For the first time ever, the Dalai Lama led the Senate opening prayer, saying “speak or act with a pure mind, and happiness with follow you like a shadow that never leaves.”

Calling himself a “simple Buddishist monk,” the Dalai Lama joked about his “broken English” before offering his “favorite prayer.” “Daily I pray this,” he said. “It gives me inner strength.”

The spiritual leader will give a talk at the National Cathedral tomorrow. While the event is sold out, it will be livestreamed.