India, March 7 -- Everything is burning, the Buddha told his disciples in what is now known as the Fire Sermon. Our senses, thoughts and consciousness are ablaze with the fires of delusion. The Bible, too, uses the metaphor of refining fires for the flames that test us. Such ideas may well have resonated with Pico Iyer during and after a devastating wildfire in July 1990 when his house in Santa Barbara, California, was reduced to ashes and debris.

Fortunately, he survived, and found solace in the realisation that material objects are less important than the internal resources of memory, relationships, and creativity. In his writings over the years, he has emphasised the importance of resilience and embracing impermanence.

His new book, ...