>Angelina Jolie on Religion & the Meaning of Life

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Angelina Jolie (b. 1975) is an American actress known for her exotic beauty, wild-child image, award-winning acting, and more recently, her globe-trotting humanitarian work with refugees, her growing international family, and her high-profile relationship with Brad Pitt.  Angelina Jolie was born Angelina Jolie Voight on June 4, 1975 in Los Angeles, California.

Angelina Jolie does not identify herself with any single religion, nor has she declared herself an atheist (contrary to the claims of some atheist websites {5}). The subject of religion has not often come up in her interviews, so her beliefs about such things as God and the afterlife are not well documented. 

The most direct statement Jolie is known to have made on the subject was reported by the website A.V. Club (associated with the online magazine The Onion), which asked a number of celebrities the question, “Is there a God?” and published the answers from 52 of them in a September 2000 feature story. Angelina Jolie gave the following answer:

Hmm… For some people. I hope so, for them. For the people who believe in it, I hope so. There doesn’t need to be a God for me. There’s something in people that’s spiritual, that’s godlike. I don’t feel like doing things just because people say things, but I also don’t really know if it’s better to just not believe in anything, either. {6}

So at least in 2000, Angelina Jolie had no specific religious beliefs, didn’t personally feel the need for a God and disliked authority-based religion, but was not willing to go so far as atheism and expressed hope that there might be a God for the sake of those who dedicate their lives to religious belief.

Angelina Jolie regards Buddhism as an important part of her son’s Cambodian heritage and considers him a Buddhist. She has said, “We spend a lot of time [at our house in Cambodia]. And I’m learning about Buddhism and I’m teaching him what I can. He spent a lot of time in temples with monks and he’s learning.” {7}
 
Shortly after adopting Maddox, Angelina tattooed a prayer for protection for him on her upper back in Khmer script (left). She said, “I asked for it to be done in Buddhist Sanskrit, which is part of (Maddox’s) history.” {8}

Jolie with earthquake survivors in Pakistan, November 2005.

Some have speculated that Angelina Jolie is now a Buddhist (rumor also has it that Angelina and Brad had a Buddhist marriage ceremony), but she has not indicated a commitment to Buddhism more than any other faith. In fact, she seems to take a United-Nations inspired approach to her family, and perhaps, to her religion. She is reported as saying,

“I have a Buddhist son and I’d like a Christian and a Muslim child, too.” {9}

Aside from any particular religion, Angelina Jolie has given a great deal of thought to the meaning of life, something she has been searching for with great intensity since childhood, as well as considerations of morality.

Having first found happiness in acting, and then in her marriage to Billy Bob, Angelina Jolie now finds meaning and contentment in her children and her ongoing work with refugees.

Question: Have you learned any important lessons since you became an ambassador, and if so what are they?
Angelina: I’ve become a better human being. I’ve learned the strength of the human spirit. I see different aid workers in camps helping each other from everywhere – people who have come together from all over the world to help people in Africa. It’s changed my view of what is important. I’m not so concerned with things I used to be so concerned with. I care now that my son is healthy. I feel that I’m of some use to other people in the world. {10}

I’ve been traveling for the last three years and the last two I’ve been goodwill ambassador. I initially set out because I wanted to learn about what’s going on in the world and wanted to become a better person and simply educate myself. When I found I could be useful in communicating what I had learned and maybe inspire other people to educate themselves and do some good, it made me so happy and gave me a sense of purpose.

Angelina Jolie in a refugees camp in Tanzania on behalf of the UNHCR.

