"Buddhism is grandfather of scientology": Tom Cruise
"Tom Cruise is an asshat": Buddhists the world over
I was struck by the code of Bushido (the way of the Samurai). It's powerful, it talks about compassion, helping others, responsibility, integrity ... timeless values, ways I identify with. Buddhism is the grandfather of scientology.
- Tom Cruise
Truly, it is a good thing that we are not depending on Tom Cruise to solve some crushing world-wide problem, such as AIDS, hunger, or cancer. Lord only knows what madness we'd be saddled with.
PARIS (AFP) - Tom Cruise, who stars in Edward Zwick's "The Last Samurai", praised eastern religion saying "Buddhism is the grandfather of scientology" and climbed up on a chair to show off his new-found strength and flexibility in the making of the film.
The 41-year-old star, sporting short hair and a grey suit, waxed lyrical on Buddhism during a Paris news conference at the Ritz hotel held to promote the release in France of the movie next week.
If there is one thing that we should constantly remind ourselves of, it's that we should NEVER expect intelligent and insightful commentary from a movie star. Would we expect a cure for SARS from a football player? Not likely. All Cruise has done is expose himself as being even more shallow and self-absorbed than previously imaginable.
The star of "Misson Impossible" and "Minority Report" lifted weights for eight months to bulk up his muscles, gaining 12 kilogrammes (26 pounds) of them to play the role of Captain Nathan Algren, an American civil war veteran tasked with modernizing the Japanese army during the 1870s.
Clearly, all of the additional muscle has not served to bring Cruise any closer to Enlightenment, or even to a minimal understanding of Buddhism. The next step, I would imagine, would be to compare L. Ron Hubbard to Buddha. That is a comparison this Buddhist would offensive and disrespectful, and I normally am not bothered by people with an incomplete understanding of my belief system.
Hear's a suggestion, Tom- how about you stick to making movies and leave the discoursing on comparative religion to someone who actually knows what the Hell they're talking about? Thank you. That is all.
