According to the 11th Panchen Lama, the forum's theme best conforms to the Buddhist creed and the mission of continuing social progress in the world. He delivered a speech in English on Buddhism and modern society.

"The rapid development of the materialistic civilization and modern science and technology brings about undreamed convenience for people's lives on the one hand, but on the other, it also causes environmental degradation, growing economic and health disparities between the rich and the poor, financial crises, armed conflicts and wars, terrorist attacks and the like," said the 11th Panchen Lama.

He said the reason for all the adversity lies in people's minds-many are deluded as to the causes of suffering and happiness, feelings of discontent and a lack of compassion.

He also talked about basic Buddhist principles during his speech. "As one accumulates karma, so shall one achieve the effects of karma. Sutras tell us that good is rewarded with good and evil is rewarded with evil. We should now guide and encourage people to understand the law of causality and to use that knowledge to serve others by offering beneficial deeds."

Talking about the responsibility of Buddhists in modern society, he said that it is the obligation of members of his faith in the 21st century to develop an "inner-mind science," to rectify and eliminate all kinds of social maladies through the help of the tenets of Buddhism. "In order to do so, we should first study many sutras, the Vinaya and Abhidharma and set our minds on the Dharma of Buddha."

Panchen means big scholar in Sanskrit. The 11th Panchen Lama fits this title by his hard study. This 19-year-old Lama spends most of his time reading books and receiving knowledge. "Learning is the most important thing in life," he said.

According to a Xinhua News Agency report, he begins his daily ritual by studying from 8:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. "This excludes time for meditation, and I have kept this for more than 10 years. I spend 95 percent of my time studying," he said. He splits his time by spending 80 percent learning Buddhist sutras and another 15 percent learning English, Chinese, Tibetan medicine and mathematics.

The 11th Panchen Lama participated in a forum meeting on Buddhism and the harmonious development of enterprises. Most of the participants were successful business leaders. While not giving a speech during the meeting, he did listen to the other people's words and took notes carefully. "I hope I can gain some more knowledge on management from these entrepreneurs."