The 11th Panchen Lama on Tuesday ended a two-day visit to his hometown, the
first since his ordination in 1995.
Gyaincain Norbu, the leader of the Tibetan Buddhism, arrived on Sunday at
Lhari county, Nagqu prefecture in northern Tibet, where he was born on February
13, 1990.
Arriving at around 6:00 p.m., he was hailed by a huge crowd, including
thousands of Buddhists who had waited for hours and a hundred headsmen in
costume on horseback.
On Monday, he presided over a blessing ritual for nearly 4,000 local people.
During his journey, he stopped his car more than a dozen times to give
blessings to hundreds of followers. Braving the rain, many came long distances
to wait to be touched by the 11th Panchen Lama.
"My lifelong dream has come true. I finally met the Panchen Lama and received
his blessing," said 69-year-old local headsman Gyaba, with a big smile on his
face.
After the ritual on Monday, the 17-year-old Panchen Lama, wearing a golden
cassock, rode a horse on the grasslands.
He told young fellow Tibetans to master their language and to get a good
education, so as to build a more prosperous Tibet.
During his visit, he donated money and goods to a local school, a hospital
and 43 poor families.
He said he was happy with the great changes in his hometown and hoped to come
back soon.
Gyaincain Norbu won the approval from the central government of China as the
reincarnation of the 10th Panchen Lama in November 1995 after a lot drawing
ceremony among three candidates in the Jokhang Temple in Tibet's capital Lhasa.
Drawing lots from a gold urn to decide on the final choice of the
reincarnation of a high lama has long been a tradition in Tibetan Buddhism, and
the custom of seeking approval from the central government dates back to the
Qing Dynasty (1644-1911).
He studies Buddhism in Beijing and frequently visits Tibet and other Tibetan
ethnic areas in Qinghai, Gansu, Sichuan, and Yunnan.