Richard Gere on Tibet, meditation and the Olympics

c. 2008 Beliefnet (UNDATED) At this point, Richard Gere may be as well known for his Buddhist activism as for his award-winning film roles. His advocacy for religious freedom in Tibet has led Gere to become chairman of the board of the International Campaign for Tibet, founder of the Gere Foundation, and a co-creator of […]

c. 2008 Beliefnet

(UNDATED) At this point, Richard Gere may be as well known for his Buddhist activism as for his award-winning film roles. His advocacy for religious freedom in Tibet has led Gere to become chairman of the board of the International Campaign for Tibet, founder of the Gere Foundation, and a co-creator of the Tibet House in New York City.

Now Gere opens up about his meditation practice, what should be done about the Olympics in China and his heartbreak at seeing the Tibetan monks “lose their center” and resort to violence.


(This interview has been edited for length and clarity.)

Q: What’s your overall impression of what’s going on right now in Tibet?

A: What makes me the saddest about this is to see Tibetans so pushed up against the wall that violence is the only recourse. This is not a place that they very easily go to, so one can assume that it’s that bad for them that they’ve started to lose their center as compassionate, forgiving, patient people. And it’s certainly not everyone there, but, clearly it looks like some people lost it.

Q: How does that jell with the basic tenets of Buddhism?

A: Well, you’ve got to understand that the … Tibetans inside of Tibet who’ve been living under this very oppressive system, they’ve been totally marginalized for now almost 60 years. They’re very different emotionally. They’re depressed, they’re angry, they’re afraid, they’re hopeless in many ways. They seem to have lost a basic equanimity that is part of what we know of as Tibetan and we come in contact with outside of Tibet.

Q: And how has this affected other Buddhists?

A: When I saw the pictures yesterday of the Jokhang Cathedral in Lhasa and the group of monks there, you could see the tears and the anxiety in these monks’ faces and in their voices, even _ and they were speaking Tibetan and Mandarin. Not even understanding the languages, you certainly could feel this constriction in them, on the edge of hopelessness.

Q: Is there anything that you’re doing differently right now?

A: I think for those of us who are capable of still encompassing our vows, the Chinese need our prayers as well. They’re acting out of ignorance and causing tremendous problems for their future and future lives. We have to be mindful of them.

Q: And how can the U.S. and the general public use the Olympics to create peaceful change?

A: I’m of two minds about this. I don’t think that boycotting is a positive strategy, because I do think that just interaction of peoples brings change in a much more evenhanded way, natural, organic way.

But in a case like this, it’s very hard, in the midst of this kind of brutality and this kind of violence, to ignore it. And business as usual I don’t think is going to be appropriate this year.


It’s not enough to say that the Olympics is an athletic contest outside of politics, because it’s not. The Chinese clearly are using the Olympics to re-create how they are viewed in the world and how they view themselves. And they can’t have it both ways. If you want the spotlight, you’re going to have the spotlight.

Q: If there is, as the Dalai Lama said, “cultural genocide” within Tibet, how does that affect people around the world who practice Tibetan Buddhism?

A: The institutions are strong outside of Tibet. All the major monasteries have been rebuilt in India and in Nepal. Tibetan teachers are around the world right now. Part of their pain and suffering has been the joy and happiness of the rest of the world as Tibetan lamas and Tibetans move freely. Having great teachers amongst us has been extraordinary for us. It wouldn’t have happened otherwise.

(But) Tibet is a cradle. Would it be like Jerusalem for a Christian being blown up and lost forever? It’s just unthinkable.

Q: How many minutes do you meditate a day?

A: Well, that’s also a complex question because there’s sitting meditation, there are all kinds of other meditations.

Q: What about sitting?

A: Sitting, at least an hour.

Q: You said sitting is not the only way you meditate _ how else do you bring mindfulness into your life?


A: Well, mindfulness is a quality that’s always there. It’s an illusion that there’s a meditation and post-meditation period, which I always find amusing, because you’re either mindful or you’re not. The meditation is just taking different forms. But it’s always watching the mind.

Q: And is there anything else that would be important for people to know?

A: I don’t want another 20 years to go by before this builds up again. This is a decisive moment. The loss to us on this planet, the loss to us personally that this culture be destroyed, it’s unthinkable.

(Valerie Reiss is a senior editor at Beliefnet)

DSB/RB END REISS800 words

A photo of Richard Gere is available via https://religionnews.com.

Editors: A similar story originally appeared on Beliefnet (http://www.beliefnet.com). This article may be used by RNS clients but please use the Beliefnet copyright line.

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