Dalai Lama honored with human rights award; urges U.S. to address rich-poor issue

"Huge gap, rich to poor. This is unhealthy," he said. "You have to think seriously about those less-privileged people. They're also human beings."

The "real greatness of America," he said, "is your ancestors' principles," and he urged the nation to preserve those principles.

"When I think of America, I think of the idea -- concept of freedom, liberty, equality. I think these are real human values," he said.

The inaugural Lantos Human Rights Prize, presented to the 74-year-old Dalai Lama by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, honors his commitment to ending global injustice.

The Dalai Lama called the award, from the New Hampshire-based Lantos Foundation for Human Rights and Justice, "a great privilege, especially because it is named after an individual I admired deeply."

He was referring to the late Rep. Tom Lantos, D-California, whom the foundation describes as a champion of human rights during his 27 years in Congress. Lantos, who was the only Holocaust survivor in Congress, died of cancer in February 2008. His image is on the large medal.