I’ve learned more about life from refugees and people that are the survivors from around the world than anywhere else. I admire them. I’ve learned about family and just respect them so much and have seen so many horrible things and seen so much survival and so much beauty in these people. So they’ve changed my life and I hope to keep working with them and do what I can to raise awareness. {12}

I want to fill my mind with valid issues in the world. I’d like there to be less refugees. I’d like all girls to go to school. That’s what we need to be thinking about, and working on making our own families good and strong and our own kids happy. Not to cloud our minds with things that don’t matter.” {13}

“I’ve been crazy in my life, and I’ve been wild in my life, I’ve never been a bad person. I’ve never intentionally hurt other people just to hurt them. And I’m trying to do a lot of good things with my life.” {14}

I love films, but I’m more aware of being a parent now and I’m more aware of the world now. I spend as much time as I can in a day trying to educate myself and travel whenever I possibly can. I’m grateful to be able to live in both. It’s increasingly harder to come back into a world that is focused on material possessions…when you’ve just spent time doing something you feel is much more important. {15}

 To read full article, please go to this link: http://www.religionfacts.com/celebrities/angelina_jolie.htm

>Buddhist Stars: Eastern Thought Popular Among Many Of Hollywood’s Brightest

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By Anna Argasinski

Buddhist monk turned professor, Robert Thurman, doesn’t find the trend of celebrities becoming Buddhist all that out of the ordinary. Celebrities have fewer illusions than the rest of us, who still imagine that worldly success is going to solve all of our problems. Thurman, who was ordained in 1964 by Terin Gyatso, the current Dalai-Lama, is now a professor of Indo-Tibetan studies at Columbia University where he is chairman of the department of religion. Thurman claims he didn’t make much progress as a monk. “(In America) I learned to deal with the nitty-gritty. It’s comparatively easy to be a monk in a quiet monastery, but much harder to engage in Buddhism with all the noise of the world.”

Celebrity Buddhists, Thurman contends, are in a very interesting position to practice Buddhism. They’ve already achieved great fame, success and wealth, and they’ve realized that those things alone can’t bring happiness, that, in fact, they can be a real pain. Many of these stars have looked to Buddhism because it urges and helps them to look inside themselves for treasures and pleasures, rather than depending on some sort of external success for gratification.

Buddhism is a relatively modern term. The body of spiritual doctrine and practice to which it refers has generally been known on its own ground in countries across Asia as the Buddha Dharma, which is best translated as “way of the Buddha.” This teaching came from one young man who woke up from life’s melodrama and was thereafter called the Buddha, the awakened one.

Tibetan Buddhism may be alluring to celebrities because it confronts egotism. Stars see Buddhism as a critique of the conventional notion of a rigid, unchangeable identity. Furthermore, Tibetan Buddhism is firmly bound in disciplines of the imagination. Because celebrities tend to be “artsy” types who are interested in exploring their creativity, Buddhism often appeals to them over more traditionalized Western forms of religion. Also, potential devotees aren’t required to undergo a religious conversion to benefit from the teachings.

In Asian countries, where Buddhism is much more prevalent, the philosophy is not so much a religion of the masses. It is kept alive by a monastic elite, who spread their influence by teaching and example. So, too, in America, with the difference that the equivalent class here consists of movie stars and rock musicians, who can spread their message through movies and television.

Richard Gere is one such celebrity. Richard Gere makes his admiration for the Dalai Lama, the Tibetan spiritual leader in exile, well known. Gere periodically retreats to Tibet to brush up on his Buddhism. While there, the actor enjoys a very different existence than he does in Hollywood. According to Gere, he has a simple room and has to share a bathroom. There is a limited supply of water and no television, air conditioning or newspapers. Self-prescribed torture? For Gere, as he explains it, this is his time to relax, to meditate, to release.

For Adam Yauch, front-man for the rap group the Beastie Boys, Buddhism become a way to combine traditional religion with an eastern way of thought. The 27-year-old Jewish-born rapper wants to maintain his Jewish traditions and calls the conversion spiritual, rather than religious. Yauch, who was formerly known more for his sneering sarcasm than his religious preferences, returned from a 1993 trip to the Himalayas with an interest in Tibetan Tantric Buddhism. The two other members of the Beastie Boys, Michael Diamond and Adam Horovitz, have accepted his conversion.

