Dalai Lama Lesson

Source: WSJ.com
As Barack Obama prepares for his trip to Beijing next month, he'd be wise to cast an eye toward New Delhi, where Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is showing the rest of the world how to deal with Beijing when it gets into a bullying mood.

At issue is the Dalai Lama's proposed trip next month to visit Tibetan Buddhist believers in Arunachal Pradesh, a province governed by India but claimed by China since the border war in 1962. Chinese spokesperson Ma Zhaoxu said last week the trip "further exposed the anti-China and separatist nature of the Dalai clique."
But India stood firm. During a regional summit over the weekend Prime Minister Manmohan Singh says he "explained to Premier Wen [Jiabao] that the Dalai Lama is our honored guest; he is a religious leader." The prime minister went on to imply that the Dalai Lama was free to travel where he pleased, so long as he did not engage in political activities.
Mr. Singh's stance stands in sharp contrast to Mr. Obama's decision not to meet with the Dalai Lama earlier this month. His cave-in broke Presidential precedent and emboldened Beijing to step up anti-Dalai Lama rhetoric, particularly in—guess where—India, which has hosted the Tibetan government-in-exile for more than 50 years.
Mr. Singh will face further China tests soon, given the other conflicts with his northern neighbor. China and India still dispute their 2,200-mile long border, and according to the Indian ministry of defense, Chinese incursions into Indian territory are on the rise. The countries are also butting heads in Kashmir, where China supports construction projects in territory claimed by India, and in Nepal, where Chinese influence has increased since the change of government there last year.
Those irritants are more reason for Mr. Singh to stand firm on the principles for which India stands—the very same principles of democracy and freedom that America holds. Therein lies a lesson for Mr. Obama, too.

Dalai Lama free to go to Arunachal, insists India

New Delhi, Oct 23 (IANS)
A day before Prime Minister Manmohan Singh meets Chinese premier Wen Jiabao in Thailand, Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao Friday said Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama is “free to go anywhere in the country” and asserted that Arunachal Pradesh is an integral part of India.

“The Dalai Lama is a respected religious and spiritual figure. He is free to travel to any part of the country,” Rao told reporters here when asked about India’s position on the Dalai Lama’s proposed visit to Arunachal Pradesh next month.
“Arunachal Pradesh is an integral part of India,” Rao said. Beijing has raised objections to the Tibetan leader’s visit to Arunachal Pradesh, India’s northeastern state over which Beijing claims sovereignty.
Rao, however, reiterated India’s position that the Tibetan community is not expected to undertake any political activities in the country.
“We are aware of the fact that the Dalai Lama had expressed an interest to visit Arunachal Pradesh,” Rao replied when asked whether the exiled Tibetan leader had conveyed to the Indian government about his plan to visit Arunachal Pradesh.
In a sign of their deepening trust deficit, China raked up its claim over Arunachal Pradesh last week and also objected to Manmohan Singh’s visit to the state Oct 3.
India reacted sharply, asking China to desist from carrying out infrastructure projects in Pakistan-administered Kashmir and saying that it was a part of Jammu and Kashmir.
Confirming the meeting between Manmohan Singh and Wen in the Thai resort city of Hua Hin, Rao said the bilateral relationship “will be in focus” when the two leaders meet.
Rao set a positive tone for the much-watched meeting between the two leaders on the sidelines of India-ASEAN summit in Thailand, saying: “This is a relationship that has developed in many areas.”
“It’s also a complex relationship,” she said while mentioning that there are some outstanding issues between the two countries that need to be resolved through dialogue.
“This is an opportunity to address all issues. India and China are partners in multilateral fora on many issues,” Rao stressed.



The meeting between Manmohan Singh and Wen will be followed by bilateral talks between External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna and his Chinese counterpart Yang Jiechi in Bangalore Oct 27 on the sidelines of a trilateral meeting of the foreign ministers of India, China and Russia.

