List of Converts To Buddhism - From Other or Undetermined

From Other or Undetermined

  • Anne Hopkins Aitken (1911–1994), one of the early leaders of Zen Buddhism in the West, co-founded the Honolulu Diamond Sangha.
  • Robert Baker Aitken (1917–2010), co-founded the Honolulu Diamond Sangha.
  • Reb Anderson (born 1943), Zen teacher
  • Alistair Appleton (born 1970), British television presenter.
  • Stephen Batchelor (born 1953), writer
  • Kate Bosworth (born 1983), American actress
  • Ajahn Brahm (born 1951), Religious teacher and student of the late Thai monk Ajahn Chah. Currently he is the abbot of the Bodhinyana Monastery, Perth and spiritual advisor to many Buddhist societies and organizations in Southeast Asia and Australia.b
  • John Cage (1912–1992), American composer
  • Arabella Churchill (1949–2007), English charity founder, festival co-founder, and fundraiser.
  • Leonard Cohen, Canadian singer/songwriter/poet
  • John Crook (1930–2011), British ethologist
  • U Dhammaloka (c. 1856 – c. 1914), Buddhist activist in Burma.
  • Ernest Fenollosa (1853–1908), An American professor of philosophy and political economy at Tokyo Imperial University.
  • Richard Gere (born 1949), actor and activist for Tibetan causes.
  • Allen Ginsberg (1926–1997), poet
  • Natalie Goldberg (born 1948), writer
  • Herbie Hancock (born 1940), Jazz pianist who has also released funk and disco albums.
  • Christmas Humphreys (1901–1983), Founder of the Buddhist Society.
  • Joseph Jarman (born 1937), Jazz musician and Jodo Shinshu priest.
  • Miranda Kerr (born 1983), model
  • k.d. lang, Canadian singer
  • Jet Li (born 1963), actor
  • Courtney Love, American singer-songwriter
  • MCA (born 1964), rapper and founding member of hip hop trio the Beastie Boys
  • Menander I (died c. 130 BCE), Greco-Buddhist king. (from pre-Christian Hellenistic religion)
  • Dennis Genpo Merzel (born 1944), Abbot of Kanzeon Zen Center.
  • Ole Nydahl (born 1941), Lama teacher
  • Tenzin Palmo (born 1943), Nun of Drukpa Kagyu lineage.
  • Steven Seagal (born 1951), action-film actor who was proclaimed a tulku.
  • Oliver Stone, American film director
  • Sharon Stone, American actress, producer, and former fashion model.
  • Ajahn Sumedho (born 1934), Most senior representative of the Thai Forest Tradition in the Western hemisphere. Abbot of the Amaravati Buddhist Monastery in the UK.
  • Tan-luan (6th to 7th century), Chinese Buddhist monk important to Pure Land Buddhism.(from Taoism)
  • Robert Thurman (born 1941), Buddhist priest and writer who has been called "The Billy Graham of Buddhism."
  • Tina Turner (born 1939), American singer-songwriter, dancer, and actress who has won eight Grammy Awards.
  • Philip Whalen (1923–2002), Beat generation poet and Zen monk.
  • Tiger Woods (born 1975), golfer
  • Adam Yauch (August 5, 1964 – May 4, 2012) American rapper, songwriter, film director, and human rights activist

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