The Beastie Boys have even donated proceeds from two songs on Ill Communication to a Tibetan relief organization established by the group. Their latest project is the Bodhisattva Vow, a rap tribute to the austere virtues of the Buddha Way.

Despite his reputation as an angry, self-described provocateur, director Oliver Stone also claims he has now attained a degree of spiritual tranquillity. Some signs of Stone’s newly found mellowness can be found in his approach to the criticism surrounding his January 1996 film, “Nixon”. Before its opening, the late president’s daughters condemned the movie as a piece of character assassination.

Since then, almost every official who served in the Nixon administration and a number of historians and neutral observers have made similar attacks. Although Stone has not shrunk from defending his work, his responses have been far more measured than in the past. Stone has even suggested that a symposium be held on the late president’s image. Stone’s transformation can undoubtedly be linked to his relationship with Korean immigrant, Chong Son Chon, with whom he’s raising a 3-year-old daughter, Tara, in the Buddhist tradition.

But perhaps the most successful example of Buddhist philosophy at work can be found in the story of Chicago Bulls Coach Phil Jackson. Jackson, who has led the Bulls to numerous NBA titles and recently became the first coach to lead his team to 70 wins in one season, will surely be named as one of the most successful coaches in history. The Bulls most prominent players Michael Jordan, Scotty Pippen and Dennis Rodman, as well as an odd assortment of projects and castoffs, are managed through Jackson’s new age philosophy. Using a mixture of American Indian philosophy and Zen Buddhism, Coach Phil Jackson has managed to keep the disparate elements of the team playing in harmony.

His approach emphasizes awareness, compassion and selfless team play to achieve victory. Jackson believes that the essence of teamwork is interconnectedness and selflessness in action. One of the most important characteristics of a leader, he concedes, is to listen without making judgments. In order to create a true team and build an acceptable level of trust, one must have intimacy and an open forum where every member can fully express his thoughts and feelings. Jackson uses this concept of mindfulness to assist his players in paying exact attention to what is happening on the court moment by moment. Jackson encourages his players to practice Buddhist philosophy off the court as well. He teaches players meditation so they can relax more fully. Meditation allows his players to make the correct decisions during extremely tense and chaotic times on the basketball court, Jackson contends.

Despite all of these famous adherents to the Buddhism, the actual number of Buddhist practitioners in America remains small. CNYU professor Seymour Lachman, co-author of “One Nation Under God,” counted only 800,000 last year, although some Buddhist scholars think there may be four or five times that number, considering recent immigrants from Southeast Asia and the high incident of new converts.

Buddhism, though, may turn out to be a hard sell, especially compared with the religions Americans are more familiar with. Christianity is a faith whose first, and in some cases, only requirement is belief and acceptance of salvation through Christ; Buddhism is a lifelong process of seeking enlightenment. It is a religion without a god, or an afterlife, or a concept of the soul. Buddhism is the search for the nature of the self, which ends in the realization there is no self, that all the beings and objects of the world are manifestations of the same reality. Getting 12 professional basketball players to understand they’re no different from anyone else surely was one of the more daunting challenges in the history of religion.

Still, people come. In America no spiritual quest need go unfulfilled for very long. Eastern religions long ago lost their association with rebellious youth and now seems to attract, besides celebrities, mostly educated people in their 30s and 40s. Many of them are Hyphenated Buddhists, clinging to the comfort of their original faiths while adapting elements of the Buddhism they find attractive. They find much to attract them: color, spectacle, incense and harmonious chants, as well as the wisdom and serenity that is readily applicable in everyday life.

Perhaps induced by the tidal wave of celebrity Buddhists, a new and distinctly American Buddhism is taking shape around the country: egalitarian (women, who are generally subservient in Asian tradition, are allowed to rise in the hierarchy in American temples), technologically advanced (American Buddhism has arrived complete with web pages and CD-ROMs on meditation) and sophisticated about the modes of power in American life (many temples work together with environmental and charity organizations). It remains to be seen whether Buddhism in the Western tradition is merely a passing fad or a powerful new tradition. But its influence on individuals, especially those in the limelight, cannot be overstated. Just ask Phil Jackson and the Chicago Bulls. 

