Dalai Lama to visit Darwin
Darwin is set to receive a visit from His Holiness next year, after the Dalai Lama announced plans to give a speech in the Top End.
The visit comes after a "long desire" by the Dalai Lama to visit the Northern Territory fuelled by a high regard for Indigenous Australians, according to his general manager for Australia Lynn Baine.
"This will be a first for His Holiness to visit the Northern Territory," Ms Baine said.
"Territorians have been calling for him to visit...if people want him to come, obviously they have a need to hear him speak."
The Dalai Lama will stay two nights in Darwin and will address issues covered in a new book about ethics for the world in his public speech.
Ms Baine said his message was relevant to people of any or no religion.
"We are all inclined to want happiness and good, so how do you do that? You do that with a set of ethics," she said.
"He's not the fox in monk's clothing, he just wants the best for the people of the world."
Former Territory Administrator Tom Pauling, who previously met the Dalai Lama at a speaking event in India, said the visit would attract followers from around the world.
"I imagine the Dalai Lama will be a sell-out really. There will be people coming from all over the world to hear him speak once they know he is giving a speech in Darwin on a particular date."
Mr Pauling said his encounter with the Dalai Lama had left him in a "state of bliss".
"Anyone who's met or been at a teaching by the Dalai Lama can't help but be profoundly impressed," he said.
"I'm not terribly religious but it's really an impression of ethics."
The Dalai Lama will be in Darwin on 22-23 June, 2013.
