He is one of the biggest stars in Hollywood. But that's not all: Richard Gere has been a practicing Buddhist and friend of the Dalai Lama for decades. A conversation about spiritual growth, compassion and the illusion of the self. Topics in this episode: 00:00 How did you find Buddhism, Richard Gere? 10:14 From Protestant Methodist faith to Buddhist wisdom 22:16 What was your first encounter with the Dalai Lama like? 32:54 What is your aim with the film "Wisdom of Happiness"? 43:10 How can people be convinced of compassion? 51:35 How do you prepare for death? His aim is to make the world a better place. Richard Gere explained this at the Zurich Film Festival this year, where he presented his documentary film "Wisdom of Happiness". In the truest sense, the film is a lesson from the Dalai Lama, in which he pleads for more compassion, addresses the future of our planet and shows what responsibility we as human beings have in these matters. The first meeting between Richard Gere and the Dalai Lama dates back to 1982. Since then, Gere has devoted himself wholeheartedly to Tibetan Buddhism and is also active as a human rights activist, campaigning for the freedom of Tibet, among other things. However, caring attention to other people and compassion for others was something he was taught as a child of Protestant Methodist parents. He tells Olivia Röllin about the greatest joy of human existence, life as a play and a global community of brothers and sisters. In this version the questions are in German and the answers in English: • Richard Gere, what lead you to Buddhi... Sternstunde Religion from November 24th, 2024 ____________________ ✨ New conversations with exciting guests every week Program responsible: ???? Director: Julia Bendlin, Editor: Daniel Dubach, Maurice Koepfli, Martina Kuhn, Jolanda Fazzone, Producer: Julia Bendlin, Management: Judith Hardegger, SRF 2024 ____________________ Subscribe now to SRF Kultur Sternstunden on YouTube ????https://www.youtube.com/srfkultur?sub... More culture on srf.ch ???? https://www.srf.ch/kultur ____________________ The big questions of life, discussed in conversation with people who move, understand, believe and doubt. That is our approach. We conduct social debates and profound conversations that entertain and inspire. Religion can be many things and it reaches deep into the heart of society. From Zen meditation to the abuse of power by the church, from football fan cults to the gender debate: we approach the broad subject area of ​​religion, faith and spirituality with critical distance. ____________________ Moderation: Olivia Röllin: / oliviaroellin Ahmad Milad Karimi: / donkarimi ____________________ Social Media Netiquette from SRF: ► https://www.srf.ch/social-netiquette #SRFCulture #SRFCultureSternstunden #SRFSternstunde #Religion #RichardGere #Buddhism #SRF #Culture