Dalai Lama show costs millions

With the Dalai Lama in Australia at the moment heading up what might be called a roadshow, the only difference between this one and the heaps of others that take place is that this is a supposedly religious one and is very expensive indeed.

Media reports say that this visit by the Dalai Lam is very different to his inaugural one in 1982, when he stayed in supporters’ homes, but this time, with the  tour called, “Open Arms, Embracing Kindness”, starting today, with the 71-year-old Dalai Lama and his entourage of 10 flying business class and staying in four to five-star hotels.

Expected to speak to more than 200,000 people, more than 500 volunteers have been trying to make sure most costs can be met and the 10-day tour is expected to cost $3.5 million.

This is all great for Australia’s MICE business, but………….The Mole has bit of an issue with this, in particular when one considers the abject poverty back home where the Dalai Lama comes from.

Wouldn’t it be more appropriate for a “man of the cloth” per se, whichever cloth that is, to be more modest in his travel arrangements and while still taking all the income that people are willing to pay to see and hear him, but channel that back to his people?

I may be wrong, but the Pope’s forthcoming visit in 2008 to World Youth Day is anticipated to be rather the same with vast amounts of money being lavished on private planes, accommodation for the Pope and his entourage.

I suppose you could liken both to Sophia Loren’s visit this week during which she helped raise money for Sophie Delizio’s charity, but few will know that the Loren entourage had 17, yes I said 17 rooms booked at a five star Sydney hotel overlooking Sydney Harbour and a Maserati for Ms Loren to be driven around in!

But, hey that is her business and she is not a religious leader, but I suppose thinking deeper – what if all that money had gone to Sophie Delizio’s charity?

In any case back to the Dalai Lama!

Private seminars are to finance most of his tour, with venues including Melbourne’s Rod Laver Arena, the Burswood Dome in Perth and the Domain in Sydney costing more than $1 million, with organisers also relying on donations being made and on merchandise sales.

In a report in The Age, Alan Molloy, the Dalai Lama’s tour’s director, admits managing costs is a large part of his job. “This is a multimillion-dollar tour and that’s because we are providing events for free,” he says.

“I am petrified by it. The buck stops with me, and I will suffer financially if this doesn’t work.”

“Religion and money are inflammatory,” he concedes.

“A balance has to be achieved in that because nothing exists without resources in this world.”

“Publicity helps. A National Media Unit led by former broadcaster Lynne Haultain, alerts news desks to interview and photo opportunities. There are also celebrity supporters lending their fame for fundraising.”

Singer Ben Lee was quick to offer his services at no cost for the Sydney events. “I was asked and I said ‘yes’ before I even heard the details … I wasn’t even planning a trip to Australia,” says Lee. “I am not a Buddhist but for me that’s not what this is about … At the end of the day I am just trying to be a better person than yesterday. I find sometimes you need some role models for that.”

Molloy says about 80 per cent of people who will hear the spiritual leader speak this week won’t be Buddhist and it is certain that for some the allure of the Dalai Lama centres around his personality. There is something about him.

“He changes people,” explains Molloy. “He is articulate, he smiles, he is happy … there is a gasping feeling when you meet him. A real ‘wow’ …

“With the Dalai Lama, the more you understand him the more your feeling grows, your depth of understanding grows. Because in a way he is infinite, because his understanding is infinite.”

He even has a web site: http://www.dalailama.org.au

The Mole thinks the world continues to show that it has truly lost the plot!

A view by the Mole