Does anyone want to admit to being influenced by a Buddhist celebrity?

matthewmartin

Particularly celebrities who are famous non-monks, non-meditation teachers. Obviously TNH and Levine and HHDL and Surya Das etc are famous among Buddhists, but they aren't rocks stars, movie stars, etc.

Didn't influence me much, I have to really google to find out which Celebrities are Buddhist or Buddhist leaning.

Niesje

I was influenced by my great grandmother. I don't even know of any Buddhist celebrities.

MaryAnne

I've seen a couple of interviews with Richard Gere (not too recently, though, as he isn't big on self-promotion), and his spirituality usually comes up in questions from the interviewer or audience.
He is pretty up front about how his Buddhist beliefs affect his work ethic (the movies he chooses, the projects he'll back) as well as his personal life and the charities he supports.
Did he influence me to choose Buddhism? Well, no. I chose Buddhism for my own reasons.
But I admire his commitment to Buddhism and how he incorporates it into his successful and wealthy life.... He seems like a very genuine, kind and well liked man, in and outside of his celebrity circles.

vinlyn

I find it interesting (e.g., Richard Gere), but no, not influenced in the least.

misterCope

I initially became interested in Buddhism because I watched the show "Life" starring Damian Lewis. I thought he was so cool and I decided to find out what, exactly, Zen is. Then I found out about Alan Watts. After that, I discovered Gil Fronsdal. And here I am.

BhikkhuJayasara

There are no Hollywood celebrities who practice Theravada that I know of, so no all my celebrities have been monks lol, even if there were, I still have much more respect for monks then any famous person.

although I DO have to admit, I kind of liked Keanu Reeves as Siddhartha in "little Buddha".. I'm not sure he is a buddhist or not.

vinlyn

I agree, I liked him in that film. He says he's non-religious, but has an "intense interest" in it.

MaryAnne

Keanu Reeves as Siddhartha .... Little Buddha ... I loved that film. Keanu says (recently) that he's a Buddhist. But I have a feeling he might be one of those 'dreaded' Secular Buddhist types.

"A-list" Buddhists:

Steve Jobs
Philip Glass (composer)
Herbie Hancock
Steven Seagal
Tiger Woods
K.D. Lang
Richard Gere
Uma Thurman
Orlando Bloom
Kate Hudson
Oliver Stone
Leonard Cohen
Russel Simmons
Tina Turner

and most likely more....

Jeffrey

Steve Jobs to some extent.
Phil Jackson (coach of the chicago bulls and LA lakers)

David

Not really but I enjoyed finding out George Lucas is Buddhist.

genkaku

"A-list" Buddhists

A definite influence: I don't want to join that list.

anataman

ourself said:

Not really but I enjoyed finding out George Lucas is Buddhist.

So all those people who put their religion down on census forms as Jedi's are really celebrity influenced buddhists.

BhikkhuJayasara

MaryAnne said:

Keanu Reeves as Siddhartha .... Little Buddha ... I loved that film. Keanu says (recently) that he's a Buddhist. But I have a feeling he might be one of those 'dreaded' Secular Buddhist types.

"A-list" Buddhists:

Steve Jobs
Philip Glass (composer)
Herbie Hancock
Steven Seagal
Tiger Woods
K.D. Lang
Richard Gere
Uma Thurman
Orlando Bloom
Kate Hudson
Oliver Stone
Leonard Cohen
Russel Simmons
Tina Turner

and most likely more....

Those secular buddhists must be routed out and burnt at the stake for their heresy!

riverflow

Not exactly "Buddhist" but perhaps "Buddhist-y" celebrity figures who certainly nudged me in the general direction of Asian thought:

The Beatles (and John Lennon and George Harrison in particular)

Cat Stevens (yeah, I know, he's Muslim LOL)

The Moody Blues

I suppose I could toss Alan Watts in there too.

David

anataman said:

ourself said:

Not really but I enjoyed finding out George Lucas is Buddhist.

So all those people who put their religion down on census forms as Jedi's are really celebrity influenced buddhists.

I wouldn't go that far but I'd guess Jedi should be considered an off shoot if folks are really taking it as their religion.

I never heard Yoda talking about the 4NTs though.

MaryAnne

riverflow said:

Not exactly "Buddhist" but perhaps "Buddhist-y" celebrity figures who certainly nudged me in the general direction of Asian thought:

The Beatles (and John Lennon and George Harrison in particular)

Cat Stevens (yeah, I know, he's Muslim LOL)

The Moody Blues

I suppose I could toss Alan Watts in there too.

