Tibet's exiled spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, is to come to Washington next month for meetings that touch on both politics and science.

The International Campaign for Tibet says the 70-year-old Nobel laureate hopes to meet with President Bush, U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and U.S. lawmakers during the 10-day trip that begins November 8th. The Dalai Lama fled to India in 1959 after a failed uprising against Chinese rule and has been struggling to gain some form of autonomy for his homeland since

The Dalai Lama is also scheduled to lecture at a conference on neuroscience, although the invitation has generated protests from some participants who object to hearing from a non-scientist. The spiritual leader will host his own conference on the science and clinical applications of meditation in advance of the event.