Obama aide denies retreat on China rights

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A top aide to Barack Obama denied on Wednesday the U.S. president snubbed the Dalai Lama or retreated on human rights in China by delaying a meeting with the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader earlier this month.
Senior adviser Valerie Jarrett pushed back against Obama's critics who accused him of bowing to Chinese pressure when he became the first president in 18 years to refuse to see the Dalai Lama on a visit to Washington.
"It is not a signal of any lack of commitment to human rights," Jarrett said in an interview with Reuters. "That's a ridiculous conclusion to draw."
Obama opted to hold off on meeting the Dalai Lama until after a Beijing summit with Chinese President Hu Jintao scheduled for mid-November.
Asked whether that decision was made with an eye to Chinese
sensitivities about Tibet, Jarrett said, "That's a fair point to make."
Critics charged that Obama had sacrificed human rights concerns to curry favor with the China, which accuses the 74-year-old Buddhist monk of seeking to separate Tibet from China. Beijing has always protested loudly against the Dalai Lama's White House visits.
The decision not to meet the Tibetan leader was made amid the Obama administration's efforts to improve U.S.-China relations on issues from global warming and international finance to reigning in North Korea's nuclear ambitions.
The controversy underscored Obama's dilemma in dealing with China, a growing power and the biggest holder of U.S. debt.
Human rights groups and opposition Republicans have accused Obama of being soft on China.
"There's no stronger advocate for human rights than President Obama," said Jarrett, who led a U.S. delegation on a visit to northern India in September to see the Dalai Lama to discuss ways to resolve problems of the Tibetan people.
She said Obama had invited the Dalai Lama to a White House meeting "as early as December" and will bring up Tibet's plight in his talks with Hu next month.
"It's a very important relationship and we think that we can certainly have both," Jarrett said. "The president has a relationship with the Dalai Lama. He has a relationship with the Chinese."
The president and the Buddhist monk have one thing in common: they both are Nobel Peace Prize laureates

Obama aide denies retreat on China rights

By Matt Spetalnick

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A top aide to Barack Obama denied on Wednesday the U.S. president snubbed the Dalai Lama or retreated on human rights in China by delaying a meeting with the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader earlier this month.

Senior adviser Valerie Jarrett pushed back against Obama's critics who accused him of bowing to Chinese pressure when he became the first president in 18 years to refuse to see the Dalai Lama on a visit to Washington.

"It is not a signal of any lack of commitment to human rights," Jarrett said in an interview with Reuters. "That's a ridiculous conclusion to draw."

Obama opted to hold off on meeting the Dalai Lama until after a Beijing summit with Chinese President Hu Jintao scheduled for mid-November.

Asked whether that decision was made with an eye to Chinese

sensitivities about Tibet, Jarrett said, "That's a fair point to make."

Critics charged that Obama had sacrificed human rights concerns to curry favor with the China, which accuses the 74-year-old Buddhist monk of seeking to separate Tibet from China. Beijing has always protested loudly against the Dalai Lama's White House visits.

The decision not to meet the Tibetan leader was made amid the Obama administration's efforts to improve U.S.-China relations on issues from global warming and international finance to reigning in North Korea's nuclear ambitions.

The controversy underscored Obama's dilemma in dealing with China, a growing power and the biggest holder of U.S. debt.

Human rights groups and opposition Republicans have accused Obama of being soft on China.

"There's no stronger advocate for human rights than President Obama," said Jarrett, who led a U.S. delegation on a visit to northern India in September to see the Dalai Lama to discuss ways to resolve problems of the Tibetan people.

She said Obama had invited the Dalai Lama to a White House meeting "as early as December" and will bring up Tibet's plight in his talks with Hu next month.

"It's a very important relationship and we think that we can certainly have both," Jarrett said. "The president has a relationship with the Dalai Lama. He has a relationship with the Chinese."

The president and the Buddhist monk have one thing in common: they both are Nobel Peace Prize laureates.

(Reporting by Matt Spetalnick; Editing by Anthony Boadle)

China projects Kashmir as a separate country

Source: HindustanTimes
Besides issuing separate visas to Indian passport holders from Jammu and Kashmir, China is also projecting the disputed territory as an independent country in other ways.

Visitors to Tibet, especially journalists invited by the Chinese government, are given handouts where Kashmir is indicated as a country separate from India.
Media kits providing "basic information" about Tibet - which China attacked and annexed in the 1950s - says Tibet "borders with India, Nepal, Myanmar and Kashmir area".
Except the "Kashmir area", the other three are sovereign countries.
Maps too, available in China, Myanmar and Nepal, show an India denuded of Kashmir.
Also, China's policy of extending assistance to only the government of a country indicates it considers India's nuclear rival and neighbour Pakistan to be in control of Pakistan-administered Kashmir by offering financial assistance to build a dam on the Indus river there.
China, now locked in a row with India, is also asking for the tightening of the open border between India and Nepal that, it says, is abetting anti-China activities and demonstrations by Tibetans crossing into Nepal from India.
Beijing is also indirectly asking for the closure of the seat of the Dalai Lama, the exiled leader of the Tibetans, in Dharamshala in India, hinting that such a step would improve India-China relations.
China, which fought a war with India in 1962, says Arunachal Pradesh belongs to it. India says it is an integral and inalienable part of India.
On the eve of the Dalai Lama's visit to Arunachal Pradesh in November, China has been hurrying Nepal to deploy armed security forces along the border between northern Nepal and Tibet.
Both Nepal's Home Minister Bhim Rawal and Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal recently visited Mustang, the northernmost district in Nepal to assess the security plan.
Mustang was once both part of an ancient Tibetan kingdom and later the base of anti-China guerrilla attacks by Tibet's Khampa warriors.

