Guest Author - Jeanette Stingley

In the past decade, it seems here in the Western World (America especially!) Buddhism has really been claimed by many people. There are Sanghas, monasteries, and temples cropping up all over the place. While I think this is truly beautiful that so many people are realizing there is more to life then meets the eye, how many people are truly Buddhist because they want to follow the path and end suffering or because they are looking for a new shiny label to slap on their reputation? Let’s look at some celebrities who claim they are Buddhist.

First on my list is Steven Seagal. In the movie The Glimmer Man, Seagal plays a homicide detective who wears mala beads wherever he goes. I thought “that is odd, he has mala beads”. I thought it was all for the movie until one day someone told me Seagal is a Buddhist and went to an Asian country as a teen to learn Buddhism and martial arts. Not only is he a 7th degree black belt and Aikido master, he is a Zen teacher and healer. I read this interesting interview with Seagal.

Keanu Reeves is assumed to be Buddhist because of his study of Buddhism during the making of the film “Little Buddha”. He has neither publically denied or confirmed that he is in fact Buddhist.

Kate Bosworth is said to be Buddhist but may only claim the title because her boyfriend, Orlando Bloom from Pirates of the Caribbean, is a devote Nichiren Buddhist. It is said that the flat they share in London has a Buddhist Meditation garden. Would love to see picture of that! I have read in some places that the two are planning on building a retreat center in California but I can’t find any reports that it has been made yet.

And who can forget that Richard Gere is Buddhist. He has made many public appearances with HH Dalai Lama. He, along with Sharon Stone and Harrison Ford, assisted in financial support to help HH Dalai Lama make his American tour. Gere has a foundation to aid Tibetan causes. Shambhala Sun did an interesting interview with Gere. It has been said that Richard Gere is heavily responsible for the spread of Buddhism in the west.

Uma Thurman has been said to be a Buddhist. Her father is Robert Thurman, a former Buddhist monk, expert of Tibetan Buddhism and professor at Columbian University. Uma has said publicly that just because her father is Buddhist doesn’t mean that she is as well.

I was surprised to learn the Tina Turner is a Buddhist. She is a student of Soka Gakkai International (SGI) and is perhaps the most famous woman in Buddhism next to Pema Chodron. In an interview with CBS, Turner sited Buddhism gave “her the strength that she needed to get through the rough times.” I know I have personally felt that way myself.

I have read in several places that Jennifer Lopez, aka J. Lo, has began studying Buddhism after making the film “Shall We Dance” with Richard Gere.

Goldie Hawn has been Buddhist since the early 70’s. She was raised Jewish and still holds Jewish beliefs. She has said in interviews that her Jewish religion and heritage comes before those of Buddhist. She has raised her children in the Jewish and Buddhist faiths. I watched an interview with her on Larry King Live where she called herself a JuBu, a term coined by Roger Kamenentz.

Here is a list of other well-known Celebrity Buddhists

• Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, actor
• Jackie Chan, Hong Kong actor
• Leonard Cohen, poet, singer
• Patrick Duffy, actor
• Ron Glass, actor
• Herbie Hancock, musician
• Jet Li, Chinese martial artist, Hollywood actor
• Courtney Love, American singer-songwriter
• Maxi Jazz, rapper
• Duncan Sheik, singer-songwriter
• Naomi Watts, Bristish-Australian actress
• Faye Wong, singer
• Brad Wilk, American musician (drummer for Rage Against The Machine and AudioSlave)
• Adam Yauch, rapper (MCA of the Beastie Boys)

As a Western Buddhist myself, I see 2 sides of the coin here. I think that exposure to Buddhism through celebrities can help us yet hurt us at the same time. Celebrities can cause a surge in interest which brings more people to understand our lives. But there are some celebrities who have claimed the title Buddhism to make themselves look better (for example Paris Hilton’s latest claim to Buddhism to get out of jail!) What do you think? Is this helpful or harmful? Come to the forum and discuss this will fellow Buddhist!