According to his biography and the documentary that included a whole lot of retrospection from his wife... George Harrison was definitely Buddhist; for many many years. His wife said his Buddhist beliefs helped him deal with his cancer and preparing for his own passing...

vinlyn

Cool.

David

MaryAnne said:

riverflow said:

Not exactly "Buddhist" but perhaps "Buddhist-y" celebrity figures who certainly nudged me in the general direction of Asian thought:

The Beatles (and John Lennon and George Harrison in particular)

Cat Stevens (yeah, I know, he's Muslim LOL)

The Moody Blues

I suppose I could toss Alan Watts in there too.

According to his biography and the documentary that included a whole lot of retrospection from his wife... George Harrison was definitely Buddhist; for many many years. His wife said his Buddhist beliefs helped him deal with his cancer and preparing for his own passing...

I hate to be nit-picky but Harrison was a Hindu. He respected Buddha and Christ but put his faith in Krishna.

BhikkhuJayasara

Yoda and Mr. Miagi were two teachers of mine growing up.. their wisdom was unlike anything this young child of the 80s had ever heard and it resonated with me greatly.

one of the many reasons I feel I've always been a buddhist, and probably was in a former life.

MaryAnne

You may be right, @ourself, I could be remembering wrong- it's been a while since I saw the documentary (about 7-8 months ago?) but I could swear his wife said Buddhism. ?? But now that I think about it... maybe I am wrong.


Edited to add: I AM wrong.
"Harrison had a great affinity towards India. In 1966, he traveled to India to study the sitar with Pandit Ravi Shankar. In search of social and personal liberation, he met Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, which prompted him to give up LSD and take up meditation. ........
Soon after, Harrison embraced the Hare Krishna tradition and remained a plainclothes devotee or 'closet Krishna', as he called himself, till his last day of earthy existence. The Hare Krishna mantra, which according to him is nothing but "mystical energy encased in a sound structure," became an integral part of his life. "

Thanks for the correction, Ourself!

vinlyn

Hmmm, MaryAnne. First I thought he was a Hindon't, but now I guess he's a Hindu. You're just trying to confuse me!

Hamsaka

Oh hell yes, Leonard Cohen, of course he shows up on that list!

lobster

Is the Buddha a celebrity? The Dalai Lama? Is Dath Vader a Zen Buddhist or Secular Buddhist?

The Force is this and more. It cannot be fully described with words. You must feel the Force to understand it. To feel the force is what you will learn.
http://www.berzinarchives.com/web/en/archives/approaching_buddhism/teachers/tsenzhab_serkong_rinpoche/a_portrait_of_tsenzhab_serkong_rinpoche/part_1.html

Dennis1

Allan Watts

Steve_B

No, I don't think I'm influenced by any Buddhist celebrities.

I'm not saying I'm "above" it, as celebrities could influence me in some ways (fashion perhaps, or books to read). But I come to Buddhism from a frame of mind in which celebrities are irrelevant. I find MaryAnne's list perhaps affirming, in an odd way, but the affirmation is retrospective. It is certainly not the path that got me here. Nor could any anti-Buddhist celebrity, if any should exist, lead me away.

For me, this is a self-powered journey.

sean

i love Uma Thurman's DAD.

matthewmartin

lobster said:

Is the Buddha a celebrity? The Dalai Lama? Is Darth Vader a Zen Buddhist or Secular Buddhist?

Buddha: yes. Everyone knows him. Dalai Lama. Yes, everyone knows him and he constantly in the media, including along side media celebrities. Darth Vader is in a galaxy where magic (or magic-is-science) is real. The force is described as being very similar to Buddhist and Hindu monism (a universal spirit that animates everyone/everything) Darth meditates, but all forms of Buddhism involve meditation. Darth has a guru and uses his anger and hate to fuel his sith magic, which is very Tantra-like (using the power of taboo things to achieve goals, although in Darth Vader, he's not interested in using taboo to achieve good things, he uses taboo to achieve bad things).

Darth would only be secular if magic-is-science, a trope that Marvel Comic's Thor uses, where Thor does fantastic things based on technology we don't understand (but could) as opposed to magic-magic, which is irreducibly inexplicable.

DairyLama

matthewmartin said:

Particularly celebrities who are famous non-monks, non-meditation teachers.

Aren't they all Scientologists?

matthewmartin

SpinyNorman said:

matthewmartin said:

Particularly celebrities who are famous non-monks, non-meditation teachers.

Aren't they all Scientologists?

Ha, thankfully not. But the celebrity-new-convert connection in Scientology in part prompted my question. Celebrity advocacy is very much a two edged sword.

Dennis1

Gautama Siddartha Shakyamuni