India reaffirms Dalai Lama can visit disputed state'

(AFP) – 7 hours ago

NEW DELHI — India has reaffirmed Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama's right to visit its disputed border region with China in the face of objections from Beijing, a report said Saturday.

The India-based Dalai Lama is slated to visit next month the northeastern state of Arunachal Pradesh, at the centre of a long-simmering border dispute between the giant neighbours.

The Dalai Lama, who fled to India 50 years ago after China crushed an uprising in his Tibetan homeland, is denounced by Beijing as a "splittist" despite his calls for autonomy rather than full independence for Tibet.

"The Dalai Lama is a religious figure and he does not indulge in political activities," India's foreign secretary Nirupama Rao said Friday, according to The Indian Express newspaper.

"He is our guest in India and he is free to visit any part of our country," she added.

Rao said China's objections to the Buddhist leader's visit had been taken "seriously" but India has been clear about its own position.

India says China occupies 38,000 square kilometres (14,700 square miles) of its Himalayan territory, while Beijing claims all of Arunachal Pradesh, which covers 90,000 square kilometres.

"Arunachal Pradesh is an integral part of India," Rao said.

An official of the Dalai Lama in the northern Indian hill town of Dharamshala, home to the spiritual leader's government-in-exile, said last month the visit to Arunachal Pradesh was "purely religious in nature."

Beijing's objections to the Dalai Lama's trip are the latest in a series of tensions to buffet prickly ties between India and China.

The two nations fought a border war in 1962 in which Chinese troops advanced deep into Arunachal Pradesh and inflicted heavy casualties on Indian troops.

Rao's remarks came after India and China traded diplomatic jabs earlier this month over a visit in early October by Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to the state.

Indian media has reported Singh and his Chinese counterpart Wen Jiabao are expected to meet on the sidelines of the East Asia Summit in Bangkok.

New Delhi has called for Beijing to take a "long-term view" of India-China ties.

Devotees throng Dharamsala to attend teachings by Dalai Lama

Dharamsala, Oct 15 (ANI): A four-day teaching session by Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama began here on Thursday.

Thousands of people including Buddhist monks, nuns, foreigners and Tibetans assembled at the Tsuglagkhang Temple to listen to the preachings.
In his inaugural session, the Dalai Lama highlighted the basic principles of Buddhism and spoke about love, peace and compassion.
Lobsang, a Tibetan youth, believes that the Dalai Lama teachings will help in resolving conflict and other existing differences.
“This is exactly what Dalai Lama has been telling the Chinese people that it is only through dialogue, through understanding, through compassion, the conflicts can be resolved. His teachings are actually spreading this message that you have to have the understanding and feel compassion for other people,” said Lobsang, a Tibetan youth.Another Tibetan youth, Tenzin said, preaching sessions by the Tibetan spiritual leader will spread awareness about the Tibetan cause.
The Dalai Lama has lived in Dharamsala with thousands of his followers ever since they fled from their homeland after a failed uprising against Chinese rule in 1959.
In 1950, the Chinese troops marched into Tibet and occupied it. (ANI)

His Holiness the Dalai Lama Successfully Concludes Washington DC Visit

Source: Tibet.net
Washington, DC: His Holiness the Dalai Lama concluded his five-day Washington, DC visit Saturday, 10 October, by conferring a Buddhist teaching, meetings with a select group of Administration officials, diplomats, members of Congress, and members of the Tibetan American community.