Source:  http://unbound.intrasun.tcnj.edu/archives/lifestyle/old/buddha.html

>GOLDIE Hawn wants to set up a Buddhist school in the UK.

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After successfully bringing Buddhist techniques in school across America, Goldie Hawn is set to use the same teachings in the U.K. and has won the support of Britain’s Conservative Party.

The ‘Death Becomes Her’ actress runs educational charity The Hawn Foundation in the U.S., which teaches children the Buddhist technique of Mindfulness training, which instead of testing young people instead encourages them to make social and emotional progress, and it is hoped her ideas can be used to set up similar establishments in Britain..

Goldie said: “We need to rethink our whole approach to classroom education, integrating neuroscience with the latest social and emotional learning techniques.

“A peaceful, happy child is the first step towards a peaceful world.”

The 64-year-old star has been approached by the Conservative Party, who want her to help with their education policies if they are elected into power.

Conservative education secretary Michael Gove said: “We are meeting to discuss how she might be able to help education here.

“We need more new schools outside local authority control to challenge the bureaucratic monopoly. Some parents would want a rigorous traditional academic education for their children with desks neatly marshaled and traditional football. Others will want something that is more flexible, more imaginative.”

Read more: http://www.azcentral.com/ent/celeb/articles/2010/02/15/20100215goldie-hawn-school.html#ixzz0qyVdrUtQ

>Goldie Hawn, American actress and Buddhism

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Goldie Jeanne Hawn (born November 21, 1945) is an Academy Award-winning American actress. She is perhaps best known for starring in a series of successful film comedies during the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s. Her daughter is Kate Hudson who is also a well-known, Oscar-nominated actress.

Hawn was born in a Jewish neighborhood in Washington, D.C. to Edward Rutledge Hawn (a band musician who played at major events in Washington) and Laura Steinhoff (a housewife); she has a sister, Patricia, and had a brother, Edward, who died before she was born. Her father, a descendant of Edward Rutledge (a signer of the Declaration of Independence), was a Presbyterian. Her mother was Jewish, the daughter of Max Steinhoff and Fanny Weiss, immigrants from Hungary; Hawn was raised in the Jewish religion, although the family did celebrate Christmas.

Hawn began taking ballet and tap dance lessons at the age of three, and danced in the chorus of the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo production of The Nutcracker in 1955. She made her stage debut in 1961, playing Juliet in a Virginia Stage Company production of Romeo and Juliet. By 1963, she ran and instructed a ballet school, having dropped out of American University, where she was majoring in “Drama”.

In 1964, Hawn, who graduated from Montgomery Blair High School, made her professional dancing debut in a production of Can-Can at the Texas Pavilion of the New York World’s Fair. She began working as a professional dancer a year later, and appeared as a go-go dancer in New York City.

Hawn began her acting career as a cast member of the short-lived situation comedy Good Morning World during the 1967-1968 television season, her role being that of the girlfriend of a radio disk-jockey, with a stereotypical “dumb blonde” personality. Her next role was as one of the regular cast members on the 1960s sketch comedy show, Laugh-In. Noted equally for her chipper attitude as for her bikini and painted body, she personified a 1960s “It” girl. On the show, she would often break out into high-pitched giggles in the middle of a joke, and deliver a polished performance a moment after. Hawn won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress for her work in the 1969 film, Cactus Flower, which was her first film role and co-starred Walter Matthau and Ingrid Bergman.

Hawn remained a popular figure in entertainment into the 1970s and 1980s, appearing in many films (generally comedies), and moving into film production as well. She gathered great respect as a comedy actress and was nominated for an Academy Award as a leading actress for her role in 1980’s Private Benjamin, which was one of a series of successful comedies that she had starred in, also including Foul Play, Best Friends and Bird on a Wire. Her career slowed down a bit until 1992, when she appeared opposite Bruce Willis and Meryl Streep in the film Death Becomes Her. She also played an aging actress in the financially successful 1996 film, The First Wives Club, opposite Bette Midler and Diane Keaton, with whom she covered the Lesley Gore hit “You Don’t Own Me” for the film’s soundtrack. Hawn also performed a cover version of the Beatles’ song, “A Hard Day’s Night”, on George Martin’s 1998 album, In My Life.

