Richard Gere prayed with fellow Buddhists and greeted his BFF Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama in India on Friday.



No word if he was forgiven for "Nights in Rodanthe."

Namaste.

If you have ever wanted more bathrooms than you know what to do with -- then Richard Gere has got what you need.



Gere recently put his seven bedroom, 10.5 bath, Long Island farm house up for sale for a cool $8.8 mil. While there are other nice luxuries -- like a heated pool, guest house and an artists studio -- the main draw here is the ridiculous number of bathrooms.

The porcelain Gods have never shone brighter.

Hindu nationalists are burning Richard Gere in effigy -- no, not because of "Shall We Dance," but because of his over-affectionate behavior toward a popular Bollywood actress.

Photographs hit front pages of newspapers in India today, showing Gere kissing Shilpa Shetty on the cheek at an AIDS awareness event in New Delhi -- where public displays of affection are taboo. In protest, members of the right-wing Hindu nationalist group, Shiv Sena, beat burning effigies of Gere with sticks and burned pictures of Shetty.

In the video, Gere can be seen kissing Shetty several times on the hand before hugging and kissing her on the cheek -- cheered on by fans the entire time. When Gere took to the mic, he led to the crowd in a "No condom, no sex" chant in Hindi.

Shetty came to the defense of Gere today, saying, "I understand that it might have looked like he went slightly overboard, but that was really not the intention. His intention was that of entertaining the people. "

Urban legends are stories with obscure origins, usually with little or no supporting evidence. Crazy circumstances associated with some of our favorite A-listers -- just happen to be true, while some are just myths. Find out which of Tinseltown's most outrageous legends are for real, and which are just a lot of baloney.

Sylvester Stallone thinks that Richard Gere's still mad at him for starting that whole gerbil-in-the, well, you know, story.

Stallone tells AintItCoolNews.com (via Rush & Molloy) that Gere continues to harbor a grudge (if not a rodent) because Gere believes it was Sly who started that ridiculous urban legend about Gere and the gerbil. Here's the deal: Gere and Stallone were on the set of 1974's "The Lords of Flatbush" and the two actors got into a tiff over lunch one day -- something about chicken grease, Sly's thigh, and a hot dog -- whereupon Stallone elbowed him in the side of the head.

The tension between the two actors became so fevered that Gere got kicked off the film, which still angers him today, apparently: "To this day [he] seriously dislikes me," says Sly, who adds, for the record, that he did not start the rodent rumor. Gere's rep had no comment.

Did Tom Lure J.Lo and Jim into the Church?

Could Jennifer Lopez and Jim Carrey be the latest high-profile converts to Scientology by Tom Cruise?

Lips flapped when J. Lo and funnyman Carrey were very visible guests at TomKat's Italian wedding extravaganza, with many wondering where their friendships might have started. But now, says Page Six, it appears that the "mystery link" might be the Church of Scientology. Carrey is taking the introductory and beginner's courses right now, says a source, and Lopez has started talking the Scientology talk via her BFF Leah Remini, an avowed Church member.

Problems may emerge, however, as Lopez's husband Marc Anthony is a devout Catholic (though that didn't stop Katie Holmes). J. Lo's rep had no comment, and Carrey's flack says he's not taking classes.

Brad Goes Incognito in Big Apple

Brad Pitt tried to go all stealthy in a New York restaurant the other day – and it worked. Page Six says that the other day, the male half of Brangelina was in sci-fi-themed eatery Mars 2112 with son Maddox, where Brad gave the hostess the pseudonym "Jack M.," probably expecting to be winkingly "unrecognized." The woman actually didn't recognize him, which amused Pitt.

Meanwhile, at the after-party for "The Good Shepherd" at Time Warner Center, Pitt played good waiter to Angelina Jolie, keeping her quenched with martinis and letting her do the necessary socializing with Robert De Niro, Matt Damon, and Harvey Weinstein, among others.

Party Favors: Rosie In Bed With GOP? ... Barker Donates $300,000 for Elephant ... Julia's Next Project: "Happiness"?

Rosie O'Donnell is now breaking bread with Republicans? The outwardly lefty O'Donnell recently had dinner at the New York apartment of well-known Republican fundraiser Georgette Mosbacher, says Page Six. When Mosbacher said that she was lacking donations for a rehab facility for wounded combat vets, Rosie offered $300K on the spot, which surprised Rosie's wife Kelli and her boss Barbara Walters as much as it did Mosbacher. Said Mosbacher, "There's hope for bipartisanship." ... Retiring game show host Bob Barker, who turned 83 yesterday, will give $300,000 to help an elephant from the Los Angeles Zoo to be housed in an animal sanctuary. The pledge will match donations to send Ruby, a 45-year-old African elephant, to a sanctuary in San Andreas, Calif. ... Julia Roberts is producing and possibly starring in a feature adaptation of the bestseller "Happiness Sold Separately," about a suburban wife and her withdrawal from her cheating husband, reports Variety.

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