by Jack Taylor

SYDNEY, Sept 11 (AFP) - An army of devotees has prepared a welcome befitting a god-king for the 14th Dalai Lama who arrives here Saturday for his third and by far his most controversial visit to Australia.

The Chinese government, which regards him not as Tibet's spiritual leader but as a political exile "actively engaged in trying to split the motherland" and "encourage Tibetan independence" has warned Canberra against giving him an official welcome.

Nevertheless, Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer is due to meet him privately in Melbourne on Saturday and Prime Minister John Howard has said he may meet him if other engagements, including a trip to Asia, permit.

Howard is widely expected to make time for a meeting, albeit a private rather than an official one, just as his predecessor Paul Keating did during the last visit of the Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso, in 1992.

Such is the influence even in Australia of the 61-year-old Nobel laureate, that anything less would be regarded by supporters of the Dalai Lama as bowing down to Beijing's bullying tactics.

The man who was forced to flee his homeland on the back of a yack following an abortive uprising in 1959, has an estimated eight million followers, devotees of Tibetan Buddhism.

Tibet, occupied by China since 1951, has been recognised by Australia as part of China since diplomatic relations were restored between Beijing and Canberra in 1972.

Official statistics show there are 140,000 Buddhists in Australia, up to half of whom are followers of the Mahayana variety practised in Tibet, China and Japan.

The highlight of his Australian visit is the nine-day Kalachakra "wheel of time" initiation ceremony starting in Sydney on September 21 which about 2,800 followers have paid 300 dollars a head to attend. Day visits cost 30 dollars.

The Dalai Lama a Mongolian title meaning "ocean of wisdom" teaches Buddhist wisdom and ascends to the ultimate spiritual plane during the ceremony, organisers say.

Tibetan artists have spent weeks painting the ancient mystical images of Buddhism, such as lotus flowers, snow leopards, elephants and peacocks to decorate the throne on which the Dalai Lama will sit for the ceremony.

"This is the first time Kalachakra has been conducted by ... Dala Lama in the southern hemisphere," organisers said in a statement. "Participants from all over the Asian region will be coming to Australia to attend this great spectacle."

"Australians will now have an extraordinary opportunity to experience one of the rare gems of Tibet's rich spiritual and cultural tradition."

Organisers say he is expected to speak to more than 75,000 people live during the visit and reach as many as three million through television.

Several hundred volunteers attached to "the Office for the Visit of His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama" in Sydney have spent months organising the visit which will cost about 750,000 dollars (600,000 US) in sponsorships, ticket sales and merchandising.

A Dalai Lama tee-shirt, for instance, is 30 dollars or a Kalachakra prayer flag can be had for 10 dollars.

But the man who, according to his followers "shuns any hint of opulence," and the 20 monks who will travel with him to Australia from his exile home in the Himalayan foothills of India, will see Australia in plush new limos and stay at the best five-star hotels.

Major sponsors are the Ford Motor Co., which is supplying the cars, and two of the best hotels in Sydney and Melbourne.

The Dalai Lama's first visit to Australia in 1982 was a modest affair at a time when he was little known outside Asia and before he was awarded the 1989 Nobel Peace Prize for his peaceful struggle to liberate Tibet.