When I was selecting examples of Miraculous Tales from The Dainihonkoku Hokekyō of Priest Chingen, I deliberately excluded the tales of self-immolation. After reading Thich Nhat Hanh’s Peaceful Action, Open Heart and his recollection of Thich Quang Duc, the first monk to immolate himself in the 1960s to protest Vietnam’s anti-Buddhist laws, I changed my attitude about such stories. I’ve decided to include one example of pious self-immolation from Daniel B. Stevenson’s “Tales of the Lotus Sutra.”
Buddhism in Practice, p434In Jingzhou there lived two bhikṣunīs who were sisters. Their names have been forgotten, but they both recited the Lotus Sūtra, held a deep loathing for the physical body, and together conceived the desire to give up their lives [in offering to the dharma]. [To this end,] they set restrictions on clothing and diet and prescribed for themselves a regimen of painful austerities. They ingested various perfumed oils and gradually reduced their intake of coarse rice, until they gave up grains altogether and took only fragrant honey. [Even then,] their energy and spiritual determination remained as vigorous and fresh as ever. They announced [widely] to the monks and laity [around them] that at an appointed time in the future they would immolate themselves.
On the evening of the eighth day of the second month during the third year of the Zhenguan era [629], they set up two high seats in the middle of one of the large boulevards of Jingzhou. Then they wrapped their bodies from head to foot in waxed cloth, leaving only their faces exposed. The crowds gathered like a mountain; their songs of praise filled the air like clouds. The two women together began to chant the Lotus Sūtra. When they reached the “Medicine King” (Bhaiṣajyarāja) chapter, the older sister first ignited the head of the younger sister, and the younger in turn lit the head of the older sister. Simultaneously the two blazed up, like two torches in the clear night. As the flames crept down over their eyes, the sound of their voices became even more distinct. But, as it gradually arrived at their noses and mouths, they grew quiet [and their voices were heard no more]. [They remained seated upright] until dawn, linked together on their two seats. Then, all at once, the fire gave out. [As the smoke and flame cleared,] there amidst their charred and desiccated bones lay two tongues, both perfectly intact. The crowd gasped in awe. [A short time later] a tall stūpa was constructed for them.
