02.08.2010
Book B., by Leung Man Tao proposes a new modern approach of buddhism, as suggests buddhist door’s editorialist Raymond Lam.
The Hong Kong Book Fair is the city’s most successful exhibition, held yearly at the Wan Chai Convention Centre. International figures graced this year’s festival for bookworms, along with a host of native writers from and/or residing in Hong Kong. Among the stars were celebrity writer Stephen Fry, Frederick Forsyth (author of Day of the Jackal among other spy novels), Andrew Roberts (an acclaimed historian on Churchill, Hitler, and Napoleon), and Sir David Tang. 2010 also marked the more humble publication of Book B, a compilation of articles that attempts to unite Buddhist studies with contemporary concerns and interests. Various authors with diverse perspectives contributed to the publication, with the theme as “the place of Buddhism within the culture of the times”.
China and Hong Kong-based writer Leung Man Tao, who is an acclaimed social critic and commentator, played an important role in developing the concept and methodology of Book B – “Book for Buddhists”. Of course, a book written by Buddhist writers is probably going to be “for Buddhists”. But it does not follow (and I certainly hope it does not!) that a book for Buddhists means “for Buddhists only and at the exclusion of everyone else”. Hopefully, Book B will also find a welcome home on the bookshelves of non-Buddhists because of its refreshing, non-traditional format and relaxed style. Compared to other Buddhist publications, it does not even talk about Buddhism as much as a Buddhist culture. To promote a Buddhist culture means nothing more than promoting a culture of community, compassion, and love.
Why “B” as a logo? Why not a lotus or bodhi leaf or Dharma wheel, which are all blatantly Buddhist emblems? Leung points out that the word “B can become Buddhist. It can assume a Buddhist identity. It stands for many names and terms in Buddhism, and many pop into mind almost involuntarily: Bhavana, Buddhists, Bhagavan, Bodhisattva, and Bodhi. Yet at the same time, “B” is not religious. Leung maintains that “B” is quite a neutral, even casual logo for anything, and it is precisely for this reason that it was chosen for this new book. It is not to force a false image upon Book B for the sake of exposure (a flick of the first few pages will easily reveal some very Buddhist pictures, and hence its identity), but rather to integrate it, the book, into a pluralistic, contemporary current. It is a new voice in the dialogue of modern society.
By fostering a culture of Buddhism and spirituality, Book B is not aggressively pushing for a strictly traditional religion that involves heavy use of incense and pilgrimages to China’s holy mountains. A persistent stereotype among some circles in trend-loving Hong Kong is that Buddhism is stale, static, and unattractive. Fortunately, this stereotype is relatively weak in the West and is in the process of being dismantled in China and Hong Kong by writers such as Leung. A progressive commentator on social issues and Chinese society, Leung is a Theravada Buddhist and has been one of the driving forces behind the growing awareness of a “contemporary Buddhism” in Hong Kong. Like many in Europe and the United States, he sees a wonderful yet absolutely essential future for Buddhism: a future that is free from cultural trappings, and teaches a genuine way of life and philosophy rather than a traditional religion that is popular in one part of the world but not in others. Only time will tell if his hypothesis is correct, but judging from the achievements of Plum Village’s Engaged Buddhism as well as the Theravada monks who stood up for their oppressed people in Burma, it would seem worthwhile to take Leung’s words very seriously. It is quite possible that this “future” is being realized now.
To me, it would be an extremely exciting prospect to take action (whatever form it may assume) on Mr. Leung’s creativity and foresight for the ancient tradition. At least in Hong Kong, I would like to believe that Book B, like other modern mediums of communication like Buddhistdoor, is a bold, courageous, and perhaps most importantly, fun step in the right direction. Hopefully, as time passes, more and more of us may feel disposed to identify and be inspired by the contemporary motif of “B”. It may just represent the future of cosmopolitan Buddhism.
Source: Buddhist Door
