By Cathleen Falsani

The Dalai Lama has announced he will travel to Chicago in May to make his first public appearance in the city since 1999.

The 71-year-old spiritual leader of the world’s Tibetan Buddhists is expected to hold a public teaching session at Chicago’s Harris Theater and then deliver a public address in Millennium Park on May 6, according to the Dalai Lama’s official Web site and Tashi Puhri, president of Chicago’s Tibet Center.

“We are, of course, very excited,” said Puhri, who is a member of the committee planning the lama’s visit. “Apart from the teaching and hearing from him, just to see him is a great thing.”

On the morning of May 6, the Dalai Lama is scheduled to give a two- to three-hour teaching on Geshe Langri Thangpa’s “Eight Verses of Training the Mind,” a classic Tibetan text and one of his favorite lecture topics, to an audience of about 1,500 at the Harris Theater, according to his Web site and Puhri.

In the afternoon, he is set to deliver a public address titled, “Finding Inner Peace in a World of Turmoil,” in Millennium Park for a crowd of 15,000-16,000.

Both events will be ticketed. Puhri said Ticketmaster would handle sales and information would be available soon through the Web site www.dalailamachicago.com.

A spokeswoman for Ticketmaster could not confirm whether the agency would handle the sales, and calls to the Mayor’s Office of Special Events seeking comment were not returned.

In 1999, the Dalai Lama gave a public talk at the Field Museum. Last year, he made a private visit to the Chicago area, staying for several days at the home of friends in Libertyville, while working on projects that included a forthcoming book.

Before his May 6 visit to Chicago, the Dalai Lama is scheduled to give three days of public talks in Madison, Wis. Tickets for those events are on sale now at Ticketmaster and are priced from $50 to $175.