Author Topic: Richard Gere: Buddhism is my life  (Read 12614 times)

Ensapa

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Richard Gere: Buddhism is my life
« on: March 04, 2013, 03:41:29 AM »
here's a nice article of Richard Gere being a Buddhist.

Quote
Richard Gere: Buddhism is my life
FEB 26, 2013
Richard Gere says his Buddhist faith is at the centre of everything he does and every decision he makes in his life.


Richard Gere

 "It's relevant to everything I do. Buddhism is the camel of my life"

The Hollywood actor is a firm believer in the Asian religion, which focuses on personal spiritual development, and says it is the guiding force that surrounds everything he does.

He explained: "It's relevant to everything I do. Buddhism is the camel of my life. It's there everywhere. I don't think you have to be Buddhist to get it, quite honestly. I'm more interested in secular ethics, about what we all have in common. What is good? What is happiness? What is our duty to ourselves?"

The 'Arbitrage' star is happily married to former model Carey Lowell - with whom he has a 12-year-old son, Homer - but, at 63, he still doesn't think he has reached sexual maturity.

Gere still has strong erotic urges and he channels of all this energy into his marriage to Carey, 52, but he tries to control it because Buddhism teaches that desire causes suffering.

In an interview with The Guardian newspaper, he said: "I haven't quite got there myself. You don't want to lose that energy but there's an unseemliness at a certain age when you're run by it, when you're not in control, that's really kind of foul.

"That's what we have to look at. How can I use desire in such a way that I might be proud of it at the end of my life? There is a way but you have to work at it. At some future date I will be there."
 


Big Uncle

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Re: Richard Gere: Buddhism is my life
« Reply #1 on: March 04, 2013, 10:23:28 AM »
Well, Richard Gere is not the only one. Besides Richard Gere, Steven Seagal is another star that has embraced Buddhism for decades now and he's even been recognized as a Tulku of the Nyingma tradition. THis is one unexpected movie celebrity Tulku. Although his choice of movie roles seem to be at odds with Buddhism but he does nonetheless bring Buddhism into the spotlight with his action hero status.

Steven Seagal

The Buddhist world was, to put it mildly, in a state of deep, deep bemusement when Hollywood star Steven Seagal announced in 1997 that he had been recognized as a Tibetan incarnate lama, or tulku. “Wait,” we said. “That Steven Segal? The action-movie hero who specializes in toting powerful guns and blowing stuff up?” It seemed as bizarre as it would today if the Pope were to appoint Paris Hilton as a bishop, and many of us checked the calendar to make sure it wasn’t the first of April. And yet the other shoe failed, resoundingly, to drop. In fact His Holiness Penor Rinpoche, a respected Lama, indeed publicly confirmed that he had recognized Seagal’s tulku-hood.

It turns out that Segal has a long history of practice. Hemoved to Japan at age 17 to study martial arts, acupuncture, and Zen, and he spent 15 years there before returning to the US. While in Asia he had significant contact with Tibetan lamas escaping China, whose torture-induced traumas he treated with acupuncture. Seagal himself tends to be a little coy about his practice: “I have been doing serious meditation in my own pitiful way for probably twenty-seven years.”

Positive Change

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Re: Richard Gere: Buddhism is my life
« Reply #2 on: March 06, 2013, 07:42:02 PM »
Here are some interesting videos which I found online. Richard Gere seems to exude that air of simplistic elegance which garners respect and a sense of calm!

Everyman: Richard Gere's Buddhism Part 1 Small | Large


EveryMan: Richard Gere's Buddhism Part 2 Small | Large



sonamdhargey

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Re: Richard Gere: Buddhism is my life
« Reply #3 on: March 09, 2013, 12:42:13 PM »
It is interesting that he acknowledge that he as not reach sexual maturity and channeling that energy to his marriage. He contemplates how he can use his desire to be a benefit and useful for his life is something not many people will think about. He said there is a way to and i think he meant the below:

THE FOUR NOBLE TRUTHS:

1. All is suffering (dukkha).
2. Suffering is caused by desire/attachment.
3. If one can eliminate desire/attachment, one can eliminate suffering.
4. The Noble Eight-fold Path can eliminate desire. Extremes of excessive self-indulgence (hedonism) and excessive    self-mortification should be avoided.


