By Sonali Verma

NEW DELHI, July 4 (Reuter) - The Dalai Lama began three days of 60th birthday celebrations on Tuesday with a dawn prayer meeting in a New Delhi park dedicated to Lord Buddha.

The Tibetan god-king, seated on a yellow brocade prayer mat, led a baritone chant by 40 monks in traditional maroon and saffron robes, facing a large golden statue of the Buddha amid burning incense and the clashing of cymbals. After the 45-minute prayer session, the Dalai Lama planted a pipal tree sapling in front of the statue. The Buddha is believed to have attained enlightenment under a pipal tree.

The Dalai Lama's birthday falls on July 6 but is being commemorated by three days of seminars and cultural programmes in honour of the 1989 Nobel Peace laureate. The four seminars, on non-violence and compassion in the 21st century, time and transcendence, inner and outer disciplines and sciences and spirituality, will include internationally prominent academics, organisers said.

"We are going to have two two days for the symposia and I am sure that there will be occasions to discuss some of the points in detail," the Dalai Lama said at the start of the first seminar. Organisers said they had chosen India as the venue for the festivities despite invitations from the Dalai Lama's disciples from all over the world. "In ancient Indian and Tibetan tradition, the 60th birthday is considered an important milestone," Lakhan Mehrotra, an organiser, said.

The spiritual leader has been living in exile in India's Himalayan town of Dharamshala with thousands of his followers since an abortive uprising in 1959 against Chinese rule. Exiled Tibetans have been vociferous in demonstrating anger at China but organisers insist the celebrations, attended by scientists, philosophers and human-rights activists from all over the world, would have no political overtones.

They stressed that the programme, drafted in close consultation with the Dalai Lama would be purely spiritual, cultural, religious and academic, and would have no impact on India-China relations. Relations between the two Asian giants, who fought a brief border war in 1962, have in recent years begun to warm though the Dalai Lama is closely watched by Beijing.