Dalai Lama has a special relationship with Wisconsin

The Dalai Lama is admired around the world but he is a particularly big hit in a slice of America's Dairyland. The Tibetan political and spiritual leader has developed a tight relationship with the college town of Madison, Wisconsin, over the last 30 years and it will be on full display when he visits the city for the seventh time later this month. The six-day visit concludes with a July 24 ceremony in which Tibetans will wish the 73-year-old a long life in a series of prayers and gift offerings. Organizers say the ceremony known as the tenshug — an elaborate Buddhist ritual — has never been performed in the West. The Dalai Lama will find considerable support in Madison, where 12,000 people filled a University of Wisconsin-Madison sports stadium to hear his message of peace and understanding last year. Its growing Tibetan... [read full story]