Through the late 1990s and 2000s, Hawn has remained in the public eye (in part due to the success of her now adult daughter, actress Kate Hudson). Her last film appearance to date was in the 2002 film, The Banger Sisters.

In 2005, Hawn’s autobiography, A Lotus Grows in the Mud, was published. Hawn claims that the book is not a Hollywood tell-all, but rather a memoir and record of what she has learned in her life so far.

Hawn was married to a Gus Trikonis from 1969 to 1976. She married Bill Hudson, of the Hudson Brothers, in 1976; the two divorced in 1980 and have two children, Oliver (born 1976) and Kate Hudson (born 1979), both of whom are now noted actors.

Hawn has been in a relationship with actor Kurt Russell since 1982, when the two met on the set of Swing Shift (a film in which Hawn’s mother, Laura, has a cameo). The couple have a son together, Wyatt Russell, who lives in Brampton, Ontario, learning and playing hockey. Wyatt is currently a goalie with the Chicago Steel of the USHL. Hawn became a grandmother on 7 January 2004, when her daughter, Kate Hudson, gave birth to son Ryder Russell Robinson.

Hawn became involved in Eastern philosophy in 1972. She is a practicing Buddhist and has raised her children in both Buddhist and Jewish traditions. Hawn travels to India annually, and has visited Israel, stating that she felt an identification with its people.

>The Religious Affiliation of Actress Uma Thurman

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Uma Thurman is one of 14 celebrity Buddhists assessed in Armstrong’s article “Celebrities who are Buddhists… with an assessment of the degree Buddhism is a part of each of their careers.” Uma Thurman was ranked 10th highest on the list in terms of the proportion of web hits (google.com: 0.8%) and current news article hits (news.google.com: 0.3%) mentioning her which also contain either the word “Buddhism” or “Buddhist.” From: Tom Armstrong, “Celebrities who are Buddhists… with an assessment of the degree Buddhism is a part of each of their careers”, 8 March 2005 in Zen Unbound Emagazine (http://www.zenunbound.com/celebbuds.html; viewed 18 August 2005):

Uma Thurman certainly is Buddhist. (She’s Robert Thurman’s daughter, for crying out loud.) But her celebrity seems very apart from her Buddhism activities. She has taken many parts in very bloody films; she’s no softy, that’s for sure.

Wikipedia definition for Robert Thurman (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Thurman; viewed 18 August 2005): Robert Alexander Farrar Thurman (born 1941) is Jey Tsong Khapa Professor of Indo-Tibetan Buddhist Studies at Columbia University and is the co-founder and president of Tibet House New York. At the age of 24, he became the first Western Tibetan Buddhist monk. He is the father of actress Uma Thurman.

Frank Rose, “Reality Check: Uma Thurman on the surreal world of Dick, karmic paybacks, and working with mind-bending auteurs” in Wired Magazine, Issue 11.12, December 2003 (http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/11.12/philip_pr.html; viewed 22 August 2005):

“It’s all very Buddhist,” says Uma Thurman, sitting in a dressing room as a makeup artist dabs at her face.

She means Philip K. Dick, of course. Her father, Columbia University professor Robert Thurman, is a leading Buddhist scholar and a good friend of the Dalai Lama, so she’s no stranger to discussions of memory and reality. “Reality is an illusion – that’s the principle of ancient Buddhist thought,” she continues. “And the basic idea of being reborn is that you erase the memory. Everybody is interconnected, and you’re working out your karma with people – so you get erased, but all work left undone has to be completed.”

