1969

Impact of Buddhism

Besides his return to his family empire, Robert Hung Ngai experienced a turning point in his philosophical outlook, becoming an advocate for greater knowledge and understanding globally for Buddhism, Buddhist art and thought. This is both a legacy he feels he inherited from his grandmother Clara, originator of the Tung Lin Kok Yuen temple in Happy Valley, and a personal belief in the positive impact that Buddhism can have on a person’s approach to life. For many years, though, he stayed away from active involvement, finding the religion too esoteric to fathom or appeal.

In the late 1960s, family responsibilities meant he had to take a seat on the Tung Lin Kok Yuen board. At this time, his view was transformed by his friendship with fellow board member Wu Yi, a Taiwanese monk with a gift for explaining Buddhist thought in a straightforward way.

 

Belief and living as you wish to be

“My behaviour changed a lot after I met Wu Yi. We got to know each other as he sat next to me during Tung Lin Kok Yuen board meetings. I didn’t know him before that time.

“Wu Yi was a great influence mainly because he told me what Buddhism was all about in plain language. With the priests, I could be sitting there all day not know what they were saying. This meant at school and college, I had no interest in Buddhism because I couldn’t understand it. Frankly, Buddhism is very deep and you have to learn a lot about the philosophy as well as the religious aspects.

However, when I got chatting to this monk, I found he could explain Buddhist philosophy to me. He was very easy-going and liberal, not stiff or restricted to ritual. For example, if he wanted to eat salad rather than cooked veggies, he would say: ‘How about going to the salad bar in the Hilton Hotel?’ (Site now occupied by Cheung Kong Building, Central.) I would say: ‘Sure!’

“Quite a few new feelings affected me once I became a practising Buddhist. Number one: humbleness. Number two: I felt at peace. Number three: I decided there wasn’t anything worth getting too excited about, especially disputes. Prior to that, I used to be temperamental and sometimes I would just blow up, especially when I was working in newspapers and meeting deadlines. I used to yell at everybody and I don’t think anyone enjoyed being around me.

“Even now, though, I’m not one of those people who go to the temple and pray every day. I’m not well versed in Buddhism. But I’ve heard enough and read enough about it – not studied but read – to make me feel that this is the way I would like to be.

“So every day if I have time to be alone, I contemplate. Not exactly meditate but calm myself. I feel I can relax and it gives me a few minutes of calmness. I feel like I treat people with understanding and I’m happy…

“I left one thing out, though. Buddhism teaches that you have to undertake good works but you cannot rely on others recognising this. You pray to be better in yourself rather than to have Buddha take care of you. After all, Buddha was just a human being, who gave us wise scriptures or advice to follow. I think he gave us very good advice. But how you are going to be in this world is entirely up to you. That’s the way I feel. Everybody is different, but that’s the way I feel.

“Do I expect my family to follow me? Well, starting from grandfather’s day, religion has been a subject where you are on your own. The family has seen Catholics, Protestants… We are not saying you should be this or that. I believe in Buddhism, my older boy does, my younger one not. My father was a Buddhist, my mother not so much. Religion is one subject we don’t insist on.”