THE NOBLE EIGHT-FOLD PATH:
Right Views.
The true understanding of the four noble truths.

Right Intent.
Right aspiration is the true desire to free oneself from attachment, ignorance, and hatefulness.
[These first two are referred to as prajña, or wisdom.]

Right Speech.
Right speech involves abstaining from lying, gossiping, or hurtful talk.

Right Conduct.
Right action involves abstaining from hurtful behaviours, such as killing, stealing, and careless sex.

Right livelihood.
Right livelihood means making your living in such a way as to avoid dishonesty and hurting others, including animals.
[The above three are referred to as shila, or morality.]

Right Effort.
Right effort is a matter of exerting oneself in regulating the content of one's mind: bad qualities should be abandoned and prevented from arising again; good qualities should be enacted and nurtured.

Right Mindfulness.
Right mindfulness is the focusing of one's attention on one's body, feelings, thoughts, and consciousness in such a way as to overcome craving, hatred, and ignorance.

Right Concentration.
Right concentration is meditating in such a way as to progressively realize a true understanding of imperfection, impermanence, and non-separateness.

Source:http://www.bltc.com/buddhism-suffering.html

Klein

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Re: Richard Gere: Buddhism is my life
« Reply #4 on: March 10, 2013, 04:30:59 PM »
"That's what we have to look at. How can I use desire in such a way that I might be proud of it at the end of my life? There is a way but you have to work at it. At some future date I will be there."

I like what Richard Gere said as quoted above. He is very honest and upfront that he still has strong sexual desires. He is also wise enough to realise that as long as he makes the right choices in the midst of his desires, his desires do not get in the way of his spiritual development. Developing our spirituality is the most important thing we can do for ourselves because it brings us ultimate happiness and inner peace.

Aurore

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Re: Richard Gere: Buddhism is my life
« Reply #5 on: March 17, 2013, 02:59:13 PM »
Buddhism help us confront our attachments and desires through understanding the cause of suffering. We are not free from our faults, not even an A-list celebrity like Richard Gere. It's better to recognise we have faults than to think we are faultless and not work towards changing it. In Richard Gere's case, he acknowledged and applying the Buddhist views so that his desires does not take control of his life. This is exactly what I love about Buddhism, the fact I know control of our life is in my hands.

DSFriend

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Re: Richard Gere: Buddhism is my life
« Reply #6 on: March 17, 2013, 03:45:15 PM »
With the type of good looks, wealth and popularity Richard Gere has, I can imagine how much distractions he receives or bombarded with on a daily basis. I would think practice would be very difficult. For Richard Gere to remain steadfast in his spirituality shows how strong his imprints of dharma is. The whole world knows of him and I am sure many came to know about Buddhism because of him.

Tenzin K

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Re: Richard Gere: Buddhism is my life
« Reply #7 on: March 17, 2013, 04:31:21 PM »
At this point, the iconic actor is probably as well known for his Buddhist activism as for his award-winning film roles. That's a huge boon to Tibetans and their compassionate practice exemplified by the Dalai Lama. His advocacy for a Tibet with freedom of religion has led Gere to become chairman of the board of directors for the International Campaign for Tibet, founder of the Gere Foundation, and a co-creator of the Tibet House.

"It helps me set my motivation for the day," he said. He also frequently visits the Dalai Lama in Tibet. Probably like many baby-boomers, he first discovered Buddhism in the late '70s. "Buddhism," says Gere, "is a system that I find totally reliable. It's an ancient tradition; it wasn't invented 10 years ago." In his meditations, the goal is to "break down the barriers of ego. Ultimately, you want to exchange self for 'other'...By studying the nature of existence itself, you begin to see what your program is and how you got into a state that is less than happy, with some level of confusion and frustration. Then you can find out why that happened, how to get out and move on to something else."

