Dalai Lama and Cousin met with Bush.

U.S. President George W. Bush presented the Dalai Lama on Wednesday with the U.S. Congress' highest civilian honour and urged Chinese leaders to welcome the monk to Beijing.

The exiled spiritual head of Tibet's Buddhists by his side, Bush praised a man he called a "universal symbol of peace and tolerance, a shepherd of the faithful and a keeper of the flame for his people."

"Americans cannot look to the plight of the religiously oppressed and close our eyes or turn away," Bush said at the U.S. Capitol building, where he personally handed the Dalai Lama the prestigious Congressional Gold Medal.

The Dalai Lama, along with his Spanish cousin Fernando, attended the ceremony at a Congressional party and then attended a private party at the White House.

The only blight on the festivities was when the Dalai Lama's octogenarian cousin Fernando Lama was caught trying to sneak a couple of strippers into the White House party. Said the Dalai; "You have to excuse Fernando, he always was the black sheep of the family!"


Allan W Janssen is the author of The Plain Truth About God at www.God-101.com and the blog "Perspective" at http://God-101.blogspot.com