Dalai Lama Wraps Up Toronto Visit

Ven Samdhong Rinpoche making offerings during the long life Ceremony for His Holiness the Dalai Lama held in Toronto,Canada, on October 24th, 2010.

The Dalai Lama spent the last day of his visit to Toronto accepting a long life offering (Tenshug) and giving a series of Tibetan Buddhist teachings.

His followers streamed into the Tibetan Canadian Cultural Centre, past metal detectors and throngs of security to cram into the large warehouse. Some were forced into an overflow space in a tent outside the building.

On Friday, the Dalai Lama gave a public talk at the Rogers Centre, with nearly 15,000 of his fans and followers on hand in the baseball stadium to watch him sit on a throne-like chair as he delivered a speech on peace.

"We must promote the concept of dialogue for a happy and peaceful century. Whenever we will see a problem, we should resolve it through dialogue," he said.

The Dalai Lama also touched on a range of issues including people's desire for happiness, inner peace, global economy, environmental issues as well as the commonality of humanity.

On Saturday, His Holiness inaugurated the Tibetan Canadian Cultural Centre in the Toronto suburb of Etobicoke, Toronto is home to some 7,000 Tibetans.

Some information for this report was provided by AFP and CBC.