MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Dalai Lama visits Argentina

The Dalai Lama opened on Sunday a three-day book tour of Argentina with a call for religious tolerance, and said individuals must take the lead in seeking peace.

"My belief is in transformation of human society, not by leaders ... but by the public from the grass roots," he told a crowded news conference at a Buenos Aires hotel.

The Dalai Lama, who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1989, declined to comment on political issues, preferring to discuss finding happiness through compassion and forgiveness, and called on different religious groups to be tolerant of each other.

"It's important to differentiate between faith in your own tradition and respect for all traditions," he said.

"I have friends across all (religious) traditions."

The 70-year-old Tibetan spiritual leader is on a two-week South American tour to promote his new book, Compassion or Competition? A Discussion on Human Values in Business and Economics.

While in the Argentine capital, the Dalai Lama is scheduled to deliver lectures, take part in a dialogue on health and spirituality and participate in an interfaith "prayer for peace."

He arrived from a four-day tour in Brazil and is expected to leave today for the Chilean capital of Santiago, before heading on to Peru and Colombia.

The Dalai Lama fled Tibet in 1959 following an aborted revolt against Chinese dominance of his homeland. He now lives in Dharmsala, India, and frequently travels abroad espousing reconciliation and religious tolerance.

Visibly weary after his visit to Brazil, the Dalai Lama was greeted in Buenos Aires by more than 100 people, many carrying flowers. Buenos Aires Herald