‘At three o'clock in the morning, in a hotel room high above still-glimmering Montreal, Tina Turner is plugging into the universal buzz: Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, Nam-myoho–renge-kyo, Nam-myoho-renge-kyo… As the words gather speed, her voice rises slightly to a smoothly rippling alto drone, then winds down.’ 

So said Kurt Loder in a 1984 article for Rolling Stone magazine.  Tina Turner, born Anna Mae Bullock, is a global megastar and one of the most famous Buddhists in the West.

The 1993 biopic, What’s Love Got To Do With It, tells the story of her rise to fame as wife of songwriter, guitarist and record producer, Ike Turner. It also reveals her battered and brutalized existence behind the façade of one of the most celebrated marriages in R&B history. She was regularly beaten - often with wire coat hangers and her stiletto shoes – and there were always other women in Ike’s life.

‘I was trapped into really caring about Ike. If I left him, what was he going to do? Go back to St. Louis? I didn't want to let him down,’ Tina told Rolling Stone magazine in a later interview.  ‘As horrible as he treated me, I still felt responsible for letting him down. And I was afraid to leave. I knew I had no place to hide, because he knew where my people were. My mother was actually living in Ike's house in St. Louis. My sister was living in an apartment basically rented by Ike. I didn't want an ugly life yet I’d got myself trapped into one.’

Tina’s unhappiness became so acute she attempted suicide with a Valium overdose. Shortly afterwards she met the Buddhism of Nichiren Daishonin and began chanting nam-myoho-renge-kyo. Suddenly Tina’s life had spiritual structure. At last she was able to think clearly. She didn’t want to kill herself, she realized, she wanted to change her life. And so it happened that in 1976, after almost two decades of unspeakable abuse, Tina found the courage to walk out. ‘When I did finally leave him, it all made sense. I couldn't have left before because I had to finish that karma, and karma is dealing with lessons that you have to learn.’

Tina left Ike with 36 cents in her pocket and a gas credit card. She found an unfurnished apartment and on the first night she and her children slept on the bare floor. Later she rented basic furniture and her sister helped out with food stamps. For the next five years her career languished. She was no longer the hot star of the Tina and Ike years. She was struggling with debt and couldn’t get a record contract. Then in 1981 the Rolling Stones booked her to open for them on their American Tour. It was the beginning of one of the most spectacular comebacks in rock history.

Among the accolades for Tina Turner are being included on Rolling Stone's list The Immortals - The Greatest Artists of All Time, being inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and winning eight Grammy Awards. Her autobiography I, Tina is available from Amazon.

In this YouTube clip Tina talks to Larry King about her Buddhist practice.