basic financial stability.

Edited December 28, 2018 by CreamCat

[Sahil Pandit]

12 hours ago, CreamCat said:

Do you think enlightened monks can turn off pain at will?

They know the relationship between pain and their True Self. 

[Rilles]

[CreamCat]

@Rilles That's similar to what leo told us about dealing with pain. He told us to experience pain fully without avoiding it.

[VioletFlame]

As unorthodox as this may sound to most people, you must learn to become somewhat excited for death, not suicidal but comfortable with the inevitable sudden invitation of death. Think of how exciting life is. Death is simply a part of life, so how can it not be just as exciting? Departure and arrival can be one and of the same. It's only an eternal extension to this adventure we are living and will be a great cosmic surprise in the end. And also remember the end can always mean the beginning.

If there were immortality, would there even be life, or would there be any purpose or effort to live at all? Would we see any value left in life or would we become stagnant, gray and monotonous?

Think about the beauty of death alone and the strength and motivation it gives us to live our life to the fullest during each moment.

As I do not promote or condone self-mutilation or any self-injury, I do believe training the mind to gain fortitude and enduring certain sensations is only preparing you for an unavoidable or inescapable experience that could reveal itself ahead of time, that can not be predicted, so it's best to equip yourself for the unexpected, which will ultimately reduce your fear of life and of death.

Thich Quang Duc

Edited December 28, 2018 by VioletFlame

[Elysian]

They've literally separated their consciousness from their physical body. Their consciousness isn't there to experience the pain. Something you learn how to do at higher levels of spirituality. There is no way to simply will the pain of burning alive away while experiencing it consciously, it's not possible, and anyone who's been severely burn would understand this.

 

[katykat]

@CreamCat I think it's more a matter of will than enlightenment. Without going into too much detail, a person in my neighborhood did this to herself and sat still. Perhaps the 99.99% of people you mentioned who would flail about wouldn't want to be burned unlike those who have an intention and motivation.

[Gabriel Antonio]

Yeap, it’s really impressive. They have highly developed equanimity. 

Equanimity (Latin: æquanimitas, having an even mind; aequus even; animusmind/soul) is a state of psychological stability and composure which is undisturbed by experience of or exposure to emotions, pain, or other phenomena that may cause others to lose the balance of their mind.

[CreamCat]

4 hours ago, katykat said:

@CreamCat I think it's more a matter of will than enlightenment. Without going into too much detail, a person in my neighborhood did this to herself and sat still. Perhaps the 99.99% of people you mentioned who would flail about wouldn't want to be burned unlike those who have an intention and motivation.

And, did she not scream at all?

[ValiantSalvatore]

 

@CreamCat No idea how they train, I've heard about the Marathon Monks from Mt. Hiei from an Audiobook. They were able to keep up their practice for 1000 of years solely because they had a knife and a rope, which both are symbols in their religion. When I recall correctly the rope is a symbol for infinity and they are both parts of a deity(s). It also gives reassurance that one is able to kill himself and apparently they have to after 101 days or finish their 1000 day challenge. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kaihōgyō. So, potentially death itself and being used to pain helps someone to do that, but no idea how they train.

[CreamCat]

@ValiantSalvatore So, they experience physical death without actually dying. TJ Reeves once said physical death is better than psychedelic death. Rear-naked choke is also a method for experiencing physical death without actually dying.