The Dalai Lama addressed 8,000 people gathered at the University of Michigan Crisler Arena on Saturday.

Surprisingly, the message of Tibet’s spiritual leader was politics free. His Holiness seized the opportunity and advised those gathered to make efforts to preserve their own religious traditions and at the same time respect the beliefs of other people.

"As you know, I always believed since all different traditions have the same potential to bring inner peace, inner value ... it is important to keep one's own tradition," the Dalai Lama said.

The Buddhist leader said he had "genuine admiration and respect and appreciation” for the traditions of the major beliefs such as Islam, Christianity and Judaism.

This time, there were some 100 protesters, but they were pro-Chinese. They rallied outside the basketball arena where the Dalai Lama held his speech and showed their support for the upcoming summer Olympics in Beijing.

Three other teaching sessions were scheduled for Saturday and Sunday and the Dalai Lama also said he wants to hold a lecture on sustainability on Sunday sponsored the university's School of Natural Resources and Environment, The Associated Press reported.

The Dalai Lama arrived in the United States last week just a day after the torch relay was supposed to pass through San Francisco. Authorities changed the course of the Olympic torch to avoid mass pro-Tibet protests.

The protests which first started on March 14 in Lhasa, Tibet’s capital sent a shock wave all over the world. Basically, the inhabitants of the Chinese region revolted for being treated as a second-class people by Beijing and the protests turned violent as tension mounted.