Pico Iyer

And she never once said, wouldn't it be better if you could be here? And because she never said that, I tried hard to be there a lot of the time. But to this day, my wife says, I can't believe that your mother was so kind and that she never tried to guilt trip you or to put any pressure on you. It's a rare blessing.

And she never once said, wouldn't it be better if you could be here? And because she never said that, I tried hard to be there a lot of the time. But to this day, my wife says, I can't believe that your mother was so kind and that she never tried to guilt trip you or to put any pressure on you. It's a rare blessing.

And she never once said, wouldn't it be better if you could be here? And because she never said that, I tried hard to be there a lot of the time. But to this day, my wife says, I can't believe that your mother was so kind and that she never tried to guilt trip you or to put any pressure on you. It's a rare blessing.

Well, I think the reason I include him a lot in this book is that I think both of them are living in the place beyond divisions. So I think one reason Leonard and I got on so well was that he appreciated that my spending all the time in the Benedictine monastery was not so different from his full-time engagement in his Zen monastery for five and a half years.

Well, I think the reason I include him a lot in this book is that I think both of them are living in the place beyond divisions. So I think one reason Leonard and I got on so well was that he appreciated that my spending all the time in the Benedictine monastery was not so different from his full-time engagement in his Zen monastery for five and a half years.

Well, I think the reason I include him a lot in this book is that I think both of them are living in the place beyond divisions. So I think one reason Leonard and I got on so well was that he appreciated that my spending all the time in the Benedictine monastery was not so different from his full-time engagement in his Zen monastery for five and a half years.

And I think one of the things that always moved me was I remember the first time I went to have lunch with him in his home in L.A. He was living in a very modest duplex in a really rough, unfashionable part of Los Angeles with his daughter. We sat down. We had lunch. And as you know, I think he was the most spellbinding, articulate writer I've ever met. And he was a wizard with words.

And I think one of the things that always moved me was I remember the first time I went to have lunch with him in his home in L.A. He was living in a very modest duplex in a really rough, unfashionable part of Los Angeles with his daughter. We sat down. We had lunch. And as you know, I think he was the most spellbinding, articulate writer I've ever met. And he was a wizard with words.

And I think one of the things that always moved me was I remember the first time I went to have lunch with him in his home in L.A. He was living in a very modest duplex in a really rough, unfashionable part of Los Angeles with his daughter. We sat down. We had lunch. And as you know, I think he was the most spellbinding, articulate writer I've ever met. And he was a wizard with words.

And he would talk about literature and the great religious traditions of the world and politics and his time in Cuba. And it was captivating. But when lunch was concluded, he picked up two folding chairs and he took them out to his front lawn, which is very small, looking out on this quiet residential street in front of a small bed of flowers.

And he would talk about literature and the great religious traditions of the world and politics and his time in Cuba. And it was captivating. But when lunch was concluded, he picked up two folding chairs and he took them out to his front lawn, which is very small, looking out on this quiet residential street in front of a small bed of flowers.

And he would talk about literature and the great religious traditions of the world and politics and his time in Cuba. And it was captivating. But when lunch was concluded, he picked up two folding chairs and he took them out to his front lawn, which is very small, looking out on this quiet residential street in front of a small bed of flowers.

And he sat down and he invited me to sit down next to him. And I sat down next to him. Nothing. More nothing. More nothing. Nothing said. So finally I thought, oh, this is a gentle hint. So I said to him, oh, you must be busy. I should let you go. And he looked at me beseechingly and he said, please, don't go.

And he sat down and he invited me to sit down next to him. And I sat down next to him. Nothing. More nothing. More nothing. Nothing said. So finally I thought, oh, this is a gentle hint. So I said to him, oh, you must be busy. I should let you go. And he looked at me beseechingly and he said, please, don't go.

And he sat down and he invited me to sit down next to him. And I sat down next to him. Nothing. More nothing. More nothing. Nothing said. So finally I thought, oh, this is a gentle hint. So I said to him, oh, you must be busy. I should let you go. And he looked at me beseechingly and he said, please, don't go.

And what touched me so much was that the most eloquent master of words I had ever met realized that the best thing he could share with a visitor was silence. And I gather many people who had come to his house, he invited just to sit with him in silence. And indeed, the name that he received, his monastic name from his wise Japanese friend, Jikan, means the silence between two thoughts.

And what touched me so much was that the most eloquent master of words I had ever met realized that the best thing he could share with a visitor was silence. And I gather many people who had come to his house, he invited just to sit with him in silence. And indeed, the name that he received, his monastic name from his wise Japanese friend, Jikan, means the silence between two thoughts.

And what touched me so much was that the most eloquent master of words I had ever met realized that the best thing he could share with a visitor was silence. And I gather many people who had come to his house, he invited just to sit with him in silence. And indeed, the name that he received, his monastic name from his wise Japanese friend, Jikan, means the silence between two thoughts.

And so it was very humbling to see a man who tasted all the pleasures of the world, who could be doing anything he wanted at the age of 61, putting himself through this back-breaking monastic discipline. But it was also very humbling to see this beautifully articulate person so ready to share no words at all.

And so it was very humbling to see a man who tasted all the pleasures of the world, who could be doing anything he wanted at the age of 61, putting himself through this back-breaking monastic discipline. But it was also very humbling to see this beautifully articulate person so ready to share no words at all.