So Thurman is a fan [of Philip K. Dick]. Blade Runner was one of her favorite movies growing up – the plight of the replicants was so affecting it made her cry – and after seeing it she read Dick’s novel. “There’s something very earthly in his imaginings,” she says. “You don’t have to set them on Mars – they’re projections from here on Earth. There’s class struggle, there’s government deceit. And these nightmarish fantasies about corporations owning the world – I mean, obviously there’s a reason people relate to that.”

From: “Religious Affiliations of Celebrities” page in “Celebrity Religion” section of “Religion Facts” website (http://www.religionfacts.com/celebrities/religions_of_celebrities.htm; viewed 26 April 2007):

Below is an index of the religious affiliations or belief systems of celebrities (both living and dead; in film, television, music, literature, academics and politics), listed in alphabetical order by last name…

Celebrity: Uma Thurman
Religion/Belief: Buddhism / eclectic

Quotes, More Information, Sources:
Uma’s father, Robert Thurman, is the foremost Buddhist scholar in America. “When asked if I consider myself Buddhist, the answer is, Not really. But it’s more my religion than any other because I was brought up with it in an intellectual and spiritual environment. I don’t practice or preach it, however. But Buddhism has had a major effect on who I am and how I think about the world. What I have learned is that I like all religions, but only parts of them.” – Celebrity Atheist List [link to: http://www.celebatheists.com/index.php?title=Uma_Thurman%5D

More about Uma Thurman, please visit the following link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uma_Thurman
 Source: http://www.adherents.com/

>Naomi Watts Converts To Buddhism

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On March 25, 2010, Naomi Watts was voted one of the Twenty People Who’ve Gotten More Attractive with Age by Nerve [1].

An article below by Tashi Singh, The Post Chronicle, Mar 23, 2006

 

Los Angeles, USA — Hollywood actress and former model, Naomi Watts, seems destined to go the path of many flighty stars, and is converting to Buddhism (vs. Kabbalah or Scientology).

Naomi Watts >>>

Apparently, Watts became obsessed with the religion while filming her new movie ‘The Painted Veil’, according to reports.

It seems she feels “drawn” to the belief system, and has supposedly begun meditating and wearing Buddhist style beads on her wrist.

The King Kong star says, “I have some belief, but I am not a strict Buddhist or anything yet.”

“There was a lot of excitement and energy there.”

She joins fellow believers Richard Gere, Penelope Cruz, Goldie Hawn, Jennifer Lopez, and countless other celebrity worshippers of the philosopher.

Source: http://www.buddhistchannel.tv/index.php?id=9,2471,0,0,1,0

>Hollywood Buddhist _Jennifer Lopez

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Kevin Winter / Getty Images file

Jennifer Lopez grew up Catholic, but is reportedly studying Buddhism.

By Jeannette Walls

msnbc.com

updated 10/11/2004 3:41:43 AM ET

Will J. Lo go Buddhist? 

Jenny from the Block is studying the Eastern religion after Richard Gere, a devout Buddhist, gave her spiritual advice on the set of their new flick, “Shall We Dance?”

“I would say to Richard, ‘God, I’m always worried about being so strong.’ He said, ‘Maybe it’s time to be strong in a different way,’” Lopez said, reports World Entertainment News Network. “He didn’t say, ‘You need to convert,’ but he did give me some good advice.

Jenny from the Block, who grew up Catholic, also revealed while promoting her new movie that she’s reading Ekhart Tolle’s “The Power of Now: A Guide to Spiritual Enlightenment” — a new-agey best seller that’s inspired by Buddhism. The book shows “readers how to recognize themselves as the creators of their own pain” as well as how to free “ourselves from the conflicting, unreasonable demands of the mind,” according to a description on Amazon.com.

