SINGAPORE – Former actor Xie Shaoguang seems to have returned to secular life and is now back to working as a chef at a cafe in Johor Bahru.
In 2013, he was ordained as a monk after studying Buddhism in Malaysia for eight years.
According to staff at Three O Cafe, Xie has returned to secular life, Lianhe Wanbao reported.
One female employee, who did not want to be named, said: “I saw him wearing casual clothes a few months ago.
“His return to secular life isn’t surprising,” she added. Apparently, Buddhist monks can be ordained up to seven times and return to secular life six times.
When Wanbao visited the eatery on Sunday (March 27), the retired actor did not deny his return to secular life, but gave no further details and said: “This is my business.”
Now 54 years old, Xie was one of the biggest Channel 8 stars back in the day, when he bagged the Top 10 Most Popular Male Artiste award consecutively for 10 years from 1995 to 2004.
The year after that in 2005, he gave up acting and moved to Johor to study Buddhism in Pontian and run a vegetarian eatery Three O Cafe, where he was also the chef.
When news of his ordainment broke in 2013, he continued to keep a low profile.
People who know Xie in Malaysia have described him as quiet and soft-spoken, according to The New Paper in a 2013 report.
In an earlier interview with The Straits Times, the former celebrity said that he’s always believed that “less is more”.
He said: “If I can live as simply – with only $500 to cater to my basic needs – then I have more to give to others who need it.
“There has to be understanding and compassion in every aspect of life and you don’t have to become a monk to attain this kind of enlightenment.”
In the same interview, he revealed that he had stopped smoking and had turned vegetarian in 2000.
maryanns@sph.com.sg
Lianhe Wanbao, The New Paper
