{Louisville, Kentucky}...The Dalai Lama is planning a three-day visit to Louisville next year. The Tibetan Buddhist spiritual leader will give a public talk, offer Buddhist teachings and reach out to young people during his May 19-21 visit. The 77 year old spiritual leader lives in exile in India. The Dalai Lama fled Tibet in the 1950s amid China's rule of the Himalayan region. China says Tibet has always been part of its territory, but many Tibetans say the region was virtually independent for centuries and that Beijing's control is draining Tibetan culture. Since 2009, dozens of Tibetans have set themselves on fire to protest Chinese rule. The Dalai Lama won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1989 for advocating nonviolent liberation for Tibet. He has visited the United States regularly for the past 30 years. His last visit to Louisville was in 1994.
