His Holiness the Dalai Lama starts US visitFriday, 24 April 2009, 12:50 p.m.

In this file photo, His Holiness the Dalai Lama addresses a gathering of heads of the four schools of Tibetan Buddhism and Bon religion,in Dharamshala, India, in March 2009/Photo by Sangjey Kyap (tibet.net)

Dharamshala: His Holiness the Dalai Lama on Thursday arrived in the United States, where in the next eleven days he will give a series of public talks and hold meetings with Chinese democratic activists and China experts, French news agency AFP reported Friday.His Holiness the Dalai Lama started his visit in California, where on Friday he is to give lectures in Santa Barbara on ethics and the nature of the mind, said Tenzin Dickyi of His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s New York office.His Holiness the Dalai Lama will also visit New York and Boston, where he is to dedicate a center on ethical research named after him at the prestigious Massachusetts Institute of Technology.His Holiness is not scheduled to visit Washington or meet with US officials.But the Chinese government has urged the US President Barrack Obama not to meet with His Holiness the Dalai Lama.In Tokyo on Wednesday, His Holiness the Dalai Lama accused China of “acting like a child” in cracking down on Tibetans and other minorities, saying it lacked the moral authority of a genuine superpower.Every US president has met His Holiness the Dalai Lama winner since George H.W. Bush in 1991 and analysts in Washington believe it is unlikely Obama would avoid meeting with His Holiness.In October 2007, then president George W. Bush defied repeated warnings from China and awarded His Holiness the Dalai Lama the Congressional Gold Medal — the highest US civilian honor — at the US Capitol.Related:His Holiness the Dalai Lama to Visit USHis Holiness the Dalai Lama says China “acting like a child” on rights