Written in Flames: Self-Immolation in Sixth-Century Sichuan

This article discusses the religious career and self-immolation (which involved public acts of burning the fingers and body) of the sixth-century monk, Sengyai. The author discusses the sources for a study of his life, and translates the extant biographical materials. He demonstrates that self-immolation was a practice open to multiple interpretations, and that Sengyai?s act was understood as one of cosmic significance in a religious milieu in …