The 11th Panchen Lama concluded a month of Buddhist rites in southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region on Friday, pledging to serve the Tibetan people through Buddhist doctrine.

During his stay in Tibet, Gyaincain Norbu, the 17-year-old leader of Tibetan Buddhism, paid a two-day visit to his hometown at Lhari county, Nagqu prefecture in northern Tibet in late August, where he was born on February 13, 1990.

This is the first visit by the Panchen Lama to his hometown since his ordination in 1995.

He was approved by the central government as the reincarnation of the 10th Panchen Lama in November 1995 after a lot drawing ceremony between three candidates in the Jokhang Temple in Tibet's capital Lhasa.

Drawing lots from a golden urn to decide the final choice of the reincarnation of a high lama has long been a tradition in Tibetan Buddhism.

"I feel very excited that I returned to my hometown for the first time in 11 years," he said.

In Lhari, the Panchen Lama gave blessings to more than 4,000 local Tibetans by touching each of their heads.

"We have been expecting the Living Buddha to come back to his hometown," 83-year-old herdsman Qi'me said. "I finally saw him and it is a good fortune."

In the past month, tens of thousands of Tibetans received touch-head blessings from the Panchen Lama.

During his stay in Tibet, the Panchen Lama performed a string of Buddhist rituals in different parts of the region. He also visited the newly-built Qinghai-Tibet Railway.

"I saw for myself that the ethnic and religious polices of the Party have been implemented well in Tibet and the great masses of the people enjoy full religious freedom," he said.

He vowed to continue to study Buddhism and learn more modern scientific, cultural knowledge in a bid to make his own contributions to the happiness of the Tibetan people.

The young Panchen Lama studies Buddhism in Beijing and frequently visits Tibet and other Tibetan ethnic areas in Qinghai, Gansu, Sichuan, and Yunnan provinces where he conducts religious rites.

Source: Xinhua