From the very first days of the Europe Center, friends coming together from all over the world to exchange the latest news, share their country’s challenges and solutions, and establish deep and lasting friendships has been a part of every day life. But this year, for the first time ever, 72 people from 32 countries were invited to participate in two full days of working meetings – the first International Center Meeting.

After preparing an informative poster for each country, representatives joined the first small group discussions, where those who arrived with “unique” challenges quickly discovered friends who overcame them years ago, and inspirational stories and ideas flew around thick and fast. In the afternoon, Lama Ole and Caty joined the meeting to listen as each country presented the state of their local sangha – their challenges, opportunities and inspirations – greatly enriched by the Lama’s stories about the history of Diamond Way Buddhism in each country. After a long day of exciting discussion, Lama Ole spontaneously invited everyone at the Europe Center to join him as he read and explained the Ganges Mahamudra text, sung by the yogi Tilopa to his student Naropa in the 11th century, sending us all to bed with smiles and refreshed minds.

The second day was for diving deeper into hot topics identified on day one: retreat centers, translation, kids, sangha connections, publishing, and much more. Rapid exchange in rotating working groups led to a valuable collection of experience and ideas, all with the goal of developing lasting teams to continue the exchange into the future. Results and information will be presented at the “market place” in the barn on the afternoon of August 12th. We look forward to seeing you and sharing with you then!

Matt, Australia

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