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Tibetan lamas
pray for quake victims
About 500 Tibetan lamas attended a Buddhist service at the
Drepung Monastery in Lhasa on Wednesday, praying for blessings
for the earthquake victims in southwest China's Sichuan Province
and other affected regions in the country.
During the two-hour service at the
one of the three leading monasteries in Tibet Autonomous Region,
the group of lamas, led by80-year-old Dampa Lungtok, chanted
Buddhist scriptures wishing for safety and for no mishaps and
disasters.
"I'm very sad to see so many
people lose their lives in the earthquake. I pray for the early
transmigration of the souls of the deceased," said lama
Phuntsok Tharchin.
A donation ceremony was held after
the religious service, and lamas of the monastery contributed a
total of 38,080 yuan (5,440 U.S. dollars), said lama Awang
Tongjug, also director of the Democratic Management Committee of
the Drepung Monastery.
"Lamas of the monastery are very
worried after they learned via TV and radio reports that a
strong earthquake had occurred in Sichuan, so they offered to
hold a Buddhist service praying for the victims and making
donations to them," he said.
Built in 1416, the Drepung Monastery
on the outskirts of the Tibet regional capital of Lhasa, is the
largest and most influential monastery of the Gelug Sect, a
branch of the Tibetan Buddhism.
It is well known as the site of the
annual Yoghurt Festival, with its dramatic unfurling of a giant
thangka -- a form of Tibetan painting art that dates back more
than 1,000 years -- on the hillside.
The other two leading monasteries in
Tibet are the Sera Monastery and Ganden Monastery.
Also Wednesday, about 1,000 lamas at
the Taer Monastery, another well-known Gelug Sect monastery in
neighboring Qinghai Province, donated more than 110,000 yuan to
the people in the quake-hit regions.
They meanwhile started a week-long
Buddhist service Wednesday, praying for the victims.
"We sincerely hope the
disaster-stricken people can tide over the difficulties
soon," said lama Wangden.
China's only monks' red cross is
based in the Taer Monastery, 27 km south of the provincial
capital Xining.
A 7.8-magnitude earthquake struck
Wenchuan County of Sichuan Monday afternoon and it was also felt
in most parts of the county.
The death toll across the country has
risen to 14,866, the latest government statistics show.
Among those, 14,463 were confirmed
dead in Sichuan Province, 280 in Gansu Province, 106 in Shaanxi
Province, 14 in Chongqing Municipality, two in Henan Province,
one in Yunnan Province and one in Hubei Province.
2008-05-14 |