$7 billion buys peace through meditation

US film director David Lynch wants to raise US$7 billion ($10.2 billion) to bring about world peace through a huge transcendental meditation programme.

Lynch, 59, known for avant-garde works like Mulholland Drive and the Twin Peaks TV series, is launching a foundation dedicated to bringing the benefits of the stress-reducing technique to students across America, and ultimately the world.

" People laugh at US$7 billion but it would stay in a bank account and the interest would be enough to keep things going on a permanent basis," Lynch said.

"This is a way to bring real peace to earth. Real peace isn't just the absence of war. It is the absence of negativity," said Lynch who has been practising transcendental meditation for more than 30 years.