In the morning, His Holiness went to the Bender Arena at American University, the venue of his teaching. His Holiness was received by Greg Kruglak, President of Conservancy for Tibetan Art and Culture (CTAC), Rinchen Dharlo and Ani Tenzin Lhamo, members of CTAC's Board. The Conservancy was the organizer of this teaching session. His Holiness first went to the nearby Provost's Office where he was received by American University President Cornelius Kerwin and Provost Scott Bass.
The teaching program began with the recitation of the Heart Sutra in Pali, Chinese, Vietnames and Tibetan. Thereafter, His Holiness first dwelt on the topic of religious harmony. He explained that different religions were not only needed in order to suit the mental disposition of different individual but that they also had the same objectives both at the theoretical and practical levels. His Holiness said in the theistic religious traditions, there was the special bond between the individual and God the creator. This called for total submission of the individual to the will of God. He said this resulted in the reduction of a self-centered ego, which is something that religions like Buddhism also aspire for. At the practical level, he said all religious traditions called for the practice of compassion in different ways.
His Holiness emphasized the importance of individuals to stick to their own traditional religious belief while respecting all religious traditions. He drew a distinction between faith and respect. He said each individual should have faith only in his or her own religion (this will reduce confusion, he said) but that respect should be shown to all religious traditions.
His Holiness then explained the tenets of Buddhism and also bestowed the Bodhicitta vows. While doing this, he said that followers of other religious traditions could visualize their respective religious Masters like Jesus Christ, the Prophet Muhammad, etc. His Holiness explained the dependently arisen nature of our happiness and suffering, showing by way of Buddha's teaching of the four noble truths how both of them are produced from causes under our control. He explained the proper view to be adopted by practitioners.
At the conclusion, Amy Head of CTAC informed His Holiness and the gathering about how the organisation intended to utilize income generated from the event. She said part of it will be used to fund CTAC's Himalayan Education Program, a portion will be donated to the Booker T. Washington Schoo, which His Holiness had visited some years back, and another portion will be donated to a local organisation that provides food to the needy.
Followers and organisations belonging to the following Buddhist traditions were involved in supporting the teaching event: Thai, Sri Lankan, Tibetan, Vietnamese, Japanese and Laotian traditions.
His Holiness then left for the residence of Senator Dianne Feinstein and Mr. Richard Blum, who were hosting a lunch with a select group of individuals.
His Holiness' last program was a visit in the afternoon to the Adas Israel Congregation, the venue of his audience to the Tibetan community. On his arrival at the synagogue, its Rabbi Gil Steinlauf received him. As His Holiness' visit coincided with the celebration of Sukkot festival, Rabbi Steinlauf invited His Holiness to enter a structure set up outside the synagogue where many of its members had gathered. They sang a song as His Holiness reached the structure. In a brief address, His Holiness expressed his admiration of the Jewish people and how Tibetans were looking to the Jewish people to find the secret of maintaining one's own identity.
His Holiness then went to the hall where the Tibetan community were gathered. He was first received by Mr. Kalden Lodoe, President of the Capital Area Tibetan Association (CATA), and then by the Board of Directors of CATA.
The program,announced by CATA General Secretary Dhondup Gonsar, began with the singing of the Tibetan national anthem and a prayer for the long life of His Holiness. Thereafter, the CATA President gave a brief report outlining the activities of the community in the political and cultural fields. He recognized the services of those involved in running the Sunday school for the children, including the voluntary teachers. He also announced that CATA had requested His Holiness to bestow the sacred Kalachakra Initiation in Washington, D.C. and repeated the supplication.
In his remarks, which His Holiness chose to make standing up, he first dwelt on the strength of the Tibetan identity. He asked the Tibetans abroad to be specially mindful of the tremendous hope placed on them by the majority of the Tibetans who currently reside inside Tibet. He said the best way of being able to meet their expectation was to pay particular attention to education. His Holiness also asked that the people study the Buddhist religion and not just look at it as a ritual. His Holiness asked the Tibetan community to uphold the best of standards and be a good role model. He recalled a conversation he was having during his recent visit to Ladakh in which he learnt that some Ladakhi people had been learning the bad habit of playing of Majhong from some Tibetans. He said this was unfortunate.
His Holiness addressed the members of the clergy who were in the audience and said that they should really stick to the tenets of the faith and not do anything inappropriate bearing in mind that they were wearing the garment of religion. He said he had made a similar appeal during his address to the Tibetans during his recent visit to Taiwan.
In response to the supplication for a Kalachakra Initiation, His Holiness said it need to be studied as to what the situation and interest is and if appropriate such a ceremony could be considered. He said it would not do to be performing such a ceremony merely as a sort of performance.
On the issue of the Tibetan political situation His Holiness said that he had nothing new to say.
His Holiness had a specific message to the people working in the two Tibetan language radio programs based in Washington, D.C. He said they should certainly report both the positive and negative developments truthfully. However, he said they should be particularly mindful of the atmosphere under which many of their listeners in Tibet reside and the risk they take to listen to them. He said thus specific attention needs to be paid so that reports are not based on mere hearsay or rumor but that crosschecking needed to be done. Otherwise, there is the danger of creating confusion, particularly if the motivation was not good.
His Holiness next touched on the issue of propitiation of Dholgyal or Shugden. He said recently he had met a Chinese from China who informed him about how the Chinese Government was making political use of the Dholgyal issue and the need, therefore, for him to continue explaining the issue. He then recalled hearing some delegates at a gathering of Tibetan religious leaders saying that the propitiation needed to be stopped because His Holiness had said so. His Holiness said he himself had at one time been propitiating Dholgyal and that he had stopped after a thorough investigation and with full knowledge of both his senior and junior tutors, Yongzin Ling Rinpoche and Yongzin Trijang Rinpoche. His Holiness said since Ling Rinpoche did not indulged in the practice he welcomed His Holiness' move. While Trijang Rinpoche, who did the practice, said that he understood that His Holiness was taking the action after doing a thorough investigation. His Holiness said that his action thus had the concurrence of both his tutors.
Therefore, His Holiness said the pertinent issue was the reasoning behind his urging rather than him merely saying it. He said it was during the period of the Fifth Dalai Lama that the propitiation began and so he would know the best. The Fifth Dalai Lama had discouraged this practice and His Holiness said the situation could only be altered by an individual with knowledge and standing equivalent to the Fifth Dalai Lama who had a different view.
His Holiness said the people should not merely be engrossed in one's own individual interest after having immigrated to the United States but should also pay attention to the common community's issues. He also said that the recent establishment of Tibetan-Chinese Friendship Associations have been beneficial and asked the people to continue paying interest on such matters.
His Holiness departed from Washington, D.C. after the Tibetan audience, on his return journey to India.
--Report filed by Mr Bhuchung K Tsering of ICT

