Gere wants to turn Bodhgaya into meat-free zone for peace

London: Hollywood star Richard Gere has supported a campaign for turning the town of Bodhgaya into a vegetarian zone to spread "a message of peace". The `Pretty Woman` actor took part in a five-day training session with Tibetan religious leader, the Dalai Lama, in Bodhgaya village last week and showed his solidarity when he joined a march to highlight the campaign, a news website reported.

The plan to turn Bodhgaya, famous for being the place of Buddha`s attainment of `Nirvana`, into a meat-free area was created by the Tibetans for a Vegetarian Society group. Gere, who is a practising Buddhist and an active supporter of the Dalai Lama, had given up eating red meat 30 years ago. "I am with the people who have launched this campaign," Gere said. And the group`s founder, Tenzin Kunga Luding, is grateful for the actor`s support. "We have been calling for this since 2006 and slowly the campaign is building up. He really was very supportive and very good to us. It has helped the cause a lot," Luding said. PTI