Rice University Tuesday welcomed His Holiness the 14^th Dalai Lama of Tibet.

The Dalai Lama arrived at Rice on Monday.

JEFF FITLOW/Rice.edu

At 10 a.m. Tuesday, he began lecturing to the public on the Rice campus.

The Dalai Lama's speech is titled “The Meaning of Compassion in Everyday Life”.

About 4,500 people turned out to hear His Holiness.

At 2 p.m. Tuesday, Rice students, faculty, staff, alumni and special guests of the university will have a chance to hear him speak during a private lecture exclusively for a Rice audience.

He will discuss “Tolerance and Universal Responsibility in a Global Village.”

His Holiness the 14^th Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso, is both the head of state and the spiritual leader of Tibet.

He was born on 6 July 1935 in northeastern Tibet.

When he was 2-years-old he was named Lhamo Dhondup and was recognized as the reincarnation of the 13^th Dalai Lama.

According to reports the Dalai Lamas are believed to be manifestations of Avalokiteshvara or Chenrezig, the Bodhisattva of Compassion and patron saint of Tibet.

Bodhisattvas are enlightened beings who have postponed their own nirvana and chosen to take rebirth in order to serve humanity.