"Among the many forms in which the human spirit has tried to express its innermost yearnings and perceptions, music is perhaps the most universal," the Dalai Lama said at a news conference announcing the "World Festival of Sacred Music," which will begin Oct. 9 in Los Angeles and continue in several other cities.

The music festival is aimed at uniting people of different nationalities, religions and cultures, he said. It will feature chants by Asian Buddhists and Gregorian monks, the earth-worshipping sounds of Australian aborigines and the gospel music of black Americans.

"People are dying of starvation, some are killing people by bombing them," said the spiritual leader of hundreds of thousands of Tibetan Buddhists. "We need a wider view of the world, a world as one body."

The festival, which is being coordinated by the Dalai Lama's government-in-exile in the northern Indian town of Dharmsala, will be held over five months. After Los Angeles, it will travel to Dresden, Germany; Cape Town, South Africa; Sydney, Australia; Hiroshima, Japan; and Bangalore, India.

The Dalai Lama led an exodus of more than 100,000 people when he fled Tibet after an ill-fated 1959 revolt against China, which seized the region in 1950.

He regularly speaks out against what he calls China's suppression of Tibetan culture. But rather than seeking outright independence for Tibet, the Dalai Lama calls for more autonomy for his Himalayan homeland.

In announcing the series of concerts, the 1989 Nobel Peace Prize winner said people have a duty to show concern for others.

"If you have inner peace, you will have world peace," he said.

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Last updated: 19-May-99