The support rate for Dalai Lama among Tibetan Buddhists recorded a drastic drop, according to a sample survey released on March 9. Responding to a question of "what kind of a person the Dalai is," 86 percent of the respondents think that he is a separatist and a politician. Only 4 percent of those polled said he is a religious leader and another 4 percent described him as a living Buddha. About 6 percent avoided giving a direct answer.

The survey was conducted among 100 Buddhist households by Chengguan District in Lhasa City, capital of the Tibet Autonomous Region. Those surveyed represent a wide range of social backgrounds and range in age from 25 to 80. The respondents have different social backgrounds including: slaves, manor owners of old Tibet, people born after the peaceful liberation of Tibet in 1951 and those who have returned after spending years abroad since they fled to India with Dalai Lama in the 1950s.

A male, who fled to India with Dalai before the peaceful liberation of Tibet in 1951 and returned to Tibet after spending years abroad, filled in the blank with no hesitation: "Dalai is a separatist." "I know Dalai clearly in the course of my time with him abroad. I decided to came back and resettle in Tibet because I hated to see what Dalai did," he said. "Great changes have taken place in Tibet since I came back in 1985. The houses of many Tibetan people are better than the previous manors of slave owners. What they eat is more plentiful than the slave owners," he said, adding, "There is nothing compatible with the life ruled by Dalai." "The poll indicates Dalai had lost the heart of Buddhist believers.

A growing number of believers have extricated themselves from blind worship to Dalai Lama." said Galsang Yixi, a research fellow with the China Tibet Academy of Social Sciences. "They treasure the peaceful and happy life they are leading," said Galsang Yixi who just came back from a trip to the United States, Canada and Mexico.

A 35-year-woman said, "I have neither seen nor believe in Dalai Lama. What I care about is whether my kids can be enrolled in a prestigious school in Beijing or another provinces and have a bright future." A male respondent, 73, said, "I used to take Dalai Lama for a savior and expect him to bring us a happy life. However, the serf owners led a luxurious life while the majority of slaves had inadequate food to eat and clothes to wear." "Even today, what Dalai Lama did abroad has disappointed us," he added.

The poll included 24 questionnaires covering the living condition, income, education, religious belief, political viewpoint and other aspects of daily life. On the question of when was the happiest moment after the peaceful liberation of Tibet 50 years ago, over 90 percent of the respondents said the moment that millions of slaves smashed the fetters of serf system and slaves became master of their own house.

A youngster aged 25, said, "Influenced by my parents, I became a Buddhist. I often go to a lamasery near Lhasa to pray for my family and me. I think the "independence of Tibet advocated by Dalai could only sabotage the good life we are leading."

Tibet was liberated in 1951 and launched democratic reform in 1959, thus ending the slave system and embarked on the road to modernization. The region has a population of about 2.4 million, the majority of whom are Buddhist believers. (Xinhua 03/10/2001)