Embracing Emptiness: Richard Gere's Lesson

When I moved to New York, almost ten years ago, I was struggling with a lot of pain because I was missing my country, my family, my friends. So, I guess as any other immigrant, I started looking for places and people that made me feel like “at home”. Strange as it may sound, I realized that it was kind of easier to feel at “home” among Americans, in that exquisite melting pot that is NYC, than among Italians.

There was a place however, in nomen omen, that responded to my needs, filled my void and carried me on the wings of literature, art, music and, of course, politic and history, and that, still today, is my favorite place to celebrate my Italian heritage: the NYU Casa Zerilli - Marimo’. If you have never been there, you have to go. Most of the events, all top noch, are in English and, almost every night, you can enjoy the greatness of Italian culture.

The director of the Casa, Stefano Albertini Mussini, who teaches Italian Literature and Cinema at the NYU, is the perfect host and this is not only because his own rich culture and his refined sensibility; what makes “his” Casa one of the most elegant and welcoming Italian places in NY, is his infinite will to learn, listen and let people fascinate him.

So it was with little surprise that I was invited to the presentation of the new English translation of Italo Calvino's The Baron in the Trees where Giovanna Calvino, the writer's daughter, was also participating in the conversation to better contextualize and understand the text.

What really intrigued me, was learning that Richard Gere was lending his voice to one of the most beloved and influential Italian writers of the 20th century, one of the very few who - over the past decades - has always been present in American bookstores, libraries, and universities. Mr. Gere explained the origin of his passion for Mr Calvino and confessed his dream to make a movie inspired to the Baron’s story; dream that Mr Calvino’s widow, Chichita, is holding back, refusing to sell the license. So, the audience was really supportive when Mr Gere asked to raise the voice all together praising Ms Singer to give her blessing to the project.

There was a moment, during the conversation, when Mr Gere referred to a passage of the book where the word “emptiness” is quoted; he emphasized the importance of “emptiness” in Buddhism and explained how emptiness is also a key concept for a world of inclusiveness. I particularly loved that moment. Especially considered the time we are living in. So when the Q/A started, I was not surprised that there were no questions for Mr. Gere: his profoundness had completely seduced the audience. Neverthless - with a racing heart and a faible voice I asked: “how can we embrace emptiness in a divided and angry world like this?”. Mr Gere’s reaction - that you can watch in the video at minute 51.15 - was everything. But his words were also a healing balm and I will cheerish them for a long time. He first referred directly to Mr. Trump, without mentioning his name, but defining this as “a wacky crazy time”, so weird that we all keep thinking that we will wake up and find out it was a bad dream. “On the simple plan - said Mr Gere - we have to work so that this man is not re-elected. We have to take that responsibility. On a larger level, if we don’t feel our own vastness, inside ourselves we will never see it outside of ourselves. This is just the law. From the Buddhist point of view, we have to work on ourself to break all the bonds - to liberate us from the selfish thinking”. “As vast as we can make our minds, we can then see the vastness of love, of compassion, of forgiveness, of inclusion and make that, the world in which we live in the relative plan”.