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6207937/

>List of converts to Buddhism

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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

From Abrahamic Religions

[edit]From Christianity

• Roberto Baggio (1967- ) an Italian footballer (former Catholic)
• Solomon Bandaranaike, (1899-1959), Sri Lankan leader who converted from Christianity.^[1]
• Ajahn Candasiri, (1947-), Thai Buddhist nun. (from Christianity)^[2][3]
• Pema Chödrön, (1936-), Tibetan Buddhist nun (from Catholic Christianity)^[4]
• Junius Richard Jayewardene (1906-1996) First President of Sri Lanka, and former Prime minister^[5]
• Charles R. Johnson, (1948-), Political cartoonist, novelist, and Buddhist writer who converted at 14. (from African Methodist Episcopal Church)^[6]
• Herman Vetterling, (1849-1931), American mystic (from Swedenborgianism, but he maintained elements of Swedenborg thought after his conversion)^[7][8]
• Henry Steel Olcott, (1832-1907), First well known person to convert to Buddhism. He helped bring about a resurgence and renaissance of Buddhism in Sri Lanka.
• Ajahn Sumedho, (1934-), Most senior representative of the Thai Forest Tradition in the Western hemisphere. Abbot of the Amaravati Buddhist Monastery in the UK.
• Ajahn Brahm, (1951-), Religious teacher and student of the late Thai monk Ajahn Chah. Currently he is the abbot of the Bodhinyana Monastery, Perth and spiritual advisor to many Buddhist societies and organizations in Southeast Asia and Australia.
• George Lucas (?-), mastermind behind Star Wars. He claims to be a Buddist-Methodist. He went from Christian to Buddist-Christian ^[9]
• Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje – famous actor of Nigerian descent^[10]
• Jennifer Lopez – female actor and singer ^[11]
• Hank Johnson – is a member of the U.S. House of Representatives also elected to Congress^[12]

[edit]From Islam

• Tillakaratne Dilshan, (1976-), Sri Lankan Cricket player. Converted from Islam. Previously known as Tuwan Muhammad Dilshan.^[13]
• Wong Ah Kiu, (1918-2006), Her conversion from Islam became a legal issue in Malaysia on her death.^[14]
• Suraj Randiv, Sri Lankan Cricket player previously known as Mohamed Marshuk Mohamed Suraj.
• Mehmet Scholl – german football player ^[15]
• RZA – rapper and actor, incorporates buddhism, taoism and confucianism into his life^[16][17][18]

[edit]From Judaism

• Goldie Hawn, (b.1945-), actress.
• Surya Das, (b.1950-), Lama who founded Dzogchen Foundation and Centers. (from Judaism)^[19]

[edit]From Indian religions

[edit]From Hinduism

• Aśvaghoṣa, (?80-?150 CE), Indian Buddhist figure, philosopher– poet
• Ashoka the Great, (277 BCE-232 BCE), converted from Hinduism, Indian emperor and early convert to Buddhism.^[20][21]
• B. R. Ambedkar, (1891-1956), converted from Hinduism, an early leader of the Dalit Buddhist movement.^[22]
• Balachandran Chullikkadu – Malayalam language poet from Kerala^[23]
• Jagdish Kashyap – Buddhist monk^[24]
• Udit Raj – Prominent Indian dalit activist and Buddhist polemicist^[25]
• Rahul Sankrityayan – Hindi author and translator^[24]
• Iyothee Thass – Siddha practicioner and leader of the Dravidian movement^[26]
• Kanshiram– Prominent dalit leader and founder of Bahujan Samaj Party in India

[edit]From Other or Undetermined

Richard Gere converted to Buddhism

• Devanampiyatissa, (circa 247 BC – 207 BC), Sri Lankan king.^[27]
• Menander I, (died circa 130 BCE), Greco-Buddhist king. (from pre-Christian Hellenistic religion)^[28]

• Tan-luan, (6th to 7th century), Chinese Buddhist monk important to Pure Land Buddhism.(fromTaoism)^[29]

