The living Buddha is a pioneer of promoting education in the region.

In the early '80s, herders living on the plateau seldom sent their children to faraway schools, he said.

Concerned with the state of primary education, he visited almost all of the herdsmen's families in the county in a bid to convince them to send their children to school.

Thanks to his efforts, the Mainrigma boarding school was set up in the grasslands, 70 km from the county seat, with the living Buddha as its honorary headmaster.

"Ethnic groups are held together by their language and character," Garzang Chinlai said.

"That's why I have devoted my life to promoting education to boost our culture."

Monks also need education, Garzang Chinlai said.

"Monks should have the desire to be literate and to live by a strict moral code. They should practice Buddhism and never get embroiled in violence."

(Xinhua News Agency April 15, 2008)