In Hollywood, everyone takes the Dalai Lama very seriously -- except perhaps for the Dalai Lama himself.
The 14th reincarnated primate of Tibetan-style Buddhism -- as well as his scattered people's political leader -- comes pretty close to being the entertainment industry's unofficial spiritual guide. Even many of those with no inclination toward Buddhism have embraced the cause of regaining independence, or, at least, autonomy, for Tibet, which remains under Chinese rule.
For some time now, Chinese authorities have declined to resume talks on autonomy with the Dalai Lama, who gives talks and travels the world from the highlands of northern India, his home in exile. (How many monks have had their MIT lectures collected and published?) Now there's also a crackdown underway inside Tibet, where Buddhist schools are being closed and monks arrested. So some of Hollywood's leading human rights activists, including Harrison Ford and Mia Farrow -- are swinging into action, mounting an international campaign to solicit stars and others to sign a letter by the Dalai Lama's fellow Nobel Peace Prize laureate, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, the heroic anti-apartheid Anglican cleric. (Hey, Nobel laureates stick together.)
Lucia Noyce of Artists for Amnesty, a branch of Amnesty International, is one of those spearheading the effort. She recently wrote in an e-mail message to supporters, "We are (specifically) looking for support within the entertainment community." Among those who've already added their names to Tutu's letter, according to Noyce, are New Age celebrity types Christy Turlington, Ashley Judd, Gwyneth Paltrow and Jordan's star-quality queen, Noor. More celebrity names are expected to be added in the coming days. (For more information, check out the community.com.)
Tutu's letter has an attention-getting first sentence: "We the undersigned Nobel Peace Prize Laureates, human rights leaders and concerned individuals wish to express our concern at the current deterioration of the human rights situation in Tibet, and the apparent breakdown of the talks between the Chinese government and emissaries of His Holiness the Dalai Lama."
The archbishop and co-signers go on to declare, "To our dear friend His Holiness the Dalai Lama, we say: we stand with you. You define non-violence and compassion and goodness. Clearly China does not know you. It is our sincere hope that they will. We call on China's government to know His Holiness the Dalai Lama, as we and so many others have come to know him during the long decades he has spent in exile."
