Peace is a long-term solution, says acclaimed author

December 8, 2014;

Times of India, 8 December 2014

MUMBAI: An insightful session on the power of peace made for a fitting culmination to the Times Litfest and its theme that explored power in its various forms. Leading the way was author Pico Iyer, who shares a close friendship with the Dalai Lama.

Iyer, who has recently written ‘The Art of Stillness: Adventures in Going Nowhere’, began by saying, “To talk about the power of peace is really to talk about the power of patience, humility and forgiveness, having the courage and wisdom to give up worldly power.”

To better illustrate the power of the virtues, he recounted a few anecdotes featuring the Dalai Lama that have had a lasting effect on him. In one of them, the Dalai Lama turned off the lights in a room while remarking on the benefit this simple act can have on the planet if done more frequently. “That echoed exactly what he said about peace,” explained Iyer. “It is something incremental and individual that each person comes to slowly, and ultimately it makes for a tipping point. It was a lesson on the power of pragmatism.”

It’s no surprise then that Iyer looks upon the Dalai Lama as a realist above all else. There were other lessons to be learnt during Iyer’s inspiring talk that demonstrated the need for kindness, understanding, farsightedness, vulnerability and especially, dialogue when faced with adversity. He even touched upon two foundational Buddhist principles, but at no point did his talk came across as didactic as he encompassed a large swath of issues including the politics of Tibet, the contradictions within Tibetan Buddhism, the freedom of exile, the monastic longings of Leonard Cohen and the varied influences of Gandhi and Mao Zedong.

These were further explored during an engaging Q&A session with author William Dalrymple followed by an interaction with the audience. When someone from the hall asked Iyer how to effectively package peace over the glitz of power, he replied, “I don’t think one needs to package peace. Anybody who gets power soon finds it’s not enough. Anybody who gets peace probably finds that they’re feeling a lot better. They’re not hungry for more but they’re glad to go deeper into that practice. So it’s the difference between an enduring pleasure and a fleeting one.”