• Ernest Fenollosa, (1853-1908), An American professor of philosophy and political economy at Tokyo Imperial University.^[30]
• Christmas Humphreys, (1901-1983), Founder of the Buddhist Society.
• Anne Hopkins Aitken, (1911-1994), one of the early leaders of Zen Buddhism in the West, co-founded the Honolulu Diamond Sangha.
• Robert Baker Aitken, (1917-), co-founded the Honolulu Diamond Sangha.^[31][32]
• Philip Whalen, (1923-2002), Beat generation poet and Zen monk.^[33]
• George Cockcroft, (1932-), American author, converted to Zen at an unspecified point.^[34]

• Tina Turner, (1939-), American singer-songwriter, dancer, and actress who has won eight Grammy Awards.^[35]
• Joseph Jarman, (1937-), Jazz musician and Jodo Shinshu priest.^[36][37]
• Herbie Hancock, (1940-), Jazz pianist who has also released funk and disco albums.^[38]
• Robert Thurman, (1941-), Buddhist priest and writer who has been called “The Billy Graham of Buddhism.”^[39]
• Buster Williams, (1942-), Jazz bassist who introduced Hancock to Buddhism.^[38]
• Tenzin Palmo, (1943-), Nun of Drukpa Kagyu lineage.^[40]
• Dennis Genpo Merzel, (1944-), Abbot of Kanzeon Zen Center.^[41][42]

• Richard Gere, (1949-), Actor and activist for Tibetan causes.^[43]
• Arabella Churchill (1949-2007), English charity founder, festival co-founder, and fundraiser.^[44]

• Alistair Appleton, (1970-), British television presenter.^[46]
• Fabian Barthez – goalkeeper ^[47]
• Russell Simmons – richest hip-hop entrepeneur, brother of the famous Run–D.M.C. ^[48]
• Keanu Reeves – actor ^[49]
• Tiger Woods – golfer ^[50]
• Jackie Chan – actor ^[51]
• Jet Li – actor ^[52]
• Phil Jackson – former American professional basketball player and the current coach of the Los Angeles Lakers ^[53]
• MCA (musician) – rapper and founding member of hip hop trio the Beastie Boys

>Love And Relationships In Buddhism

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Like Milk & Water Mixed – Love And Relationships In Buddhism, a talk delivered by Bhante S. Dhammika at Fo Ya Shi Temple, Singapore, on the 12th December 2009. Talk duration 45 minutes. Part 1 Part 2

Original post from: http://sdhammika.blogspot.com/2010/05/love-and-relationships-in-buddhism.html

>California’s unique mix of Buddhism

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What is the most Buddhist state in America? Tropical Florida, bustling New York, mellow San Francisco, windy Illinois? It seems to be Southern California. The new Hitchhikers’ Guide to the Galaxy (Wikipedia) explains why:

As the twentieth century came to a close, 40 percent of all Buddhists in America resided in Southern California. The Los Angeles Metropolitan Area has become unique in the Buddhist world as the only place where representative organizations of every major school of Buddhism can be found in a single urban center.

Hsi Lai Temple in Southern California and The City of Ten Thousand Buddhas in Northern California are two of the largest Buddhist temples in the Western Hemisphere. The state also has a growing Hindu population. There is even a thriving number of new age movements, cults, and Eastern religions. Buddhism, Hinduism, Jainism, Shintō, Sikhism, and Taoism have symbolized California as a progressive place for spiritual innovation since the 1960s, though these religions were partly introduced by Asian immigrants when they settled in the state.

California also has the greatest number of (disgruntled and disaffected) Roman Catholics anywhere in the country — Irish, Italians, Latinos, and Filipinos — and (bored) Protestants. Los Angeles is estimated to have the second-largest Jewish community in North America, with about 550,000 Jews. And California also has the largest Islamic community (3.4 percent of the population) in the United States, with approximately 100,000 Muslims residing in San Diego alone. Source

It is, therefore, sad to say that the actions of many “religious” people (of whatever faith) demonstrate intolerance and fear (of losing power/control over others).

• Troubles in space (Discovery shuttle)
• “God” isn’t bound by religion
• Religion is manmade

  Original posted: http://wisdomquarterly.blogspot.com/2010/04/californias-unique-mix-of-buddhism.html