A Buddhist monk has suffered serious injuries after setting himself on fire to protest against the slaughter of cattle.

Sri Lankan police said the monk set himself on fire today near the famed Temple of Buddha’s Tooth Relic in the central town of Kandy.

He reportedly had told other monks that he was burning himself to protest the killing of cattle for meat.

The monk was brought to Colombo National Hospital in the capital with serious injuries.

Buddhism, Sri Lanka’s state religion, opposes the killing of any life. Nearly 75 percent of Sri Lankans are Buddhists.

Many Buddhists in Sri Lanka do eat meat, but most avoid beef because they consider cows sacred.