PHILADELPHIA (AP) _ The Dalai Lama is ending his Philadelphia visit. Following some morning meetings he is scheduled to travel today to New York and leave Friday for Colorado.

After several days of lectures at Lehigh University, the exiled Tibetan Buddhist leader visited a temple in Philadelphia's Feltonville section on Wednesday. He also spoke to a sold-out crowd at the Kimmel Center. Protesters claiming religious persecution by the Dalai Lama demonstrated outside.

The Dalai Lama recalled his last visit to Philadelphia, in 1990, and how he was taken to see what he referred to as "the Bell of Liberty."

His core message was that being a good Buddhist does not consist of ritual observance alone, but also requires the practice of kindness and compassion.