Havel criticizes Obama for postponing meeting with Dalai Lama

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS (CP)

PRAGUE, Czech Republic — Former Czech President Vaclav Havel has criticized President Barack Obama for postponing his meeting with the Dalai Lama.
Havel said Monday the postponement is a "tiny little compromise" that sidelines human rights issues for economic reasons.
The Tibetan spiritual leader is in Washington to receive an award, but won't meet with the president.
A meeting will take place after Obama visits Chinese President Hu Jintao in Beijing in November. Obama needs Chinese support for crucial foreign policy, economic and environmental goals
China accuses Tibet's exiled spiritual leader of seeking independence from Beijing and objects when he meets foreign leaders. The Dalai Lama says he seeks only more autonomy to preserve the Himalayan region's Buddhist culture.

Dalai Lama asks Obama to champion 'liberty'

Credit:AFP
WASHINGTON — The Dalai Lama on Friday congratulated President Barack Obama on joining him as a Nobel Peace Prize winner and called for the US leader to champion "freedom and liberty."

The exiled Tibetan leader, who is in Washington, sent Obama a letter of congratulations even though the president, in an apparent bid not to upset China, avoiding meeting the Buddhist monk during his weeklong visit.
The Dalai Lama, who won the prestigious award in 1989, told Obama that the Nobel committee "recognized your approach towards resolving international conflicts through the wisdom and power of dialogue."
He praised Obama's advocacy for ridding the world of nuclear weapons and improving the environment.
"I have maintained that the founding fathers of the United States have made this country the greatest democracy and a champion of freedom and liberty," the Dalai Lama wrote.
"It is, therefore, important for today's American leaders to adopt principled leadership based on these high ideals. Such an approach will not only enhance the reputation of the United States, but also contribute tremendously to reducing tension in the world."
The Dalai Lama's trip is his first to Washington since 1991 in which he will not meet with the US president.
The White House said Obama would meet him but only after the president visits China in November.
The Dalai Lama brushed aside the lack of meeting, saying that he did not want to cause problems between the United States and China.
Valerie Jarrett, a Chicago friend and senior adviser to Obama, last month visited the Dalai Lama's home in exile in Dharamshala, India to speak to him ahead of his trip.
She denied Obama had snubbed the Tibetan leader, who enjoys a wide following in the United States.
"What the Dalai Lama, His Holiness, said to me, is he would look forward to seeing the president after his trip to China and that would actually be his preference," Jarrett told CNN.
"All I can say is that I know that the president is looking forward to meeting him after his trip to China. He has a great deal of respect for His Holiness, the Dalai Lama, his ways, his religion and the culture of the Tibetan people," she said.
China staunchly opposes the travels of the Dalai Lama, accusing him of separatism.
The Dalai Lama, who has spent 50 years in exile in India, preaches nonviolence and says he accepts Chinese rule of his homeland.

