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Richard Gere kisses the hand of the Dalai Lama as Hollywood legend and devout buddhist celebrates the spiritual leader's 90th birthday in India

Gere, a practicing buddhist since 1978, was seen reverently kissing the spiritual leader's hand at the event, held at Dharamshala.

On Sunday, Gere was among red-robed monks as they chanted at the Himalayan hilltop forested temples in India, home to the Dalai Lama since he and thousands of other Tibetans fled Chinese troops who crushed an uprising in their capital Lhasa in 1959. 'I am just a simple Buddhist monk; I don't normally engage in birthday celebrations,' the Dalai Lama said in a message, thanking those marking it with him for using the opportunity "to cultivate peace of mind and compassion". The celebrations on Sunday are the culmination of days of long-life prayers for Tenzin Gyatso, who followers believe is the 14th reincarnation of the Dalai Lama, a man whose moral teachings and idiosyncratic humour have made him one of the world's most popular religious leaders.

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