Mindfulness is a quality that's always there. It's an illusion that there's a meditation and post-meditation period, which I always find amusing, because you're either mindful or you're not.
Richard GereRead
From a Buddhist point of view, emotions are not real. As an actor, I manufacture emotions. They're a sense of play. But real life is the same. We're just not aware of it.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Emotions are viewed as constructs rather than inherent truths, similar to acting, emphasizing the nature of human perception.
Richard Gere's quote highlights the Buddhist perspective that emotions are not fixed realities but rather constructs that we create, akin to an actor performing. He suggests that life itself is performative, and that many of our emotional experiences are products of our perception and awareness, inviting us to reconsider what we deem as real in our emotional lives.
Themes
EmotionsRealityPerceptionAwarenessBuddhismActing
In practice
Example use cases
In a discussion about emotional resilience, one might say, 'As Richard Gere noted, emotions are not real; they are a construct we create, much like acting in a play.'
More from Richard Gere
All quotes →In a situation like this, of course you identify with everyone who's suffering. (But we must also think about) the terrorists who are creating such horrible future lives for themselves because of the negativity of this karma. It's all of our jobs to keep our minds as expansive as possible. If you can see (the terrorists) as a relative who's dangerously sick and we have to give them medicine, and the medicine is love and compassion. There's nothing better.
Richard GereRead
Meditation is such a more substantial reality than what we normally take to be reality.
Richard GereRead
It's not enough to say that the Olympics is an athletic contest outside of politics, because it's not. The Chinese clearly are using the Olympics to recreate how they are viewed in the world and how they view themselves.
Richard GereRead
I've got a lot of opportunities, a lot of love in my life, a lot of things going for me. Still, it's not complete. I know this is not the whole thing. There's much more.
Richard GereRead
As custodians of the planet it is our responsibility to deal with all species with kindness, love, and compassion. That these animals suffer through human cruelty is beyond understanding. Please help to stop this madness.
Richard GereRead
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