That’s right. It seems that the “It Girl” of the 60s is taking her ongoing appreciation of Buddhism and mindfulness to children across the pond. It’s not that much of a surprise, given Hawn’s recent endorsement of the book Mindful Teaching and Teaching Mindfulness, from which Take 5, below, is excerpted.
Having formed the Hawn Foundation, whose mission is to “create a more mindful world,” the actress, producer, and “creative philanthropist” has been taking meetings with British education secretary Michael Gove, looking for ways to make the benefits of mindfulness part of school-kids’ curriculum. “A peaceful, happy child,” says Goldie, “is the first step towards a peaceful world.”
Why is it that all of the Buddhist blogs and so-called news sites are so obsessed with kowtowing to the culture of celebrity? Is it really news every time a Richard Gere or Steven Seagal or Goldie Hawn does or says something remotely related to Buddhism? When will American Buddhism reach the point that people no longer feel the need to pander to the lowest common intellectual denominator by trying to legitimize Buddhism via celebrity endorsements?
Thanks for the comment, Josh. To be honest, if we covered every time a celebrity did do something remotely related to Buddhism, we'd have no room for many of the other things we'd like to cover. So we're picky. Speaking for myself — and hopefully for a good deal of our readers — well, I just think the intersection of Buddhism/mindfulness and popular culture is fascinating. Beyond that, though, I think it's just worthy to cover when people do good work. This story, to my mind, has both of those angles to it. …Thanks again.
Ms. Hawn has been studying Buddhism since the 70’s (according to Wikipedia). So why has she has had so much plastic surgery that she’s barely recognizable? I mean the FIRST Noble Truth deals with the reality of old age. If part of the path is accepting old age, then you cannot be mindful when you overdo plastic surgery.
I’m cool with the story. I think it’s great the she’s working to create more mindful children. But, I just have to wonder what’s going on . . . .
As someone who's seen her up close at an event somewhat recently, I think I can safely say that she has in fact not had any.
Cargo: you’re joking right? You don’t need to be close up to her to see that her face doesn’t look or move like it has before. I mean those certainly aren’t her lips. There are plenty of plastic surgery professionals who think she has had some help and a simple internet search can find them.)
I like Goldie Hawn, and always have, but that’s simply not the face she would have had without some help.
well, then what does it matter? who of us haved lived perfectly abiding by the Four Noble Truths, the Eightfold Path, or the Seventeen Whatevers? We all just do our best. She seems to be doing a good job of doing her best.
Cargo: I’m not sure what you mean by asking whether “it matters?” Am I personally affected by whether she has surgery? No. However, when someone publicly declares a religious affiliation, especially when they are a member of a minority religion, people look to that person as a representative of sorts. If you’re trying to teach people to be mindful, it’s helpful to be mindful yourself.
To my mind, lots of “work” seems inconsistent with that. That’s pretty much all I’m saying. I mean I can’t be the only Buddhist who is curious about that.
Maybe you’ve met Goldie, you like her, and my comments rankle as a result. That’s ok, but reality is reality. I mean it’s like going to see Madonna, Cher, Janet Jackson, etc. Before seeing some of these women perform, I openly wondered how many times they’d actually sing. Some of my friends got upset at the notion that I’d dared allege these women weren’t actually singing. My mom was a professional singer. Madge, Cher, & Janet aren’t doing a lot of singing at their shows. That’s just REALITY. That reality didn’t stop me from COMPLETELY enjoying every minute of the shows.
So do I like Goldie: yeah. Do I want her to keep teaching kids to be mindful: yeah. Do I think she’s some sort of “bad” person for having has work: no. But do I wonder how her mindfulness practice affected her decision to have some help: you betcha.
no, i havent met yet other than to say, "Hello, Goldie." and yes, "lots of work" may seem inconsistent with having a practice, but then, who has a perfect practice? i can only speak for myself but there are things that i do that are inconsistent with my practice. i imagine there always will be. but that wont keep me from trying to do my best.
Hello There's no one can perfect in this small world ok. I think when we do the practice about the Buddhist or any religious meditation first we must be clean our heart and spiritual mind center than only way to get into center of our spiritual meditation concentrate with all our mind and strength this is what I thought about it. Just the little view from my side alright.
I did read the book. Its a great book. It seems like a simplified version of Buddha's "Sati Pattana" Sutra.
Sati – mind
Pattana – taking care of the mind like you take care of a dieng patient
Basically what Buddha said was one need to take care of the mind as one would take care of a very sick person.
It lacks something very important that was stressed out in satipattana.
"The human condition".
I think she should have touched upon that aspect of it as well.
Mindfullness and human existance and its condition are interwined.