His Holiness has visited Australia 5 times. Each Tour has been of a very different flavour, context and purpose but all have affected the Australian society in a deep and moving way. In addition the extraordinary success of each Tour has helped His Holiness further his own goals of promoting human values, inter-religious harmony and bringing the Tibet issue to public prominence. We have a lot to be proud of in our support of His Holiness and now we are reaping the benefits with His Holiness himself making firm commitments for a 6th Tour in 2008 and then remarkably a 7th Tour in 2009. We are lucky but we have earned it by our sincere response to His Holiness' message of love, compassion, tolerance and wisdom.
The first Tour in 1982
This was a very eclectic affair. His Holiness was largely unknown on the world stage. There was little if any interest politically in his Tour and we were largely ignored by politicians, police and media. His Holiness stayed in a student's private home - that of George Farley - and his bodyguards were whoever looked beefy enough to stand up to being shoved by an over enthusiastic supporter. The organising body was a loose affiliation of Buddhist groups and supporters in Australia all of whom were volunteers and His Holiness taught at Kew Town Hall for several days with Jeffrey Hopkins as his translator.
The second Tour in 1992
This was a much different event. His Holiness had received the Noble Peace Prize in 1989 and his status on the world stage had markedly increased. We were stunned by the enormous crowds that flocked to his teachings as he visited Perth, Adelaide, Melbourne, Hobart, Canberra, Sydney and Brisbane. Suddenly we were besieged by media requests, the police provided some tactical support and politicians flocked to meet him. This culminated in Paul Keating, the then Prime Minister, meeting him and agreeing to support the establishment of a Tibet Information Office in Canberra. This was funded by the leftover funds from the Tour and so the TIO in Canberra was formed and a formal representative of the Tibetan Govt in Exile became resident on Australian soil. This was a great moment for the Tibetan people and we Australians made it happen.
The third Tour in 1996
This Tour was instigated by Lama Zopa Rinpoche and was organised by the FPMT (Foundation for the Preservation of the Mahayana Tradition). Its focus was the 12 day Kalachakra Tantric Initiation in Sydney. His Holiness also visited Canberra and Melbourne to teach and give public talks. A significant amount of money was raised on this Tour and this money was donated to charities and various non profit organisations around the world. His Holiness never keeps the money for his own purpose.
The fourth Tour in 2002
This Tour was organised by Dalai Lama in Australia ltd - a non profit company formed by George Farley and Alan Molloy in 2001. The role of this company is to assist the Tibet Information Office in Canberra to administer and manage the Tours of His Holiness to Australia. By this stage the Tours were so large, so complicated and the security and political issues so massive that professional assistance was needed. Now His Holiness was to be protected by the Federal and State police. We required careful media and public relations strategies to ensure His Holiness' core messages were delivered clearly and to counter the ever increasing influence of China on Australian politics and industries. In addition the public events were so large that professional event management was required. Once again this Tour was very successful and His Holiness visited Melbourne, Geelong, Canberra and Sydney with the focus being on Melbourne and the Teachings on Atisha's Lamp of the Path. Interestingly despite our best efforts and repeated invitations neither the Prime Minister, Mr Howard, nor the leader of the Opposition, Mr Simon Crean, met His Holiness on that Tour
The fifth Tour in 2007
This was the most massive of the Tours and was once again organised by Dalai Lama in Australia Ltd. In 11 days HH visited Perth, Melbourne, Geelong, Bendigo, Canberra, the Sunshine Coast, Brisbane and Sydney. The logistics, transport and security issues became enormous and were all meticulously resolved.. HH leapt on and off helicopters, planes and motorcades to deliver his message to over 200,000 Australians. Meetings with both the Prime Minister, Mr Howard, and leader of the Opposition, Mr Kevin Rudd, occurred despite extensive opposition from the Chinese government. The Tour was an amazing success. HH was extremely pleased by the obvious interest of the Australian people in his message and offered to come back in 2008 to teach principally Dharma teachings to
THE SIXTH TOUR IN 2008
Once again Dalai Lama in Australia organised and managed the Stages of Meditation Teachings visit to Sydney in June 2008. The aims for the visit were that the Stages of Meditation teachings be accessible to all Buddhist traditions and that they be as affordable as possible. In all just over 6000 people from twelve countries in the Asia Pacific region attended the Stages of Meditation teachings. And a similar number attended the Public Talk “Finding Purpose in Life” held on the Saturday evening of the visit. Included amongst those who attended the teachings were 280 monks and nuns from the Vietnamese, Chinese, Japanese and Tibetan lineages. The Sangha were sponsored to attend the teachings and lunch was offered on 3 days. Over 200 lay students and 200 Tibetans were also sponsored to attend the teachings by very generous benefactors. To deepen the experience for those attending, an auxiliary program was organised. This included guided meditation, chanting, one-on-one question and answer sessions, as well as panel discussions. And the teachings were translated into Chinese, Vietnamese, Tibetan and sign language. Between the teaching sessions His Holiness met with: 700 members of the Tibetan and Mongolian Communities; 300 members of the Chinese community; 150 school children; over 100 Community and political leaders; and 80 members of the Australian and Chinese Media. There was an overwhelming generosity from underwriters, donors and the contribution of over 300 volunteers.
THE SEVENTH TOUR
HH sincerely appreciates the deep interest that we Australians have in his messages. He is coming back in 2009 to visit Melbourne and attend the World Parliament of Religions, Sydney for the annual Mind & Its Potential, Tasmania where he will receive an Honorary Doctorate from the University of Tasmania and Adelaide. We are blessed by this extreme good fortune but in a sense we have created the cause for this holy man to be amongst us.