The Deer Park Buddhist Center raised $503,000 during the Dalai Lama's three-day visit to Madison last week, according to the Wisconsin State Journal.
Penny Paster, one of the coordinators of the visit, told the WSJ the organization plans to donate the money to charities worldwide.
Approximately $200,000 will go to the Dalai Lama's schools and monasteries in India, Paster said. Donations to other charities will be in honor of upholding the Dalai Lama's teachings of happiness and compassion for others.
""Compassion or warm heartedness is ultimately [the] source of happiness,"" the Dalai Lama said during his speech at the sold-out Kohl Center May 4. ""I think any form of life has the right to exist... not just mere existence, but exist with happy, meaningful [lives].""
The public talk in front of 12,000 university students and community members was the last of three public appearances during his Madison area visit.
