Toronto Kalachakra
2004 – Final Report
Tashi Delek. Some time has passed since His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s
visit to Toronto, conferring Canada’s first Kalachakra Initiation;
however, memories of His Holiness still remain strong in the city to
this day.
His Holiness’s visit
to Toronto was truly a global event with 7,200 visitors from 55
countries taking part in Kalachakra 2004 from April 25th to May 5th. On
April 25th, more than 30,000 people attended a sold out Public talk at
the Sky Dome entitled “The Power of Compassion” given by His Holiness the
Dalai Lama. The DVD for this event can be purchased through the
CTAO website (www.ctao.org). Also on May 1st,
there were 14 representatives from different religious groups during the
Interfaith service.
Over 228 accredited
members of the press from 11 countries reported on the various events in
depth.
As per my
announcement on the final day of the Toronto Kalachakra, the audited
financial statements are now available on the web. Please
click here for the
link to the Audited
Financial Statements from PricewaterCoopers LLP. An
outside professional, Padgett Business Services of Canada, maintained
the accounting records of the Kalachakra 2004.
From the early stages
of planning for the Kalachakra 2004, the event was budgeted such that
revenue was to be just enough to cover costs. This was His Holiness’s
direction to the Kalachakra Organizing Committee. The final resulting
surplus was due to the incredible support from participants during the
last few months before the start of Kalachakra 2004. As mentioned during
the Kalachakra and noted in the
Audited Financial
Statements, the surplus has been allocated and distributed to three
parties: One for Tibetan relief projects in India; secondly for the
Tibetan Government in exile towards deficit reduction; and lastly, the
Canadian Tibetan
Association of Ontario (CTAO) for the creation of a local community
centre.
The production of DVD
covering the preliminary teachings is available and can be purchased at
www.ctao.org. Publication
of preliminary teachings in Tibetan and English is in progress and
should be released soon. All matters related to the Kalachakra 2004
including the establishment of a Tibetan Community centre have been
passed over to the newly elected Executives of the
CTAO. On behalf of the
CTAO and Kalachakra
Organizing Committee, I would like to take this opportunity to express
my deepest gratitude for your support and assistance throughout this
project.
Our prayers and
efforts for world peace will go on.
Norbu Tsering Baro
Chairman, Toronto Kalachakra 2004 Organizing Committee