The 11th Panchen Lama conducted a ritual with Tibetan Buddhism scholars, all monks at the High-level Tibetan Buddhism College of China, in Beijing on December 5.

Eleven of the monks in attendance graduated from the school on December 4, receiving the Tho Ram Pa degree, one of the highest academic degrees in Tibetan Buddhism.

The monks received their degrees after passing a six-day exam, defending their dissertations and being interviewed by a panel made up of distinguished monks.

The Tho Ram Pa degree system was launched in 2004 in an effort to improve the study of Tibetan Buddhism and the training of outstanding monks by incorporating elements of modern education.