Behavior of monks was 'saddening'

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.