Please allow me to correct a number of widely held misconceptions about Buddhism which appeared in the Buddhist section of Tinja Tsang's 'Consumer Guide to Religion' (Sunday Morning Post Magazine, February 25).

It is a tribute to the excellent public relations machine of Tibetan Buddhism that the writer believes the Dalai Lama is Buddhism's 'head honcho'. This is incorrect. The Dalai Lama is the spiritual head of the Gelugpa school of Tibetan Vajrayana Buddhism and political leader of the Tibetan government in exile. While highly respected, he is not Buddhism's 'head honcho'.

The assertion that there are no gods is incorrect. There are many deities throughout all schools of Buddhism, which is perhaps best described as a non-theistic religion. What Buddhists do not believe in is the existence of an omniscient, omnipotent creator 'God'. The claim that Buddhists are strict 'veggies' is also incorrect. While many Buddhists do not eat meat, vegetarianism is not an essential element of Buddhist doctrine. The Buddha himself was not a vegetarian.