Mr. Richard Gere in Philadelphia presented the Dalai Lama, absent due to health, with the Liberty Medal and its accompanying cash prize, which His Holiness donated.
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In Philadelphia last night, Mr. Richard Gere, a celebrated actor, spoke endearingly about his friend, His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama, Mr. Tenpin Gyatso, who was unable to be present in person at the National Constitution Center in Old City to accept his Liberty Medal, but did record a video response which followed Mr. Gere’s speech.
In the video, the Dalai Lama touted his commitment to promoting basic human values, liberty being among them.
For His Holiness, the work he performs is rooted in liberty, more distinctively, the liberation of others from ignorance and tyranny.
The Dalai Lama since 1959 has lived in exile from Tibet, though he’s established in India the Tibetan Government in Exile, which expresses as its mission: rehabilitating Tibetan refugees and restoring freedom and happiness in Tibet.
“There’s democracy among the exile community,” said Mr. Gere, as he enumerated on stage the many contributions to the world provided by the honoree. “This is one of the great ones… one of the ones from outside time and space that we get every once in a while.”
At the onset of his remarks, Mr. Gere, who in addition to a renowned career in film is also an activist and humanitarian, praised the Dalai Lama, who is, to some, a controversial figure—a plane flew above the ceremony with a banner that read “False Dalai Lama Give Religious Freedom & Rights”—for being generous, loving, kind, present, and selfless, though he acknowledged these characteristics aren’t gained in one lifetime.
“It’s hard work done over many life times,” said Mr. Gere, referring to building one’s self into a truly developed being that’s compassionate, true, wise, strong and skillful. His Holiness, who awakes early in the morning and meditates for hours, works hard every day of his life “to keep his heart open.”
Along with the award comes a cash prize of $100K, which the Dalai Lama donated to the Mind & Life Institute, a nonprofit that aims to build scientific understanding of the mind as a way to reduce suffering and promote human potential.
The Dalai Lama is known for his lifelong interest in modern science and said, in his remarks, that the institution which benefited from his donation has educated the public about moral ethics based on scientific finding, thus they’re “very important.”
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