Richard Gere attends 'Mind and Life' conference in Dharamsala

Hollywood actor Richard Gere, who claims to be a practioner of Buddhism under the Tibetan religious leader, the Dalai Lama, took part in a dialogue at the “Mind and Life” conference here on Monday.

Scientists, philosophers, and scholars will interact in the five-day-long conference, inaugurated by the Dalai Lama at his palace. The conference has been organised by the Louisville-based Mind and Life Institute, which was co-founded by the Dalai Lama in 1987.

These dialogues aim at building a bridge between the modern sciences and contemplative traditions, especially like Buddhism, according to a delegate at the meeting, who did not wish to be identified.

Richard Gere who arrived here on Sunday evening, kept himself away from the media, while interacting freely with the scholars and scientists. Gere has been campaigning for the freedom of Tibet from Chinese rule.

Gere caught public attention for the first time here when he visited Dharamsala six years ago with actor Goldie Hawn. They offered one million dollars for the education of Tibetan exiles. Gere also funds a project, Green McLeodganj, here.

Among the notable foreign participants at the conference were David Meyer, mathematical psychologist in the University of Michigan; William James, professor of psychology in the University of Wisconsin, and Wolf Singer, director of Frankfurt Institute for Advanced Studies, besides 125 delegates from all over the world.