Living Buddha: Tibetans enjoy full religious freedom

Speaking through a Mandarin interpreter, Shingtsa Tenzinchodrak, dressed in traditional Tibetan costume, said any one who had been to Tibet would be able to tell whether the Tibetan Buddhism is nearing "extinction" or not.

Sazhen (R), a doctor of the No.2 People's Hospital of Lhasa and also a member of the delegation of Tibetan deputies of  China's National People's Congress (NPC), talks with a  representative of local overseas Chinese in New York, the United States, March 18, 2009.(Xinhua Photo)

"There are more than 1,700 monasteries and religious sites of Tibetan Buddhism in Tibet. And almost all Tibetan families have niches for Buddhist statues or small scripture-chanting halls at home," he said.

"Religious practice is protected by law as long as it is legal and does not harm the interests of other people," he said.

The 59-year-old living Buddha also said that Tibet used to see serious conflicts between different religious sects before 1959, but now all religious sects and religions coexist in Tibet peacefully.

Shingtsa Tenzinchodrak said the Tibetan cultural heritage has been effectively protected, inherited and developed over the past 50 years.