Britney & Buddhist Celebrities

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Top 10 Celebrity Buddhists (Wildmind.org)

When this list came together it seemed little more than a trivial distraction from all the news about disastrous wars, sordid economic-political scandals, and deep philosophical questions. But digging more deeply through the Web, there was inspiration. Reading about the practice of famous Buddhists, some of whom have had their trials, there is something to learn, be entertained and inspired by Wildmind’s Top 10 List of Celebrity Buddhists.

The criteria were simple. To be a Celebrity Buddhist a nominee has to be alive, a celebrity, and — wait for it — a Buddhist. The voting process was simplicity itself: counting the hits returned for an exact Google search on each name.

It’s not always easy working out if a celebrity Buddhist is actually a Buddhist. Lots of Websites say Keanu and Jennifer Lopez are practicing Buddhists. But the truth is far harder to pin down. A celebrity is a Buddhist only if s/he has said so. In fact some much lauded “celebrity Buddhists” have explicitly said that they are not Buddhist practitioners (e.g., Uma Thurman, “When asked if I consider myself Buddhist, the answer is, Not really,” and Keanu Reeves, “I’m not Buddhist.”)

Joining Keanu and J-Lo on the not-really-a-Buddhist list were martial arts actor Jackie Chan, and rocker/poet Patti Smith. Conversely, there are some serious practitioners whose celebrity status (as measured by a lack of Google hits) were avant-garde musician Laurie Anderson (1,110,000 hits), jazzman Wayne Shorter (1,100,000 hits), and REM frontman Michael Stipe (813,000 hits). So here they are in reverse order (with their hit totals):

1. Aung San Suu Kyi (1,170,000 hits)
2. Steven Seagal (1,340,000)
3. Kate Bosworth (1,390,000)
4. Richard Gere (1,560,000)
5. Herbie Hancock (1,590,000)
6. Leonard Cohen (1,620,000)
7. The Dalai Lama (1,640,000)
8. Tina Turner (1,710,000)
9. Orlando Bloom (3,710,000)
10. The Greatest Sports Figure (5,850,000)