The 11th Panchen Lama, Erdini Gyaincain Norbu, has held a ceremony at Yonghegong, or the Lama Temple, in Beijing to pray for the victims of the Wenchuan earthquake.

The 11th Panchen Lama, Erdini Gyaincain Norbu, has held a ceremony at Yonghegong, or the Lama Temple, in Beijing to pray for the victims of the Wenchuan earthquake.

The ceremony began at 7 o'clock local time, and lasted more than an hour. The Panchen Lama performed a Buddhist ceremony to release the souls of the earthquake victims from purgatory. Students and teachers from the High-level Tibetan Buddhism College of China and monks from the Lama Temple attended the gathering.

(CCTV May 22, 2008)