(TibetanReview.net, Jun15, 2017) – More than 200 Tibetans turned out to welcome the Dalai Lama as he arrived at the Mayo Clinic in the US city of Rochester, Minnesota state, on Jun 13 for his routine annual medical check-up. The exiled spiritual leader of Tibet is visiting the country for 17 days, during which he will address university students and the public.
A major highlight of his current visit will be to deliver on Jun 17 the keynote speech to the University of California San Diego graduates, their families and friends at the university’s invitation-only All Campus Commencement. The talk will focus on the value of education, ethics and compassion for the well being of self and others.
The invitation to the commencement event was vigorously opposed by a section of Chinese students in a nationalistic support of their political leadership in Beijing but was overruled by the university authorities. China accuses the Dalai Lama of seeking Tibet’s historical independence although he has only been campaigning for meaningful autonomy for his homeland for decades. China annexed Tibet in 1951 and took full control of it in 1959.
The day before, on Jun 16, the Dalai Lama will deliver a public talk on ‘Embracing the Beauty of Diversity in our World’, also at the University of California San Diego. Some 25,000 people are expected to attend the event, which will be held on the university campus’s RIMAC Field.
His other engagements during the current visit include a public talk on ‘Caring for the World through Kindness and Compassion’ at Minneapolis, Minnesota, and a public talk for the Tibetan Community in the state.