# Setting oneself on fire (protest) **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 17, 2014, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/setting-oneself-on-fire-protest/707508 "2014-12-17T18:53:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![TheZenPaperboy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a9a28c/32.png) [@TheZenPaperboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheZenPaperboy)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2014, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/setting-oneself-on-fire-protest/707508/1 "2014-12-17T18:53:40Z")
I was reading about the Buddhist monk who set himself on fire to protest the Diem regime in Vietnam back in 1963. What I cannot find is how was he able to control himself to remain immobile while on fire. Also there was mention of five Americans who did the same thing later on. Is there a known method for this self control? ---
**Author:** ![Obnoxious\_Hood\_Ornament](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/3be4f8/32.png) [@Obnoxious\_Hood\_Ornament](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Obnoxious_Hood_Ornament)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2014, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/setting-oneself-on-fire-protest/707508/2 "2014-12-17T20:37:03Z")
While not a factual answer, I’d say it was a combination of intense meditation, and _true grit._ ---
**Author:** ![Steve\_MB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steve_mb/32/5339_2.png) [@Steve\_MB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve_MB)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2014, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/setting-oneself-on-fire-protest/707508/3 "2014-12-17T20:46:13Z")
[The Master speaks](http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/841/how-do-i-go-about-renouncing-my-u-s-citizenship) on the degenerate modern preference for wimpier protest tactics: [QUOTE=Cecil Adams] You’re going to protest by renouncing your citizenship? I’m disappointed. Whatever happened to going to the U.S. embassy and setting yourself on fire? [/QUOTE] ---
**Author:** ![DrCube](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a3d4f5/32.png) [@DrCube](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrCube)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2014, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/setting-oneself-on-fire-protest/707508/4 "2014-12-17T21:07:32Z")
I think if you use enough fuel, your nerve endings will burn very quickly, and then you just wait to die. Basically, it’s an issue of speed. Don’t burn yourself slowly enough to freak out and run around screaming. Do it quickly, so that the transition from “tranquil human” to “meditating corpse” is very sharp. Just my WAG. ---
**Author:** ![kopek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kopek/32/337_2.png) [@kopek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kopek)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2014, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/setting-oneself-on-fire-protest/707508/5 "2014-12-18T02:13:35Z")
> [@DrCube](#): > > I think if you use enough fuel, your nerve endings will burn very quickly, and then you just wait to die. Basically, it’s an issue of speed. Don’t burn yourself slowly enough to freak out and run around screaming. Do it quickly, so that the transition from “tranquil human” to “meditating corpse” is very sharp. > > Just my WAG. Would taking a long deep breath just after lighting up help? Or would the natural reaction of the throat counteract that? ---
**Author:** ![handsomeharry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e9c0ed/32.png) [@handsomeharry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handsomeharry)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2014, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/setting-oneself-on-fire-protest/707508/6 "2014-12-18T02:29:36Z")
I had heard that a monk who had been put out was asked about it. His reply, was that he didn’t feel a thing until people started to put him out. Would lack of oxygen have been a factor? ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2014, 8:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/setting-oneself-on-fire-protest/707508/7 "2014-12-18T08:06:26Z")
[Thich Nhat Hanh](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Th%C3%ADch_Nh%E1%BA%A5t_H%E1%BA%A1nh), Vietnamese Buddhist monk, author, and peace activist, was a monastery brother of [Thich Quang Duc](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Th%C3%ADch_Qu%E1%BA%A3ng_%C4%90%E1%BB%A9c). In one of his books, he wrote that Thich Quang Duc had planned this carefully for a long time ahead of time, and had spent many months in meditation to prepare himself. It was not a sudden spontaneous act. ---
**Author:** ![TheZenPaperboy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a9a28c/32.png) [@TheZenPaperboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheZenPaperboy)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2014, 9:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/setting-oneself-on-fire-protest/707508/8 "2014-12-18T09:18:34Z")
I was able to find thru google books some mention of the thought process that Thich Quang Duc went through. With him it looks like this was just a part of his religious training and his ability to deflect the pain as part of a higher purpose. And I was able to look further into this type of protest and there is larger number of them. But they do not make the news. So it looks like there is no special way of preparing yourself for this. Thank you for your interest. ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2014, 1:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/setting-oneself-on-fire-protest/707508/9 "2014-12-18T13:01:00Z")
> [@DrCube](#): > > I think if you use enough fuel, your nerve endings will burn very quickly,… I often hear this sort of thing in discussions of burn injuries, and I can’t understand it. Does the human body have no _absolutely pain receptors whatsoever_ below a depth of ~1/8"? I would have assumed that no matter how long heat is applied to your body’s outer surface, there is a layer of flesh at some depth which has pain receptors that are painfully hot but not dead yet. ---
**Author:** ![DrCube](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a3d4f5/32.png) [@DrCube](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrCube)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2014, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/setting-oneself-on-fire-protest/707508/10 "2014-12-18T16:44:51Z")
> [@Machine\_Elf](#): > > I often hear this sort of thing in discussions of burn injuries, and I can’t understand it. Does the human body have no _absolutely pain receptors whatsoever_ below a depth of ~1/8"? I would have assumed that no matter how long heat is applied to your body’s outer surface, there is a layer of flesh at some depth which has pain receptors that are painfully hot but not dead yet. From the [Wikipedia article on pain](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pain#Nociceptive): > [@](#): > > Nociceptive pain may also be divided into “visceral”, “deep somatic” and “superficial somatic” pain. Visceral structures are highly sensitive to stretch, ischemia and inflammation, but relatively insensitive to other stimuli that normally evoke pain in other structures, **such as burning and cutting**. Visceral pain is diffuse, difficult to locate and often referred to a distant, usually superficial, structure. It may be accompanied by nausea and vomiting and may be described as sickening, deep, squeezing, and dull. Deep somatic pain is initiated by stimulation of nociceptors in ligaments, tendons, bones, blood vessels, fasciae and muscles, and is dull, aching, poorly localized pain. Examples include sprains and broken bones. Superficial pain is initiated by activation of nociceptors in the skin or other superficial tissue, and is sharp, well-defined and clearly located. Examples of injuries that produce superficial somatic pain include minor wounds and minor (first degree) burns Emphasis mine. Pain is a very complex, poorly understood phenomenon, but it certainly does seem that sharp, burning pain is restricted to the skin and other superficial outer parts.