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The 11th Panchen Erdeni Gyaincain Norbu presides over a prayer meeting in Yonghegong in Beijing for the May 12 Sichuan Earthquake victims on Wednesday, May 21, 2008. [Photo: Xinhua]

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The 11th Panchen Erdeni Gyaincain Norbu chants sutras in Yonghegong in Beijing for the victims who died in the May 12 Sichuan Earthquake on Wednesday, May 21, 2008. [Photo: Xinhua]

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Monks pray in Yonghegong in Beijing for the victims who died in the May 12 Sichuan Earthquake on Wednesday, May 21, 2008. [Photo: Xinhua]

(Xinhua 2008-05-21 15:06:05) The 11th Panchen Erdeni Gyaincain Norbu presided over a prayer meeting in Beijing on Wednesday, in which he prayed for peace in the areas struck by a magnitude 8 earthquake on May 12.

The meeting, held in Yong He Gong (the Lama Temple), lasted more than an hour, during which the 11th Panchen Lama read Buddhist scriptures to ward off the disasters and bring good luck for the earthquake victims.

According to the Information Office of the State Council, the devastating earthquake in southwest China's Sichuan Province claimed 40,075 lives nationwide as of 6 p.m. Tuesday.

A prayer meeting is an important religious service of the Gelug Sect of Tibetan Buddhists, in which the monks read Buddhist scriptures to avert calamities and bring blessings.