Prayer For Earthquake Victims

On June 2, monks across China chanted prayers for the victims of the earthquake that struck northwest China's Qinghai Province in April, exactly 49 days after the deaths, which according to Buddhist belief marks the start of the souls' reincarnation.

Major temples of the three main schools of Buddhism in China all held prayer rituals for the about 2,700 victims killed in the 7.1-magnitude earthquake that hit Yushu on April 14, a statement from the Buddhist Association of China (BAC) said.

About 1000 Mahayana Buddhist monks attended the prayer session at Beijing's Guangji Temple led by Chuanyin, the BAC president, while the 11th Panchen Lama, the association's vice president, hosted another prayer session at the Lama Temple, an important Tibetan Buddhist temple in Beijing.

In southwestern Yunnan Province, monks of Hinayana Buddhism gathered at the Zongfo Temple to pray.

The monks prayed for the victims' souls and for the survivors to overcome the hardships caused by the disaster.

In Beijing




In Chongqing





In Kunming



In Xi'an