The Verizon Center in the US capital’s Chinatown was transformed into little Tibet, with vendors selling handicrafts from the Himalayan land and intricate mandalas hanging incongruously underneath advertisements for fast food.

Tibetan monks and nuns folded their hands with reverence and American supporters broke into an impromptu song of “Happy Birthday to You” as the Dalai Lama came on stage to mark the start of a 10-day ritual known as a kalachakra.

*”Some people ask me for some message for my birthday celebrations. I always say, the best gift to me is to practice compassion,”* the Dalai Lama said, advising the crowd to look into their minds and hearts.

*”Happiness — it is not money, it is not material things, it is not power,”* he said. *”It is (inside), full of self-confidence.”*

The Dalai Lama, who fled Chinese rule of his homeland in 1959, recently said that he was stepping down from his political role and handing over to a newly elected prime minister of the Tibetan government-in-exile.

*”For the last few decades, I always said that religious institutions and political institutions are separate, but I myself combined the two,”* he said, adding with a hearty laugh: *”That’s hypocrisy. I must even myself fully practice that.”*

Yet few doubt that the Nobel Peace Prize winner is the face of the Tibetan cause. He is set to meet Thursday with House Speaker John Boehner and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi.

The White House has stayed mum on whether President Barack Obama will meet the Dalai Lama, a move that would be certain to anger China which has tried for years to isolate the Tibetan spiritual leader despite his global popularity.

Nepal, Tibet’s neighbor which is eager not to upset China, banned public celebrations of the Dalai Lama’s birthday, with riot police arresting three Tibetan exiles and preventing hundreds more from attending a party.

But the Dalai Lama enjoyed shows of support at his birthday party. Desmond Tutu, South Africa’s former archbishop who fought non-violently against the apartheid regime, saluted the Dalai Lama as a friend in a videotaped message.

Martin Luther King II, the son of the slain US civil rights leader, appeared on stage with the Dalai Lama and hailed him as a *”tireless champion of compassion, human rights and peace.”*

King offered prayers to the Dalai Lama for his *”continued health and the successful mission to bring freedom and peace to Tibet and all nations around the world.”*

Arun Gandhi, the grandson of India’s apostle of peaceful resistance Mahatma Gandhi, urged supporters of the Dalai Lama to work to end both physical violence and “non-physical violence” which they feel inside themselves.

*”Pledge today as a birthday gift to His Holiness that we will no longer hate, that we will no longer discriminate, we will no longer be greedy and that we will always respect each other irrespective of religion or philosophical outlook,”* Gandhi said.

Organizers expect some 10,000 people to turn out during the Kalachakra, in which disciples meditate for peace as part of their quest for enlightenment. The ritual, which was last held more than five years ago in India, includes the building and destruction of a sand mandala to symbolize life’s transience.

The Dalai Lama also plans a free public teaching on the lawn of the US Capitol on Saturday, which organizers expect to draw a large crowd.