WASHINGTON -- President George W. Bush, raising Beijing's ire, presented the Dalai Lama on Wednesday with the U.S. Congress' highest civilian honor and urged Chinese leaders to welcome the monk to Beijing.

With the exiled spiritual head of Tibet's Buddhists by his side, and speaking to a packed Capitol Rotunda, Bush praised a man he called a "universal symbol of peace and tolerance, a shepherd of the faithful and a keeper of the flame for his people."

"Americans cannot look to the plight of the religiously oppressed and close our eyes or turn away," Bush said at the U.S. Capitol building, where he personally handed the Dalai Lama the prestigious Congressional Gold Medal.

The event marked the first time in history that a sitting U.S. president has met publicly with the Dali Lama.

Beijing reviles the 1989 Nobel Peace Prize laureate and claims he seeks to destroy China's sovereignty by pushing for independence for Tibet.

The Dalai Lama says he wants "real autonomy" for Tibet, not independence. He is immensely popular in the Himalayan region, which China has ruled with a heavy hand since its communist-led forces invaded in 1951. He has lived with followers in exile in India since fleeing Chinese soldiers in Tibet in 1959.

China vehemently protested the elaborate public ceremony. But at a news conference earlier in the day, Bush said he did not think his attendance at the ceremony would damage U.S. relations with China.

"I support religious freedom; he supports religious freedom. ... I want to honor this man," Bush told reporters at the White House. "I have consistently told the Chinese that religious freedom is in their nation's interest."

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, Republican Leader Mitch McConnell, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and House Republican Leader John Boehner joined Bush and the Dali Lama on the podium.

"Over the years, Congress has conferred the Gold Medal on many great figures in history -- usually at a time when their struggles were over and won. Today Congress has chosen to do something different. It has conferred this honor on a figure whose work continues -- and whose outcome remains uncertain," Bush said.

"In so doing, America raises its voice in the call for religious liberty and basic human rights. These values forged our Republic. They sustained us through many trials. And they draw us by conviction and conscience to the people of Tibet and the man we honor today," he added.

"Your Holiness, you bring luster to this award, and a challenge to the conscience of the world," Pelosi said. "The opportunity to join the President of the United States and Congressional leaders to award His Holiness the Dalai Lama with the Congressional Gold Medal is an unsurpassed honor."

McConnell pointed out that the gathering owed a lot to the late Sen. Craig Thomas of Wyoming, "a strong but serene man who admired the Dalai Lama and worked with him closely for a long time as chairman of the Foreign Relations panel that deals with Asia. Along with Senator Feinstein, he introduced the bill that got us here."

The Dali Lama, who stumbled over his remarks in English good naturedly, said the award will bring "tremendous joy and encouragement to the Tibetan people" and he thanked Bush for his "firm stand on religious freedom and democracy."

He said he supports the 2008 Beijing Olympics in the hopes China would become a more open and tolerant country. He also addressed Chinese suspicions of his advocacy for Tibet, saying, "I have no hidden agenda."