MADISON, Wis. -- The Dalai Lama said he's hopeful that science can make the world more peaceful by encouraging positive mental qualities, like empathy and compassion, during a visit to Madison this weekend.

About 1,000 people waited through lines, security and in their seats to hear the Dalai Lama, WISC-TV reported. The Dalai Lama spoke Sunday at the Overture Center in Madison in a one-hour discussion with University of Wisconsin-Madison neuroscientist Richard Davidson. Davidson is the director of the new Center for Investigating Healthy Minds at the university.

The Dalai Lama was serenaded by the Madison Youth Choir and he was introduced at the Capitol Theater by the Gov. Jim Doyle.

"Throughout his life, his Holiness has served as a voice of unity, compassion, and strength," Doyle told the crowd.

Donning a University of Wisconsin Badgers ball cap, the 14th Dalai Lama sat down to talk tolerance, compassion and the role both can play in our well-being.

"I think (a) proper mental state … (is) I think very useful for physical health," he said.

The Tibetan spiritual leader said, unlike religions in which differing beliefs have caused sharp divisions across the globe, "science is universal."

He said that there should be a special effort to promote traits like forgiveness, calmness and concern for the well-being of others among young children.

"Never keep negative feeling. That's, I think, very important," he said.

"What we don't yet understand is how that comes to be. What changes occur in the brain of a happy person, that lead to changes in the body," Davidson said.

The Dalai Lama said it's OK to fight, but people must resolve conflicts and move on from them.

The Dalai Lama's message of establishing clarity in our own lives was a message that had resonance with some members of the audience.

"Just remain calm and things will become more clear. Get rid of all of the negative emotions and maybe we'll get where we want to go together," said Fred Klancnik, who attended the talk.

Some of the research at the Center for Investigating Healthy Minds will focus on soldiers after they return from war and prisoners before they are released back into society. It will apparently be the first of its kind with a brain imaging laboratory and a dedicated space for meditation under one roof, WISC-TV reported.

The visit was the Dalai Lama's eighth stop in Madison.