Editor's Note: The Sichuan police have arrested two suspects who, according to the police, confessed their role in inciting a series of self-immolations in Tibetan areas aided by the Dalai group. How do Chinese experts see these cases? What do they believe are the motivations involved?  Reporter interviewed three scholars from the Beijing-based China Tibetology Research Center.

Li Decheng, director of the Institute of Tibetan Religious Studies

Tibetan Buddhism has a compassionate spirit. There's a widely circulated scripture in Tibetan Buddhism in which the first sentence is "May life be permanent." This shows Tibetan Buddhism's love and respect for life. The basic doctrine of the Tibetan Buddhism is "Doing no wrong and doing all that is good."

There are three different understandings of killing living beings in Tibetan Buddhism. The first is helping others to suicide or killing others. The second is preaching the benefits that self-immolators can gain. The propagandists who back the self-immolation cases praise the self-immolation, highly disregarding other people's lives. The third is "rejoicing in the killings," which means some people applaud the killings and claim that "others should act like that" or "it is really a good action."

These three understandings of killing living beings that have been mentioned above are all considered murder in Tibetan Buddhism. The Chinese government has recently stated that those who incite or abet actions of self-immolation should be charged with intentional murder, which shares a common opinion with the basic doctrine of Tibetan Buddhism.

Historically, there were no self-immolation cases in Tibet. Self-immolation was deliberately introduced to Tibet from foreign countries. We cannot shut our eyes to these self-immolation cases, or Tibetan Buddhism will face the dangers of religious extremism.

Lian Xiangmin, director of the Institute of Contemporary Tibetan Studies

Many self-immolators are young men. Compared to older people, they are more easily influenced by some senior monks who do not abide by Buddhist commandments. They are controlled and induced to believe that self-immolation can make them be "heroes." There are also some young people who are in unhappy lives and have hostile and resentful feelings.

Some foreign media claim that these young men are expressing their political opinions. This is not the truth. These young men's extremism was totally caused by others. The areas where self-immolations are centered are not located in the Tibet Autonomous Region. If their political appeals really presented the Tibetan people's demands, most of the cases should happen inside the region.

In traditional Tibetan culture, the Dalai Lama is the reincarnation of the Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara. Avalokitesvara is the god of mercy. However, the current Dalai Lama has never prevented people from self-immolation. Instead, he encourages these extreme actions. This fully illustrates his group's political purpose, putting pressure on Chinese central government, even at the price of other people's lives. In response to these self-immolation cases, we must step up the publicity efforts and make more people understand the Dalai group's sinister intentions.

Lhagyal Dondrub, assistant researcher fellow at the Institute of Contemporary Tibetan Studies

I am a Tibetan. I have also conducted a lot of research in Tibet Autonomous Region. With the increasing number of self-immolations, Tibetans' attitudes toward self-immolations have also changed. At first, they were shocked and felt sorrow about these cases. However, currently, they criticize these actions and feel disgusted.

Ordinary people in Tibet began to give advice to their friends and family members to stay away from self-immolations. These actions are spontaneous behavior instead of being required by the authorities. Online public opinion in Tibet has also changed. There are a growing number of posts which accuse the Dalai Lama of lack of respect for human life. Also, an increasing number of people believe that it was the Dalai group's incitement that caused these self-immolation cases.

Several self-immolation cases happened in Tongren county in the Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture of Huangnan in Qinghai Province. Tongren is a backwater with few exchanges and communication with outside world. Most people in Tongren have neither chance to go outside nor opportunity to receive education. Without incitement, how can they have such strong political views?

Moreover, if self-immolation is a good thing, why don't those people with ulterior motives ask their family members to do such things? A monk from Dharamsala who had incited self-immolations in Aba Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture, Sichuan Province once said that he proclaimed the benefits of self-immolations to his family members at first. But then he found that he couldn't do such things to his relatives. So he shifted his targets and tried to persuade others.

Therefore, I fully embrace the new legal opinion that those inciting or abetting self-immolations should be charged with intentional murder. I believe that most Tibetan people will also agree with this legal opinion because increasing self-immolation cases will only do this region harm.