The Dalai Lama, Tibetan spiritual leader, celebrates 88th birthday

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Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama smiles as he presides over a function marking his 88th birthday at the Tsuglakhang temple in Dharamshala, India, Thursday, July 6, 2023. (AP Photo/Ashwini Bhatia)

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Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama presides over a function marking his 88th birthday at the Tsuglakhang temple in Dharamshala, India, Thursday, July 6, 2023. (AP Photo/Ashwini Bhatia)

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Young monks offer prayers during celebrations to mark the birthday of their spiritual leader the Dalai Lama in Kathmandu, Nepal, Thursday, July 6, 2023. (AP Photo/Niranjan Shrestha)

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Tibetan Buddhist Monks join celebrations to mark the birthday of their spiritual leader the Dalai Lama in Kathmandu, Nepal, Thursday, July 6, 2023. (AP Photo/Niranjan Shrestha)

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A woman offers a ceremonial scarf in front of a portrait of her spiritual leader the Dalai Lama during his 88th birthday celebration in Kathmandu, Nepal, Thursday, July 6, 2023. (AP Photo/Niranjan Shrestha)

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A young monk offers a ceremonial scarf in front of a portrait of his spiritual leader the Dalai Lama during his 88th birthday celebration in Kathmandu, Nepal, Thursday, July 6, 2023. (AP Photo/Niranjan Shrestha)

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Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama smiles as he sits next to Penpa Tsering, the president of the Central Tibetan Administration, during a function marking his 88th birthday at the Tsuglakhang temple in Dharamshala, India, Thursday, July 6, 2023. (AP Photo/Ashwini Bhatia)

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Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama greets children performing a traditional dance for him, during a function marking his 88th birthday at the Tsuglakhang temple in Dharamshala, India, Thursday, July 6, 2023. (AP Photo/Ashwini Bhatia)

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Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama greets Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, first left, Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh, as he arrives to wish the Tibetan leader on his 88th birthday at the Tsuglakhang temple in Dharamshala, India, Thursday, July 6, 2023. (AP Photo/Ashwini Bhatia)

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Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama holds hands with Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh, during a function marking the 88th birthday of the Tibetan leader at the Tsuglakhang temple in Dharamshala, India, Thursday, July 6, 2023. (AP Photo/Ashwini Bhatia)

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Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama is helped by attendant monks as he gets up from his chair during a function marking his 88th birthday at the Tsuglakhang temple in Dharamshala, India, Thursday, July 6, 2023. (AP Photo/Ashwini Bhatia)

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Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama presides over a function marking his 88th birthday at the Tsuglakhang temple in Dharamshala, India, Thursday, July 6, 2023. (AP Photo/Ashwini Bhatia)

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Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama talks to Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh, during a function marking the 88th birthday of the Tibetan leader at the Tsuglakhang temple in Dharamshala, India, Thursday, July 6, 2023. (AP Photo/Ashwini Bhatia)

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Exile Tibetan children wait to perform in front of Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama, unseen, during a function marking the Tibetan leader’s 88th birthday at the Tsuglakhang temple in Dharamshala, India, Thursday, July 6, 2023. (AP Photo/Ashwini Bhatia)

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Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama gestures as he presides over a function marking his 88th birthday at the Tsuglakhang temple in Dharamshala, India, Thursday, July 6, 2023. (AP Photo/Ashwini Bhatia)

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Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama presides over a function marking his 88th birthday at the Tsuglakhang temple in Dharamshala, India, Thursday, July 6, 2023. (AP Photo/Ashwini Bhatia)

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An attendant monk fixes a microphone for Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama presiding over a function marking his 88th birthday at the Tsuglakhang temple in Dharamshala, India, Thursday, July 6, 2023. (AP Photo/Ashwini Bhatia)

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Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama meditates as he presides over a function marking his 88th birthday at the Tsuglakhang temple in Dharamshala, India, Thursday, July 6, 2023. (AP Photo/Ashwini Bhatia)

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Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama presides over a function marking his 88th birthday at the Tsuglakhang temple in Dharamshala, India, Thursday, July 6, 2023. (AP Photo/Ashwini Bhatia)

By ASHWINI BHATIA

DHARMSALA, India (AP) — The Dalai Lama celebrated his 88th birthday on Thursday, as hundreds of his supporters and exiled Tibetans thronged his hillside Indian headquarters in Dharamsala.

Artists played traditional welcome tunes as the Tibetan spiritual leader arrived in his open mobile van to preside over the celebrations in the courtyard of the Tsuglakhang Temple, which was festooned with Tibetan and Buddhist flags and portraits.

“We are celebrating my 88th birthday but look at me, I look barely 50,” the Dalai Lama said, smiling.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken offered warm birthday wishes and expressed admiration for the Dalai Lama’s commitment to peace and nonviolence, in a statement from his office.

The Dalai Lama has made the hillside town of Dharmsala his headquarters since fleeing from Tibet after a failed uprising against Chinese rule in 1959. India considers Tibet to be part of China, though it hosts Tibetan exiles.

The Dalai Lama denies being a separatist and says he only advocates substantial autonomy and protection of Tibet’s native Buddhist culture.

In April, the Dalai Lama faced widespread criticism after a video circulated online showed him kissing a young boy on the lips and saying “suck my tongue.” The footage triggered a backlash online with social media users condemning his behavior as inappropriate.

The Dalai Lama later apologized in a statement posted on his official website. It said he regretted the incident and wished to “apologize to the boy and his family, as well as his many friends across the world, for the hurt his words may have caused.”