Seattle ? The Dalai Lama arrived in the United States on Thursday for the first time since the recent turmoil in Tibet, serenaded by fellow Tibetans as he prepared to anchor an ambitious conference on compassion.

The exiled Tibetan spiritual leader came here a day after demonstrators disrupted the Olympic torch run in San Francisco in a protest of China’s treatment of his people. The Dalai Lama will be attending a five-day conference that begins today.

With the Dalai Lama in town, some community leaders said they expected counter-demonstrations from pro-China groups.

But all was peaceful when he arrived at a downtown hotel Thursday, telling local Tibetans who sang to him that he supports nonviolent demonstrations but was saddened by the protests in San Francisco.

In Tibet, the recent protests against five decades of Chinese rule have been the largest and most sustained in almost two decades. China has accused the Dalai Lama of being involved in the uprising. The Tibetan leader has said that he wants greater autonomy for the remote mountain region but is not seeking independence.

Earlier Thursday, during a stopover in Japan, the Dalai Lama said he has always supported China’s hosting of the Olympic Games this summer, but said Beijing cannot suppress protests in Tibet with violence or tell those calling for more freedom in his homeland “to shut up.”

He strongly denied Chinese allegations he and his followers have used the run-up to the Olympics to foment unrest.

“Right from the beginning, we supported the Olympic Games,” he told reporters near the airport outside Tokyo. “I really feel very sad the government demonizes me. I am just a human; I am not a demon.”

Organizers of the five-day Seeds of Compassion conference in Seattle say the Dalai Lama’s visit is expected to draw more than 150,000 people.