The Golden Frog

Back home from Frankfurt and the Dalai Lama.

The weekend at the event was much more 'light'. It consisted of a mixture of panel discussions with various experts on things like the economy and climate change, and also short lectures in English by DL. All much more easy to follow. It feels great to have been there, although it was not perfect and it wasn't all what I expected.

I bought my mother a present in one of the many, many stalls flogging things (a bit odd for an event on Buddhism...?). It was a gold statue of a meditating frog. It sums up nicely my attitude to this kind of thing: I have a very keen interest, but with a sense of perspective and humour about it.

What struck me during the event - and also thinking about myself - is that so many of us seem to have a real need to find new meaning in our lives these days, hardly suprising I suppose with everything that's going on in the world. However, I think this search can be too superficial at times. We think that if we just attend another event, read another book (like me!) or buy a crystal or a Buddhist bracelet or yet another yoga mat, we will move one step closer to a more meaningful life. But the truth is that this can only happen through regular action in the world, we need to find a new way of BEING in the world; our actions need to reflect our values in a way that most of us have not mastered yet. Don't just read about meditation; meditate! Don't just read about shopping more ethically; do it. I need to become better at this, too.

On another note, I was really pleasantly surprised what a nice city Frankfurt is. Mind you, we did have great weather throughout and some great meals, so that always helps!