My respect for Buddhism just took a hit. From the SCMP:

Hong Kong's chief Buddhist monk has called on the public not to take part in the July 1 demonstration in order to maintain social harmony. Protesting would bring more instability to an already "chaotic" society, he said.

Sik Kok Kwong [president of the HK Buddhust Association], who has a close relationship with senior state officials and leading tycoons, told the South China Morning Post he was worried about the social and political situation.

Sik Kok Kwong warned that demonstrations such as that on July 1, at which tens of thousands of people are expected to voice their discontent against Beijing's decision, would further destabilise society. "It is best if we Buddhists don't participate in politics, and there would be peace. We all should not participate in things like demonstrations," he said, adding that the public should instead maintain social harmony.

While democracy was the ultimate goal as stated in the Basic Law, conditions in Hong Kong were not mature enough for it, he said. Beijing's wishes must be considered when discussing constitutional reform. "Beijing has sovereignty and Hong Kong is only a special administrative region of China. Even President Hu Jintao was elected by only a few people," he said.

Direct elections would not necessarily produce a good chief executive, he said. "If we say Tung Chee-hwa is not good, do you think the person elected by universal suffrage would be better? Whether the person is good or bad depends on his correlation with others," said Sik Kok Kwong, who is a member of the Election Committee that selects the chief executive.

"I think Tung has done a good job. He is very tolerant for he has endured daily criticism. People's hearts are just not content."