By Philip Sean Curran, Staff Writer
The Dalai Lama likely will be greeted with protesters when he visits Princeton University next week during his first appearance at the school.
The International Shugden Community, a California-based Buddhist organization whose members protest the Dalai Lama at other appearances around the world, plans to be in town for the visit on Tuesday.
A representative of the organization filed paperwork with the town in September to have the protest, although more details were not immediately available in terms of the number of expected protesters or the exact location of the demonstration.
A representative of the International Shugden Community could not be reached for comment.
On its website, the organization says the "the Dalai Lama has falsely banned the worship of the enlightened deity called Dorje Shugden; he has forcefully removed all Tibetan Shugden practitioners from their own Tibetan communities and he is continually performing various actions to expel all other Shugden practitioners from Buddhist communities throughout the world."
Representatives of the organization have protested the Dalai Lama elsewhere, including in Germany and California, according to news accounts. The Dalai Lama has urged Tibetan Buddhists not to practice that form of worship.
University spokesman Martin A. Mbugua said Monday that the school was aware of the planned protest. He would not disclose whether the university planned to have additional members of its campus security department present.
"We do not discuss security arrangements," Mr. Mbugua said.
Princeton police have been in talks with the university about organizing security for the visit, said police Sgt. Steve Riccitello by phone Monday. He said the university Department of Public of Safety is the lead agency.
The Dalai Lama is scheduled to give a public talk starting at 9:30 a.m. in Jadwin Gym. Admission is by ticket only, with as many as 4,000 people expected to attend. Later, he is scheduled to meet privately with students and faculty.
