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Dalai Lama arrives in Memphis to dignitary's welcome

By Michael Lollar | The Commercial Appeal

Memphis Mayor Pro Tem Myron Lowery greets the Dalai Lama with a fist bump today as Lowery and Shelby County Mayor AC Wharton welcomed the Tibetan leader on a riverbluff in Tom Lee Park. The Dalai Lama presented the two mayors with traditional white scarves.The Commercial Appeal/Alan Spearman/US

The Dalai Lama became an honorary citizen of Memphis and Shelby County today, then blessed the Mississippi River in a ceremony in Tom Lee Park where he was welcomed by Memphis Mayor Pro Tem Myron Lowery and Shelby County Mayor AC Wharton.

Under heavy US State Department security, the head of the government-in-exile of Tibet arrived from the airport in a black Cadillac Deville and walked across the park in his amber and burgundy robes. A security helicopter circled overhead, and a motorboat patrolled the river’s edge, drowning out parts of the ceremony.

Standing between the Tom Lee memorial obelisk and the edge of the riverbluff, the Dalai Lama spoke about his respect for the civil rights leader he called “Luther King.”

“I have never met him, but I am a fan of his compassion,” he said.

The Dalai Lama then accepted a single key to the city and county and presented white scarves to Lowery and Wharton as part of a Tibetan tradition. Afterward, he blessed another scarf and tied it to a railing overlooking the river as his blessing.

The Dalai Lama will receive Wednesday an International Freedom Award from the National Civil Rights Museum; then he will speak in a Cannon Center for the Performing Arts programme sponsored by the Missing Peace Project.

Copyright © 2009 The EW Scripps Co.

Published in The Commercial Appeal