Leung Man Tao: a spiritual journey
- Source: The Global Times
- [20:35 May 18 2009]
- Comments
Above: Leung Man Tao. Photo: Guo Yingguang.
By Zhang Lei
Writer and television commentator Leung Man Tao’s newest book Atma-graha offers readers and fans a rare look into the personal life of one of China’s most respected social commentators. Released on May 6, Leung’s deeply personal work is a collection of his columns on love and life for Hong Kong’s Sing Pao Daily News and offers a strong contrast to his last work Common Sense, which was a collection of recent editorials on political and social affairs.
Atma-graha, which is Sanskrit for “holding to the concept of the ego,” is the well-known social and cultural critic’s attempt to find a balance with his outsized role in society. Witty and outspoken, 38-year-old Leung is a TV anchor for Hong Kong’s Phoenix TV familiar to millions of viewers, as well as a regular writer for many influential Chinese-language media in China’s mainland, Hong Kong, Singapore and Malaysia.
Leung currently writes about 10 regular columns, which target different audiences. “I’m writing on behalf of a Chinese living in Hong Kong, so often times I reflect on myself if I have a bias against issues of China’s mainland,” said Leung, who added that he strives to find balance in his commentaries.
Leung’s opinions enjoy broad recognition across the Chinese-language world. “He has an acute response to what’s happening every day,” said Chen Danqing, a well-known oil painter and cultural critic, “when something is up, audiences will give their attention to Leung’s opinion.”
Being a public figure, though, Leung’s opinions are always in the spotlight and there is immense pressure on him from many different directions. “Once I’m admired like an idol, I have so much pressure,” said Leung, who has yet to come to terms with his fame and who is afraid of losing sight of his principles in a world of fame and fortune.
“In order to create a democratic atmosphere, TV stations like to hold debate programs, however, it leaves no room between the positive side and the negative side and simplifies the process of argument to reach to a very brief conclusion.”
According to Leung, television has made him a much more rash thinker. Rather than thinking carefully, he has to quickly say something provocative on TV, which he says distorts the academic and moral integrity of public intellectuals like himself.
In a lecture on the role of public intellectuals at Peking University in March, Leung said that he draws inspiration from German philosopher Theodor W. Adorno’s principle of “autonomy,” which holds that art is governed by its own rules and laws, and that artistic value makes no reference to social or political value.
“To solve this problem, I have to handle it myself,” said Leung, “I haven’t figured it out yet, but I’m trying to find a balance.”
As Leung’s public stature has grown, the commentator has looked to religion for guidance, converting to Hinayana Buddhism last year. According to Leung, he occasionally visits a monastery for spiritual retreat, where he absorbs the master’s teachings and meditates for hours. “Those are my happiest days,” added Leung.
Buddhism has not solved Leung’s spiritual crisis, though, as he sometimes wishes he could forgo his duty as a public intellectual and abandon his public life for a more simple existence. “Buddhism is not Chicken Soup for the Soul, it tells us to live in the present and be true to yourself,” he said.
“Sometimes I can’t stand being on TV any more, because when I face the camera, I have to say something irresponsible without sufficient observation, and that’s musa-vada [ false speech].”
According to Leung, though the roles of Buddhist and public intellectual are often contradictory, Buddhism can actually be highly engaged in social affairs.
“That is why so many monks in Myanmar marched on the road to protest the military government,” he said, before explaining that Vietnam Zen master Thich Nhat Hanh once coined the term “Engaged Buddhism” to refer to Buddhists who are seeking ways to apply the insights from meditation practice and dharma teachings to situations of social, political, and economic suffering and injustice.
“Actually, intellectual is not an occupation, it’s rather like the role of a godfather, a call of active undertaking,” Leung said.
