When it comes to parenting, Richard Gere, 76, says he has one simple lesson that he hopes his sons never forget.
“You show kindness. That’s the best thing you can do,” the “Pretty Woman” actor told People in an interview published on Saturday. Gere has three sons: one with his ex-wife, Carey Lowell, and two with his current wife, Alejandra Silva.
Gere said that the life lesson he hopes to instill in his children was inspired by a conversation between a couple he knew and the Dalai Lama.
“I remember His Holiness was asked many, many years ago by a friend of mine — they were a couple,” Gere said. “She was pregnant and they were worried, how do you bring a kid into this world, how do you teach them.”
“And His Holiness said, ‘Teach them to be kind to insects, whom normally people don’t think well of and step on and don’t even think about it. To even respect the life of an insect, [that’s] something that carries over into all of your life,'” Gere said, recalling the Dalai Lama’s words.
A practicing Buddhist since 1978, Gere has shared a close friendship with the 14th Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso, for decades.
In October, Gere told People that his spiritual journey began in his 20s, when he found himself asking big questions about purpose and meaning.
“It wasn’t a particular event, but I think there was just an ongoing innate questioning of what is this?” Gere said. “Why am I here? What am I supposed to do of any value? What has meaning? What lasts? Is there anything that lasts? Is there anything that has real meaning and real depth to it? And I think a lot of people in their 20s go through that.”
The actor also served as a producer on “Wisdom of Happiness,” a documentary featuring the spiritual leader, which premiered at the Zurich Film Festival in October 2024.
In an article published in October, Gere told GQ that he first met the Dalai Lama in the foothills of the Himalayas, where the spiritual leader was living in exile.
“Even from the first time I met him, he’s completely simple and direct and honest. There’s no pretense about him whatsoever. So it’s like talking to a favorite uncle, or your idealized version of your dad, or a college professor who you thought was just the greatest guy in the world,” Gere said.
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