TAIPEI, Taiwan, Jan 29 (Reuter) - Taiwan President Lee Teng-hui made time in his busy Wednesday for a soul-searching session with Hollywood action hero Steven Seagal who briefed Lee on Tibetan Buddhism and human philosophy.

``The two also discussed questions of life and death,'' Lee's office said in an official account of the meeting.

Lee, a church-going Presbyterian, accepted a Tibetan ``hada'' scarf and Buddhist blessings from a bowing Seagal, then told his guest about the valuable lessons he learned through the trauma of his grandmother's death when he was only 15.

``During the process of life's struggle, although the pursuit of the material life is important, the spiritual life is more important than all else,'' Lee told Seagal in a 40-minute exchange conducted in ``fluent English and Japanese.''

The pony-tailed Seagal, whose blockbuster films have been criticized as excessively violent but who is a devoted disciple of Tibet's pacifist god-king, the exiled Dalai Lama, spoke to Lee about the Dalai Lama's plans to visit Taiwan in March.

Lee told Seagal he would be pleased if the Dalai Lama's visit took place, saying he respected the Tibetan spiritual leader's beliefs and ideals.

A visit by the Dalai Lama to Taiwan likely would provoke communist China, which regularly assails the Dalai Lama and Lee as ``splittists'' seeking to break Tibet and Taiwan away from China.