Dalai Lama To Address California Legislature Monday

The Dalai Lama will visit the California Capitol Monday and speak to a joint session of the state Legislature.

The Tibetan spiritual leader arrived in the U.S. last week, starting in Washington, DC. His visit to the White House drew criticism from China, which considers the Dalai Lama a political exile rather than a religious figure because he advocates for Tibetan independence.

Now, after several public appearances over the weekend in Orange County, the Dalai Lama is visiting the California Capitol.

Here, too, the politics are sensitive: Gov. Jerry Brown has worked to expand California’s relationship with China. He led a trade mission there in 2013 and met with China’s president in Seattle last fall.

Democratic legislative leaders say the Dalai Lama will discuss “compassion, the environment and ethical leadership” when he speaks to lawmakers Monday afternoon.