Six living Buddhas graduated from a middle school under the Tibetan Buddhist College in Lhasa, Southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region on Monday. Photo: Snapshot of China News

After performing an English melodrama, reciting poetry, making speeches and holding a sutra debate, six living Buddhas graduated from a middle school under the Tibetan Buddhist College in Lhasa, Southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region on Monday.

In Tibetan Buddhism, a living Buddha is a person who is considered the reincarnation of a previous deceased master - the Panchen Lama and the Dalai Lama are the two most famous living Buddhas. 

The six middle school graduates are part of the first batch of living Buddhas to have undergone national compulsory education at the Tibetan Buddhist College's middle school. They started their studies at the college's primary school in September 2015 and graduated in July 2017, according to a report from China News.

One of the living Buddhas said that the courses were very helpful for their religious studies, citing examples that mathematics can cultivate logical thinking that can be used in sutra debates, and speaking English can better spread Tibetan Buddhist culture overseas.

Zhang Liangtian, deputy dean of the Tibetan Buddhist College, said that the college has formulated a program that combines Buddhist education and China's national compulsory education with the aim that the living Buddha could become wise and be able to actively promote the adaptation of Tibetan Buddhism to socialist society, according to a report from China News.

Luo Wenhua, director of the Institute of Tibetan Buddhist Relics in the Palace Museum, echoed Zhang's opinion. He told the Global Times on Tuesday that the program could cultivate some young living Buddhas who are better able to connect Tibetan Buddhism with the world, and contribute to the long-term development of temples.

He pointed out that during his talks with some living Buddhas in Tibet, the younger living Buddhas were more tolerant of multiculturalism and interacted more positively with the outside world. 

At this special graduation ceremony, the six young living Buddhas received their middle school graduation certificates and earned a primary academic title of Chenrampa in Tibetan Buddhism awarded by the Tibetan Buddhism College.

Going from the primary title to the senior title in Tibetan Buddhism usually takes 25 to 30 years, and only living Buddhas who can perfectly integrate Buddhist theory with practice can earn this title, Fu noted.