By Bruce Finley

Denver Post Staff Writer

DENVER, May 31, 1997 (Denver Post) - Laughing and grinning at everyone he met, the Dalai Lama strolled into a downtown Denver hotel Friday and urged Americans not to forget Tibet.

U.S. leaders should forge friendly relations with China but at the same time must take a stand for Tibetan human rights and the environment, he said in an interview with The Denver Post.

"One of the sources of difficulty is Chinese over-suspicion," the Dalai Lama said. "Also, there's a Chinese sense of insecurity. So the important thing is development of mutual trust." To do that, talks with China's leaders are essential, he said.

"Many governments must openly express their frustration to China regarding Tibetan problems. The Chinese government should open a dialogue with me."

That is the message that the Dalai Lama, political and religious leader of Tibetan people, has been pushing quietly for 47 years, since Chinese soldiers occupied Tibet.

But arriving in Denver for a three-day visit, he announced that saving Tibet is still his main concern - for the sake of all humanity as well as the 6 million Tibetans.

A 61-year-old claret-robed monk who wears Rockport shoes and a wristwatch, the Dalai Lama arrived from New York on a United Airlines flight. Stewards had upgraded his coach-class ticket to first class. On the tarmac at Denver International Airport, he hugged leaders of his local support group, Colorado Friends of Tibet. Flanked by security guards, he then got into the passenger's seat of a midnight-blue Lincoln Town Car and headed directly Downtown.

A crowd of more than 200 people gathered around a red carpet leading into the hotel. Those closest were Tibetan immigrants. One of them - 29-year-old Karma Tsering - brushed a small piece of lint off the carpet just before the Dalai Lama arrived.

"He embodies everything you really want to be as a person," Tsering said. "He is kind, doesn't have any longings, doesn't have any pain." The scent of burning incense filled the air. Tibetans played drums and flutes. Dorjee Gyaltsen, who drove from New Mexico with a troupe of Tibetan dancers, sprinkled a pinch of white barley powder over the Dalai Lama's head for good luck. Fathers and mothers held up their children to be blessed. They offered the Dalai Lama tea. They passed the Dalai Lama white scarves - the traditional Tibetan greeting - and he passed each one back with a smile. The people sang in Tibetan: "We offer offer you the best of flowers, the warmest of hearts, the purest of minds."

In his black tuxedo, hotel doorman Gregory "Boggs" Nagel said he was honored to get out of the way.

"It's the cosmic stuff," Nagel said. "And these are the last people that are chanting anything close to that." Colorado political leaders waited inside the hotel and read formal proclamations for about 30 minutes. The Dalai Lama sat in a high-backed chair and listened.

"We all have much to learn from his teaching of non-violence, compassion and tolerance," said Rep. David Skaggs, D-Colo.

Gov. Roy Romer, who was out of state, had Morgan Smith, head of Colorado's International Trade Office, read a note of appreciation for the Dalai Lama's efforts to help children and advocate environmental protection.

The Dalai Lama blessed white scarfs that Skaggs, Smith and other official greeters handed him, and then draped the scarfs around their necks.

Over the next three days, the Dalai Lama will make several appearances in the Denver area, including a sold-out speech Saturday at the University of Colorado in Boulder and a Sunday night interfaith rally at McNichols Arena in Denver.

But Friday in the Downtown hotel, he simply savored the moments. He winked at children, checked out the cast on 15-year-old Patrick Anderson's right arm and laughed at two boys who posed as news photographers and crawled up close to his feet.

To the chords of a Tibetan guitar, a group of Tibetans sang him song one of them composed.

Standing at podium beneath a painting of mountains and a tibetan flag, he addressed those Tibetan immigrants.

"Wherever we are living, it's important for us never to forget what Tibetans stand for," he told them.

He also addressed the audience in general without relying on his translator.

"I believe that the Tibetan Buddhist culture has the potential to create a happier humanity," he said.

"At the moment, the situation is very very difficult. We are passing through a difficult period. So your moral support is very much appreciated.''