Dalai Lama hosts Bruni-Sarkozy at temple in France

(Reuters) - The Dalai Lama inaugurated a Buddhist temple in southern France on Friday with French first lady Carla Bruni-Sarkozy among the guests.
Tibetan spiritual leader Dalai Lama (L) and France's first lady Carla Bruni-Sarkozy attend the inauguration of the Buddhist Lerab Ling temple in Roqueredonde, southern France on August 22, 2008. (REUTERS/Philippe Laurenson)
The ceremony at the Lerab Ling temple, set in remote green hills in the Herault area and built according to traditional Tibetan design, came at the end of a visit to France during which the Dalai Lama repeatedly criticised Olympics host China.
His presence in France during the Games caused a headache for President Nicolas Sarkozy, who has been widely criticised for declining to meet the exiled Tibetan leader. The tacit aim of his wife's presence on Friday was to appease the row.
The red and gold Lerab Ling is one of the biggest Tibetan Buddhist temples in the West. It houses a 7-metre high golden statue of Buddha and many holy relics and scriptures. Another golden Buddha sits in the middle of a lake outside.
It was raining heavily on Friday but that did not stop hundreds of students of Buddhism from coming to the site, which was decorated with multi-coloured Tibetan prayer flags. They sheltered under orange umbrellas on the grass.
The Dalai Lama led a procession of monks in orange and red, chanting and playing long trumpets, around the temple, accompanied by Bruni-Sarkozy looking glamorous in a dark blue knee-length dress. When they arrived at the door, the Dalai Lama gave her a khata, a long white scarf symbolising welcome.
The Buddhist pageantry was a departure for former model Bruni-Sarkozy, who has recently appeared on the covers of glossy celebrity magazines promoting her latest pop album.