The Dalai Lama will visit the Boston area this October to participate in programs hosted by the Dalai Lama Center for Ethics and Transformative Values at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. In the three-day event, starting Oct. 14, the Tibetan spiritual leader will speak on a variety of topics and engage in discussions with environmentalists, economists, technocrats, and political and religious leaders. On Oct. 16, in celebration of the 10th anniversary of Prajnopaya at MIT, the school’s Buddhist community, the Dalai Lama will give a talk based on Acharya Kamalashila’s 8th-century text, “Stages of Meditation,” and offer an in-depth introduction to contemplative practice in modern life. Tickets went on sale Thursday.