Fifty years ago today the exiled Dalai Lama crossed the border from Tibet into India, leaving his homeland behind under Chinese annexation. Earlier this month the spiritual and political leader of Tibet said that life for Tibetans under Chinese rule has been “Hell on earth.” Joining us to consider the Dalai Lama’s enduring influence is Pico Iyer, the renowned essayist, novelist and travel writer. He first met the Dalai Lama over thirty years ago. His connection with the Dalai Lama and their conversations, which span decades, are the basis of Iyer’s book The Open Road: The Global Journey of the Fourteenth Dalai Lama.