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FILE PHOTO: The Dalai Lama is set to come to the Princeton University in October, university officials said. He is pictured here in August during a visit to Germany. (Christian Charisius/picture-alliance/dpa/AP Images-File)

PRINCETON — Tickets for the Dalai Lama's much-anticipated lecture next month at Princeton University were snapped up in minutes Tuesday.

A crowd of more than 4,000 people is expected, university spokesman Martin Mbugua. About 1,000 seats were opened to the general public, while the remainder went to students, faculty and staff, he said.

The tickets first became available to the general public at 6 p.m. on a first-come, first-served basis and were gone in less than three minutes, Mbugua said. In the event that any ticket holders no longer need the tickets, they will be made available to the public at a later date, he said.

The Dalai Lama’s “Develop the Heart” lecture will be held at 9:30 a.m. Oct. 28 in Jadwin Gymnasium. It was initially going to be held in the university chapel, but was moved to the gym to accommodate a larger audience, Mbugua said.

In his lecture, the spiritual leader will highlight the importance of developing compassion and kindness, alongside the intellect, in an academic environment. Following the public talk, he will hold a private gathering for select students and faculty for a conversation around Princeton’s informal motto, “In the Nation’s Service and in the Service of All Nations.”

Those who registered must show identification and pick up the ticket no later than Oct. 1 at the Office of Community and Regional Affairs, 4 Mercer St.

The university will provide a live streaming broadcast of the lecture at mediacentrallive.princeton.edu.

The Dalai Lama’s visit is co-sponsored by the Office of Religious Life at Princeton and The Kalmyk Three Jewels Foundation.

Cristina Rojas may be reached at crojas@njtimes.com. Follow her on Twitter @CristinaRojasTT. Find The Times of Trenton on Facebook.