The ultimate goal, says Gere, "is to become happier...it's about promoting a state. And it's not an action, it's a process...We're all moving away from suffering and toward happiness. We just don't know how to do it, so we mess up every time."

RedLantern

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Re: Richard Gere: Buddhism is my life
« Reply #8 on: March 31, 2013, 01:35:10 PM »
Buddhism has certainly attract celebrity practitioners unsatisfied with their own religion.The adoption of Buddhism in celebrity culture has helped bring the Eastern religion into the Western conscience.
Celebrities like Richard Gere, Yauch,Steven Seagal,Tina Turner and Keanu Reeves have made thier religion beliefs public.Gere is a longtime devotee,and is often in the company of the Dalai Lama and has a foundation in his name to aid Tibet and other most worthy cause.He has been a practicing Buddhist for decades,first in Zen and later Tibetan Buddhism.
"This planet can't exist anymore unless all people are taken into account.Thensuffering does noy limit itself to one body,it goes through the entire body"  Richard Gere

dondrup

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Re: Richard Gere: Buddhism is my life
« Reply #9 on: March 31, 2013, 06:57:49 PM »
Richard Gere is a great ambassador of Buddhism.  He passionately shares how Buddhism had guided him in every aspect of his life.  Being a famous actor, what he says is powerful and is able to attract many people to engage in the practice of Dharma. Buddhism is universal and is applicable to anyone regardless of their religious background.  Recognising desire as one of the main delusions of our mind and causes suffering, Richard had been putting effort to channel the desire energy in the right direction. 

pgdharma

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Re: Richard Gere: Buddhism is my life
« Reply #10 on: April 02, 2013, 03:36:20 PM »
Beside being a popular and well known movie star, Richard Gere is a passionate advocate for human rights in Tibet; he is a co-founder of the Tibet House, creator of The Gere Foundation, and he is Chairman of the Board of Directors for the International Campaign for Tibet. Because of his support for the Tibetan cause he’s banned from the People’s Republic of China. However besides Richard Gere and Stevan Segal who are well known Buddhist, there is another celebrity Tina Turner who has embraced Buddhism.

The “Queen of Rock and Roll” Tina Turner has an instantly recognizable voice, a career dating back to 1960, unbelievable legs, and a serious Buddhist practice. As shown in the biopic What’s Love Got to Do With It, it was Turner’s Buddhist practice that gave her the strength to leave her abusive marriage to Ike Turner in the 70?s, which in turn made her an icon for abused women everywhere. Turner is another practitioner of Nichiren Buddhism and famously chanted Nam Moho Rengye Kyo on Larry King Live.

Turner said: “I had to teach myself because I didn’t have the freedom to actually go to meetings or for people to come to me … and it changed my life.”

Midakpa

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Re: Richard Gere: Buddhism is my life
« Reply #11 on: April 06, 2013, 10:14:01 AM »
Richard Gere is no doubt one of the Dalai Lama's most famous students. In an interview for the Indian national television channel "Doordarshan" in 1996, Richard Gere said that he had been a student of the Dalai Lama since 1982-83. He visited Dharamsala 2 or 3 times a year. He also mentioned that most of his teachers are from the Gelugpa school. He described the way the Dalai Lama has transformed him saying that "there is a lot of work on the mind and intellectual play and exploration of reality itself, using language and pure logic, along with various techniques of meditation. It's a gradual process as the mind is familiarized with another way of seeing things..." Gere added that the Dalai Lama is a remarkable human being with a great mind and heart. He was receiving teachings on Shantideva. When asked what 3 wishes he would ask from a wish-fulfilling genie, his reply was "(1) Happiness to all beings; (2) Happiness to all beings and (3) Happiness and the causes of happiness to all beings." (from "How to develop happiness in daily living", 2005)