(TibetanReview.net, Jun29, 2017) – The organising committee of the 34th Kalachakra Empowerment requested by the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA) at Dharamshala and given by His Holiness the Dalai Lama over Jan 2-14, 2017 at Bodh Gaya has announced Jun 28 that the event generated a surplus fund of nearly Rs 30 million. The committee has added that on direction by the Gaden Phodrang office of the exiled spiritual leader of Tibet, President Lobsang Sangay of the CTA allocated the surplus fund to various welfare projects and initiatives after seeking guidance from His Holiness the Dalai Lama.
The committee, chaired by the CTA’s Kalon (Minister) for Religion and Culture Karma Gelek Yuthok, has announced that:
- Rs 10 million has been presented to the CTA’s Health Department for an emergency project aimed at prevention and treatment of liver cirrhosis prevalent among the exile Tibetan monastic community.
- Nearly Rs 5 million has been set aside for renovating and redecorating old people’s homes that are under the supervision of the CTA’s Department of Home.
- Rs 4 million has been earmarked for college scholarship for students graduating from Tibetan Homes Foundation. The school had faced a fund crunch after its chief sponsor thus far, the SOS–Kinderdorf International, suddenly stopped financial aid to it.
- Rs 2 million will be spend on the annual Himalayan Festival being organised at Dharamshala in December with the aim to foster harmonious relations through cultural exchange between the local Indian and Tibetan communities.
- Rs .35 million has been allocated to Shide Khangsar, a de-addiction centre for afflicted Tibetan youths based in Rajpur, Dehradun.
- And nearly Rs .6 million has been set aside for use to sustain the Mani chanting practice prevalent in some small and scattered Tibetan communities across northern India. The purpose was stated to be to sustain the practice to earn collective merits for the entire Tibetan people.
The Dalai Lama’s 34th Kalachakra Empowerment, given at Bodh Gaya in the India state of Bihar, was organized by the CTA.
The Kalachakra event took place during a period of severe shortage of cash in India after the government suddenly announced on Nov 8, 2016 that all the notes in denominations of Rs 500 and Rs 1000, constituting 86% or so of the money circulating in the economy, would no longer be legal tender from next morning. The CTA had announced that it would bear any shortage of fund in case the total expenditure should exceed the amount coming in from sponsors and donations from the public.
The committee has said 29 percent of the total expenditure was contributed by the Kalachakra sponsors while 70 percent was contributed by devotees through donations made as offerings towards the Kalachakra puja.