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Khando Chazotsang, the Dalai Lama's niece and a longtime Utahn, waited patiently for hours with 250 Utah Tibetans and maybe 100 others in boiling temperatures Monday for their spiritual leader to arrive.

Dressed in traditional silks, the crowd — including a 98-year-old woman in a wheelchair and a 5-month-old baby girl in arms — lined the drop-off driveway of the Grand America Hotel in downtown Salt Lake City, waving Tibetan flags and holding signs that read "Long Live His Holiness" in English and, in Tibetan, "Chinese Out of Tibet" or "Remember all those who self-immolated."

The 14th Dalai Lama may be internationally renowned, having earned a Nobel Peace Prize in 1989, met with world leaders, led a government in exile, and published a stream of global best-sellers, but members of Utah's tiny Tibetan community believe he came to the Beehive State for them.

"We love it here and are well, but the people of Tibet are suffering," Chazotsang said. "His purpose is to lift our spirits and theirs."

At about 6:30 p.m., the Buddhist throngs spied a half-dozen motorcycle police officers with roaring sirens turning into the hotel and they knew the big moment had arrived.

The world-famous monk, in classic mustard-and-maroon robes, stepped out of the lead car. The subdued crowds quietly bowed before their spiritual leader, hands clasped, many holding the traditional white scarf to present to him.

The Dalai Lama, who turns 81 next month, was a bit more stooped than when he visited Utah 15 years ago. He was slower getting out of the car and his step a tad more halting. Still, he moved partway up and down rows of eager Buddhists, leaning in to hear comments and receive honorary gifts, touching heads and hands.

"We are overjoyed by his presence," said Phuntsok Choedon, a member of the Utah Tibetan Association. "We are blessed."

Those blessings will continue Tuesday afternoon, when the special visitor speaks to a packed Huntsman Center at the University of Utah.