When exiled Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama visits Taiwan this weekend, eight Buddhist priests in his delegation will perform a ritual to stop earthquakes in Taiwan, the Dalai Lama's representative office said yesterday.
The Earthquake Aversion Ritual will take three to seven days. It will be performed in Puli, where a quake struck on Sept. 21, 1999, office spokesman Tsegyam said.
The quake killed roughly 2,400 people, injured 10,000 and left tens of thousands homeless.
Taiwan lies on the circum-Pacific seismic belt and is rocked by hundreds of moderate quakes every year.
"The lamas will draw a sand picture with 14 colors, say prayers, put the sand into bottles and throw the bottles into the sea to restrain the Dragon King," Tsegyam said.
"They will also build a pagoda in the earthquake-stricken area, which is part of the Earthquake Aversion Ritual.
"The Dragon King controls the Earth's movement. Once it is pacified, there will be less or no earthquakes," he said.
According to Tsegyam, the Dalai Lama performed the Earthquake Aversion Ritual in Dharamsala, north India, to stop tremors there.
Dharamsala is the seat of the Tibetan government-in-exile.
"Dharamsala is an earthquake-prone area. About 100 years ago, a destructive quake wiped out all the houses there. When the Dalai Lama fled to Dharamsala from Tibet in 1959, he performed the Earthquake Aversion Ritual. We have lived in peace ever since," he said.
The Dalai Lama will make his second visit to Taiwan from March 31 to April 9.
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