THE RUNDOWN, 10/7

SOURCE: The Atlantic

Difficult decision time continues for President Obama on Afghanistan, as the commander in chief will meet with his national security team again today to weigh the possible strategies and Gen. Stanley McChrystal's request for 40,00 more troops.
In less grave matters, it's science day at the White House: Obama will award the National Medal of Science and the National Medal of Technology at 1:30 p.m., and 150 middle schoolers will flood the White House tonight, along with their science teachers, astronomers, astronauts, and NASA staff to discuss/exhibit math and science education. Michelle Obama will host the event along with the president, as he will probably need the help.As Obama weighs the situation in Afghanistan, so too does the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, which will hold a hearing on al-Qaeda's threat "in Afghanistan and beyond."And, a day after the Dalai Lama received a human rights award from House Speaker Nancy Pelosi--and was not met by President Obama--the Congressional-Executive Commission on China will hold a hearing on human rights and the rule of law in China...which was exactly the topic President Obama wanted to avoid. The Dalai Lama, meanwhile, will address an International Campaign for Tibet awards ceremony in Washington, DC at Sidney Harman Hall.And the U.S. Capitol, which is replete with many, many statues, will get another one today: congressional leaders will gather for a dedication ceremony for a statue of Helen Keller in the Capitol Rotunda.

Dalai Lama comes to Washington, will not see Obama

When the Dalai Lama visits Washington DC this week, there's one door he won't be knocking on - 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.
Instead of any meeting with President Obama, the Tibetan spiritual leader will meet with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, and Under Secretary of State for Democracy and Global Affairs, Maria Otera. This will be the first time a sitting president has not met with the Dalai Lama during a visit to Washington, since 1991
The Obama administration appears to want to stay in the good graces of the Chinese government by postponing any meeting. As Fox's Major Garrett reported last month, the White House has stated that a meeting between Obama and the Dalai Lama will come after the president visits Chinese President Hu Jintao in November.
China considers the Dalai Lama a separatist and has intensified its desire to isolate his Holiness in the aftermath of ethnic violence in China this summer.
As Major has also reported, back in mid-September White House senior adviser Valerie Jarrett met with the Dalai Lama in Dharmsala, India, the location of the Tibetan government-in-exile. Jarrett's visit was meant to convey President Obama's respect for the Dalai Lama's role as leader of the Tibetan identity movement. According to a senior administration official, in the meeting with Jarrett the Dalai Lama said he is not pushing for independence for Tibet.
The Dalai Lama has been visiting New York and Washington as part of 23-day trip to the US and Canada and has made no secret of his desire to meet with Obama this week.
The official said there will be a meeting, but after Obama's visit to Shanghai and Beijing in November as part of his attendance at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit.
Despite the apparent snub, State Department Spokesman Ian Kelly said Monday that the sequence of events means nothing, "I wouldn't necessarily read this decision, beyond what it is."
Major Garrett and Joe Danielewicz contributed to this report

From Fox News.com

No White House Greeting for the Dalai Lama

By Michelle Boorstein
Washingtonpost.com


When the Dalai Lama visits Washington next week, it will be the first time since 1991 that he hasn't been greeted by the sitting American president. Needless to say, his advocates are trying to put a positive face on this.
The Tibetan Buddhist leader, who has been in the country since Sept. 23, will be in D.C. from Monday through Saturday, visiting with members of Congress, giving a large "teaching" at American University (the subject: the power of the human mind) and meeting with Chinese people who have spoken out in defense of democracy in Tibet.
But he won't be meeting President Obama, who opted to wait until after a U.S.-China summit next month. The highest level American official he'll see this trip is House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, which is a stark contrast to his visit two years ago, when he was awarded the Congressional Gold Medal - Congress' highest civilian honor - and met with President Bush at the Capitol, thrilling thousands of Buddhists and non-Buddhists who celebrated on the lawn outside.