Dalai Lama urges respect

ANN ARBOR, Mich., April 19 (UPI) -- The Buddhist spiritual leader Dalai Lama said Saturday in Ann Arbor, Mich., respect for other religions trumps proselytizing.

"I always believe sincerely all different traditions have (the) same potential to bring inner peace, inner value, and therefore it is important to keep one's own tradition," the Tibetan monk said.

The Dalai Lama said there is no need to convert from one religion to another, nor is there reason to feel "some kind of threat" from other religions, the Detroit Free Press reported.

"It's much better to keep one's own tradition, much safer," he said while sitting cross-legged on a Crisler Arena stage draped in red. "Sometimes, what you call, fundamentalists, that kind of attitude, and religions cause further division."

His lecture was the first of three he is to deliver this weekend.

The Dalai Lama, who lives in exile in India, has used peaceful methods for decades to try to free Tibet from China's control.