"Big hitter the Lama, long!"

After a brief stint in hospital having kidney stones removed, His Holiness was back in Macleod Ganj to celebrate the Tibetan Children Village's 48th birthday.

The TCV is a school for Tibetan refugees and is a short walk up from where the government-in-exile is located.

Thousands of locals and gringos crammed around the parade grounds awaiting the arrival of one of the world's best-known people.

After a few long speeches by people who obviously didn't realise no one was there to hear them speak, the big man finally unleashed his wisdom.

Armed with three words of Tibetan (hello, goodbye and thankyou) I listened intently but couldn't pick up any of the above.

A monk told me that His Holiness said he was feeling much better and not to worry about his health.

The walk up the hill was worth it just to see Buddhist monks talking on mobiles; maybe that's where they get their cricket info from.

Anyway, after he talked the school kids did some calisthenics, spelling a few messages for the crowd, such as, "Inner peace, world peace."

The Dalai Lama once said, "Peace is not the absence of violence but the manifestation of human compassion."

I can see why the China Government considers him a "terrorist".

Beg to differ

A big downside to Macleod Ganj is the ridiculous number of crippled beggars.

It's almost as if the India Government relocates them here.

With all the deep philosophical thinking this town inspires, I started to consider the ethics behind giving to beggars.

Should you give or let them fend for themselves? And if you give, how much is reasonable?

If any philosophers out there could let me know the answers that would be great.

Until then, I guess I will keep giving randomly when I'm in the mood...