11 February 2008
Thousands pay tribute to late Panchen Lama
(Reuters) Thousands of monks and villagers lit yak butter candles and chanted mantras as they packed monasteries in the TAR and other Tibetan areas of the PRC to commemorate the 70th birthday of the second highest figure in Tibetan Buddhism. Hundreds of monks prayed while villagers spun prayer wheels and prostrated at Kumbum monastery in Qinghai province, while thousands of villagers and monks lined the roads from the 10th Panchen Lama's birthplace to the local temple in Wendu village to catch a glimpse of his daughter, Yabshi Pan Rinzin Wangmo. "These prayers demonstrate that my father still lives in the people's hearts", she told Reuters. "Time has not dimmed his legacy". Residents greeted Yabshi Pan Rinzin Wangmo, and more than 500 motorcycles escorted her to her father's home village.