Is non-violence workable?

Eleven Tibetan Buddhists monks and nuns have set themselves on fire since March to protest China's repression of their country for the last 60 years.

The first of the five Buddhist precepts, or ethical guidelines, is to abstain from killing.

London's Daily Mail reports that the deaths raise theological questions about non-violence and highlight a long-standing schism between the elderly Dalai Lama's softly, softly approach to China and activists who want to fight for independence.

The government-in-exile in Tibet has promoted events in solidarity with a quiet protest movement in Tibet called "White Wednesday." Since 2008, each Wednesday, a day considered auspicious for the Dalai Lama, an unknown number of Tibetans shun Chinese businesses, attend monasteries, wear traditional dress and speak in their own language.

But some Tibetans are questioning whether non-violence is effective; one youth leader even suggested that a symbolic suicide was no longer enough to grab the world's attention.

Tenzin Chokey, general secretary of the Tibetan Youth Congress, said: 'How many more lives exactly does the world need?

'Is it the method? Is it too soft for the world? Because you are only taking your own life and not that of others?'

Occupation? A class of young Chinese military recruits gather in Beijing for a ceremony prior to their departure for Tibet

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2064258/Horrifying-image-Tibetan-nun-flames-street-latest-self-immolation-protest-China.html#ixzz1eg0GzSTR