As we finished, a young waitress began clearing our table. She stopped to listen to the conversation, and finally sat down, abandoning her work. After a while, when there was a pause, she spoke to the Dalai Lama. "Can I, um, ask a question?" She spoke with complete seriousness. "What is the meaning of life?"
In my entire week with the Dalai Lama, every conceivable question had been asked—except this one. There was a stunned silence at the table.