Listen to what the Living Buddhas and the Tibetan people have to say

The conduct of the rioters in Lhasa violated the basic principles of Buddhism and the religious concept of mercy and compassion advocated by Sakyamuni, living Buddhas said in Tibet on Wednesday.

"Some monks didn't learn the Buddhism scriptures or follow the religious code, but disrupted the religious order and undermined the basic interests of the religious sector as well as Buddhists," Dazhag Dainzin Geleg, a living Buddha with the Dagcha monastery, said.

The basic doctrine of Tibetan Buddhism according to which monks should cultivate themselves is to "avoid all evil, do all good", Dazhag Dainzin Geleg, who is also vice-president of the Tibetan chapter of the Buddhist Association of China, said.

Chubakang Tubdain Kaizhub, head of the Tibetan chapter of the Buddhist Association of China, said he felt saddened to see people in crimson robes engaging in barbaric acts of violence, looting and arson.

"According to Buddhist karma, they cannot reincarnate after death because of the sin they have committed," he said, calling on all living Buddhas and lamas from monasteries in Tibet to "recognize the true nature of secessionists, manage their own monasteries well and educate believers".

Lobsangba Chilai Qoisang, a living Buddha from Qamdo, Tibet, said: "Over the decades, the government has given a lot of money for the maintenance of monasteries and provided subsidies for elderly monks.

"The few ungrateful monks who violated Buddhist tenets were really disappointing."

Ngagwang Qoizhag, with the Jokhang temple, said the monks involved in the riots represented neither Tibetan Buddhism nor its believers.

Violent riots broke out in Lhasa on March 14. Mobs set fire to shops, schools, hospitals and private houses. The 11th Panchen Lama Gyaincain Norbu has also condemned the riots.

The attempt of a handful of rioters for undermining the regional harmony and stability goes against the desire of local people, officials and Buddhists in Tibet. Yuxi Norzhui, a local Lhasa resident, said that he felt indignant and tormented at the sight of burned-down, dilapidated houses, innocent people under an intense medical care in hospitals and wounded police constables for the sake of protecting people.

Living Buddha Tsongkang Norzui had this to say: "The riot has filled him with much anger and grief, and those Buddhist rioters involved in the violence breach not only the national laws and decrees but the tenets and codes of (Tibetan) Buddhism." There is absolutely no way out for those plotting for "Tibet Independence," he warned, and the unrest, involving beating, smashing, ransacking and arson, is totally unacceptable.