Richard Gere on How
Buddhism Changed His Career
21 Apr 2017 Corey
Barnett World Religion News
Ever since his speech against the occupation
of Tibet during the ’93 Oscars, the actor has seen a downward
spiral in his popularity.
Once one of the most sought after and loved
actors in Hollywood, Richard Gere’s open opposition to the Chinese
occupation of Tibet has created a rift between him and Hollywood
directors, due to China’s financing of Hollywood films. Chinese
authorities have imposed a life-long ban on him from entering the
nation. Now that the superpower has become a huge market for
Hollywood, it is only natural that for Hollywood to shy away from
him.
Gere’s interest in Buddhism, however, is
neither new nor young. He was interested in Tibetan Buddhism since
his early 20s, and has been devoted to the Dalai Lama ever since
and considers the Dalai Lama to be his teacher and guru. His
devotion to Buddhism followed him into his life as a celebrity, and
today, he is a full-fledged practitioner of Tibetan
Buddhism.
His downward spiral began after a speech he
made in 1993 during the Oscars. Instead of sticking to what he was
supposed to have said, Gere launched a full-fledged verbal attack
on the Chinese government, decrying the country’s lack of human
rights, and its inhuman and unfair occupation of Tibet. Ever since
then, he steadily became an enemy of China, and eventually, lost
popularity with Hollywood as well. In fact, Gere reveals that
directors have been very open about the reason they either rejected
him for their movies or canceled their contract with him – disfavor
with China. This fear of China is so high, he adds, that even
directors are afraid to cast him. “If I had worked with this
director, he, his family would never have been allowed to leave the
country ever again, and he would never work,” he told Vanity
Fair.
Gere has not backed down from his open attacks
on China, despite how it has affected his career. In 2008, for
example, he spoke in favor of boycotting the Beijing Olympics in a
show of solidarity with Tibet. He is not afraid of the consequences
because according to experts, he has enough power, money, and
freedom to be unaffected by the lack of movie offers from
Hollywood.
Gere firmly believes that the reason for his
drop in popularity in Hollywood is solely because of his
outspokenness about Tibet and friendship with his teacher, the
Dalai Lama. Gere even visited the Dalai Lama recently for a
religious Buddhist ceremony that the Tibetan Buddhist leader was
conducting in India, giving fresh impetus to speculations that he
is greatly devoted to the leader.