The Dalai Lama is coming back to Madison.

Five years after his last visit, the Dalai Lama will address University of Wisconsin students and a general audience May 4 at the Kohl Center.

Known worldwide for his efforts in aiding a peaceful resolution to the liberation of Tibet, the 1989 Nobel Peace Prize winner is the first Dalai Lama to travel to Western countries.

"Even for some of us who just get to hear him speak once, he may change our lives just by that one time," said the Thubten Tsultrim George Churinoff at the Deer Park Buddhist Center in Oregon, Wisc. "Those of us who get to learn from him have a great opportunity."

The Buddhist leader, who has been the Dalai Lama since 1950, will also give a series of teachings at the Alliant Energy Center and the Deer Park Buddhist Center, where he will meet with the center's Venerable Geshe Sopa, who has longdstanding ties with the Dalai Lama.

The Deer Park Buddhist Center is built over the location of the first Kalachakra Initiation performed by the Dalai Lama in the Western world, which holds great historical importance.

"We all consider him our supreme teacher," Churinoff said. "He is the most reliable and the most pure teacher of Buddha."

The Dalai Lama will have an exclusive tour of the Deer Park center's $16 million renovation project, which, according to its website, includes the construction of a new temple and a $10 million endowment to keep it "free of business enterprise."

"[The current temple] was never meant for a permanent utilization as a temple," Sopa said. "That is why we are building the new temple."

The Dalai Lama plans to return to Wisconsin in 2008 after the scheduled completion of the temple, Churinoff said.

Up to 4,000 free tickets are available to UW students. According to a UW release, they will be distributed Feb. 24 from 1 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. at the McGinnis Family Athletic Ticket Office at Camp Randall Stadium.