‘It literally saved my life!’ These celebrities practice Buddhism – coastalbreezenews.com

If you’ve tried Christianity, Judaism and Islam, why not try Buddhism?

Meditation, chanting, mental health and emotional peace are some of the concepts that the following celebrities identify with.

Find out why and how they have stayed true to their Buddhist practices.

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It’s all about the mantra

If you’ve tried Christianity, Judaism and Islam, why not try Buddhism? Meditation, chanting, mental health and emotional peace are some of the concepts that the following celebrities identify with. Find out why and how they have stayed true to their Buddhist practices.

Richard Gere

‘Pretty Woman’ actor Richard Gere is first on the list. His interest in Buddhism began at the early age of 20 and studied it for several years. Later on, he traveled to Nepal to meet several Tibetan monks and eventually met the 14th Dalai Lama. The latter has been a close friend of Gere for quite some time.

Chris Evans

During an interview with The Hindustan Times, Chris Evans detailed part of his spiritual connection with Buddhism. He said he spent three weeks at a Buddhist retreat in India, after attending a class in Los Angeles. He shared: “The woman who teaches had trained there. So we all went ant stayed in this little village, Rishikesh, hiked the Himalayas … it was great.”

Leonard Cohen

According to BBC, late Canadian singer Leonard Cohen joined the Mt. Baldy Zen Center in 1994 and used to take some months off every year to isolate himself and meditate. Cohen was eventually ordained as a Rinzai Zen Buddhist monk.

Orlando Bloom

The ‘Lord of the Rings’ star has practiced Buddhism for several years. Orlando takes regular breaks from acting to meditate. What is really sweet though, is that the British actor uses Buddhist chanting to soother his baby daughter Daisy, his child with Katy Perry.

Sharon Stone

The ‘Basic Instinct’ star is also an advocate of Buddhism. According to a Vogue article, Sharon keeps herself positive and mentally balanced through a specific routine, which includes fitness training as well as reading Buddhist texts. Vogue also states that Stone has been focusing on “little things” to keep her grounded.

Oliver Stone

The ‘Nixon’ director took up Buddhism in the 1990s in order to readjust the levels in his life. Stone believes that “Buddhism can only be good” for the US and “hopes, personally that America will find it”.

Tina Turner

Music icon Tina Turner struggled with depression but finding Buddhism helped her overcome the condition. She said: “The more I learned about it, the more I found the philosophy helpful, and it made perfect sense to me. Buddhism literally saved my life, and I’ve been happily chanting every day for about 50 years now.”

Alanis Morissette

‘Ironic’ singer Alanis Morissette has been practicing Buddhism many years. She even shared some images of her angst-free meditation room to Women’s Health magazine. Speaking about the room, she said: “It’s kind of where I go to tune in to emotions, get divine messages through prayer.”

Courtney Love

The Hole singer turned to Buddhism to beat the many demons in her life. And she credits the faith with leading her to her late husband, Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain. She said: “The first time I went for Buddhism it got me off Hollywood Boulevard and got my band Hole to where it got. I ended up with a great husband and a wonderful child.”

Kate Bosworth

The actress is an active faith promoter and enjoys meditation very much. She is also a member of the Soka Gakkai International, an organization that promotes peace, education and cultural exchange. According to GQ, Bosworth believes that Buddhism “is just a really incredible state of mind. It’s just a beautiful place to try to be at”. Fun fact: she was in a relationship with fellow Buddhist Orlando Bloom.