Ashwini Bhatia/AP

An exile Tibetan places candles on a sculpture known as Tibetan martyr's wall, during a candlelit vigil earlier this month in Dharmsala, India, in solidarity with Tibetans.

The number of Tibetans who have set themselves on fire in protest at Chinese rule of their homeland has topped 50 after two teenagers burned to death in a southwestern corner of the country, a rights group said.

The pair, one an 18-year-old monk and the other a 17-year-old former monk, died on Monday after setting themselves on fire outside the Kirti monastery in Ngaba, a heavily Tibetan part of Sichuan province, the London-based Free Tibet group said.

An eyewitness account quoted by Radio Free Asia described the pair shouting “Ki! Ki!,” a Tibetan battle cry.

Their protest brings to 51 the number of Tibetans who have set themselves alight since 2009, when the burnings first began, according to a Free Tibet statement dated August 27.

At least half of them are believed by rights groups to have died, while scores of other Tibetans have been reported detained by security forces after protests that follow the burnings.

Amid unrest, China bans travel to Tibet

"Free Tibet has grave concerns for the well being of the hundreds of Tibetans who we know are in detention following protests," Free Tibet Director Stephanie Brigden said.

Calls seeking comment to the government in Ngaba, known as Aba in Chinese, were not answered.

China has branded the self-immolators "terrorists" and criminals, and has blamed the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader, the Nobel Peace Prize-winning Dalai Lama, for inciting them.

Beijing considers the Dalai Lama a separatist, while he says he merely seeks greater autonomy for his Himalayan homeland, and denies supporting violence.

Report: Hundreds detained after Tibet self-immolations

Activists say China tramples on religious freedom and culture in Tibet, which has been ruled with an iron rod by the Chinese since 1950. China rejects such criticism, saying its rule ended serfdom and brought development to a backward area.

The self-immolations came two days after a nun in a nearby region staged a protest alone to challenge Beijing’s rule, according ti Radio Free Asia. The nun was detained and taken away.

Reuters contributed to this report.

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BEIJING – They say working with animals on screen can be maddeningly unpredictable, even with Zen-like patience. 

So there could be no better person to test that theory than a Buddhist monk, right? 

Yen Shen, a monk who serves as a director of the Cangzhou Buddhist Association in China’s Hebei province was at Mount Emei – a popular tourist site and home to a well-known Buddhist temple – in western Sichuan shooting a little video about the beauty of the region.

With lush forest and fog draped valleys behind him, Yen was speaking poetically about the beauty of the region and the need to take time to connect with nature. “As the years pass, let us bless our friends, let us bless everything,” he waxes on poetically in the video, “when the year’s pass let us bless spring and the autumn.”

That’s when the monkey business starts. (Click to watch the video above). 

Just 10 seconds into his monologue, what looks like a Tibetan macaque next to him starts grabbing Yen’s robes and playing with them. Showing incredible TV professional poise though, Yen continues talking about Buddhist spirituality without skipping a beat.

Then 1:30 into the video, two macaques run up and jump onto Yen, turning him into a human jungle gym. Yen appears momentarily frozen in panic, but recovers and then continues talking; ignoring the growing giggles and chatter of onlookers.

A third monkey joins in on the fun at 1:58, before someone hands one of the macaques what appears to be a cookie and pulls Yen out of the way.

Further attempts to continue the video are derailed as one monkey who will not be denied his 15 minutes of fame, perches itself next to Yen and starts clutching his robe, only letting go long enough to devour more biscuits handed to him just off screen by a helper.

As biscuit after biscuit is handed over to the ravenous monkey, Yen simply looks at him with seeming amusement, all while passersby yell advice on how to deal with the monkeys and urge him to look back up at the camera and continue.

The video has racked up almost 1 million hits since it was posted on Sina, the Chinese web site, Wednesday. Online commentators mostly express admiration for Yen’s ability to keep talking despite the distraction. Strangely though, many more commentators seemed interested in discussing the monk’s “strange” accent as much as the rambunctious macaques.

Regardless, a marvelous big screen debut by both man and monkeys. 

SEOUL -- Six leaders from South Korea's biggest Buddhist order have quit after secret video footage showed some supposedly serene monks raising hell, playing high-stakes poker, drinking and smoking. 

The scandal erupted just days before Koreans observe a national holiday to celebrate the birth of Buddha, the holiest day of the religion's calendar. 

The head of the Jogye order (external link to Jogye Order of Korean Buddhism's site), which has some 10 million followers, or about a fifth of the country's population, made a public apology on Friday, vowing "self-repentance." 

South Korean TV networks aired shots of eight monks playing poker, some smoking and drinking, after gathering at a luxury lakeside hotel in late April for a fellow monk's memorial service. 

"The stakes for 13 hours of gambling were more than 1 billion won ($875,300)," Seongho, a senior monk who uses one name, told Reuters on Friday. 

He said he had reported the incident to prosecutors. 

'They abused money'
Gambling outside of licensed casinos and horse racing tracks is illegal in South Korea and frowned upon by religious leaders. 

"Basically, Buddhist rules say don't steal. Look at what they did, they abused money from Buddhists for gambling," Seongho said. 

The behavior of the supposedly abstemious monks has led to Korean media speculation of a power split within the order. 

While members of the order's head office offered to resign en masse on Thursday amid the controversy, the organization said it would investigate who installed the hidden camera at the hotel, saying it also violates the law, The Korea Herald reported.

The newspaper reported that "insiders" said there has been a political dispute among top monks and the secret filming was probably done to help eliminate members of the order.

 Seongho said he had obtained a thumb drive that contains a video clip from a camera hidden in the hotel. He would not say who his source was because of recent threats made against him. 

The wayward monks appear to have upset many in Korea. 

"A group of monks who gamble, drink and smoke in a hotel room is tainted in the eyes of all people in the nation," civic group Buddhist Solidarity for Reform said in a statement. 

The scandal also excited attention on Twitter, with some posts calling for reforms within the sect. 

"It can be good news. Please, Jogye Order, cut out the rotten part before it gets worse and take this opportunity to be reborn," one Twitter post said. 

Reuters contributed to this report.

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