Dalai Lama celebrates 80th birthday

Tibet’s spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, began a three day celebration of his 80th birthday at a sold out event in Los Angeles on Sunday, which was attended by several celebrities as well as Nobel Prize winning Iranian human rights activist Shirin Ebadi.

A day ahead of his birthday the exiled Tibetan leader addressed a reportedly sold-out crowd at the “Global Compassion Summit” Honda Center in Anaheim, where he spoke about the themes of compassion and creativity.

Several musical guests performed at the event, which was attended by actors such as George Lopez, Julia Ormond and Wilmer Valderrama, paid tribute to leader in exile of Tibet.

Comedian George Lopez joked that he had been told off by the famously pacifist Tibetan leader.

I have the honor to have been scolded by the most peaceful man in the world. Earlier today I said “happy birthday”, and he looked at me and he said, “I don’t celebrate birthdays.” And I thought, ‘I didn’t know the Dalai Lama was Mexican'”, he said.

China says the Dalai Lama, who fled into exile in India after a failed uprising against Chinese rule in 1959, is a violent separatist. The Buddhist monk denies espousing violence and says he only wants genuine autonomy for Tibet.

On his latest trip to the United States, the Dalai Lama met with former President George W. Bush in Dallas, and will speak about climate change at a conference at the University of California, Irvine on Monday.

Speaking in Anaheim, the Tibetan leader spoke optimistically of the possibility of world peace.

“In order to create peaceful world, happy world, ultimately depend on people’s inner peace. So now more and more people, including many scientists and educationalists, now really showing that. So I feel now maybe possible peaceful world within my lifetime,” he said.

In 1989 the Dalai Lama was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in recognition of his efforts to end Chinese control of Tibet through nonviolent means.