The 11th Panchen Lama, Bainqen Erdini Qoigyijabu (front) attends a sub-forum of the Second World Buddhist Forum (WBF) in Wuxi, east China's Jiangsu Province, on March 29, 2009.(Xinhua/Han Yuqing)

    by Xinhua writers Fu Shuangqi, Liu Chang and Shi Yonghong

    WUXI, Jiangsu, March 31 (Xinhua) -- Most 19-year-old men dream of a pretty girlfriend, a happy life or a good job. He is different.

    Born shouldering a sacred mission as one of the two most senior living Buddhas in Tibet, the 11th Panchen Lama has a big dream.

    "My dream is, the world is peaceful, our motherland is stable, people live in harmony, Buddhism is prosperous," said the elegant young man, neatly clad in saffron monk robe and wearing a string of prayer beads at his left wrist.

    "This is what I will pursue in my whole life. I will devote everything for it."

    For this dream, he has to work really hard.

    In a half-hour exclusive interview by Xinhua, the 11th Panchen Lama revealed his daily life.

    "From 8:30 a.m. to 10 p.m., it is my school time every day, not including the time for meditation. A schedule like this has lasted more than 10 years," he said.

    About 80 percent of his school time goes to learning Buddhism sutras. Also, he has language classes in Tibetan, Mandarin and English, and studies poets, literatures, computers and Chinese calligraphy.

    "About 5 percent of my time will be spent on entertainment such as reading newspapers, books and sports," he said.

    The Panchen Lama is a book lover. "I read all kinds of books but I like historical books most. I also read some fictions and essays, in Tibetan and Chinese."

    As for sports, he loves horse riding and jogs regularly to keep fit.

The 11th Panchen Lama, Bainqen Erdini Qoigyijabu, attends a sub-forum of the Second World Buddhist Forum (WBF) in Wuxi, east China's Jiangsu Province, on March 29, 2009.  (Xinhua/Han Yuqing)

    Facing the heavy task of study, he is not often seen in the spotlight. "My major task is to study," he said.

    But he paid frequent visits to Tibet and other Tibetan populated areas in Qinghai, Gansu, Sichuan, and Yunnan, to meet his followers. He also toured other places in the country, including attending the first World Buddhist Forum in Hangzhou of eastern Zhejiang Province in 2006 and the second one held in Wuxi of Jiangsu Province from March 28 to 29 this year.

    At the opening of the second World Buddhist Forum on Saturday, the Panchen Lama gave a speech in English, impressing many.

    He was quite modest when talking about his English. "I am just a beginner." He has three English classes every week, one hour each.

    "I don't have a very good environment for improving spoken English. But with the help of teachers, I progressed a bit," he said. "I don't like improving my vocabulary by rote. You have to understand a word's meaning and then remember it. Thus, once I speak this word, its meaning will come to my mind."

    He spent quite an effort on his Saturday speech. "I wrote it down in Tibetan, translated it into Chinese and then to English with the help of my teacher. It took me some time to absorb it and at last it came to the speech you heard."

    Besides English, he plans to learn more foreign languages. " The more the better. I hope to promote Buddha's thoughts to more places in the world."

The 11th Panchen Lama, Bainqen Erdini Qoigyijabu, attends the opening ceremony of the Second World Buddhist Forum (WBF) in Wuxi, east China's Jiangsu Province on March 28, 2009. (Xinhua/Wu Xiaoling)