Theravada-Cambodia

by Kal Heavey
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=Buddhism in Cambodia =

Before Cambodia was the Cambodia that we know of it today, it was part of the Funan Kingdom and heavily influenced by India and its culture which means that the country was majority Hinduism. Buddhism became the flourishing religion it is today during the Angkor period after the Khmer people came in and took over what is now seen as today as Cambodia. Theravada Buddhism was brought in by one of the khmer kings after we ventured into Srei LankaThe religion itself was primarily brought in by Buddhist missionaries from the west. Great temples like the ones in Angkor were created and lived and worshipped in by many Monks.

=Vocabulary & Major concepts =

__Angkor__ - The capital of the ancient Khmer Empire, most known for its large and extravagant temples including, Angkor Wat, Angkor Thom and many other ones. Capital was then moved away from here and too it's present day Phnom Penh. City is still visited today by many Monks from around the world and tourists.

__Theravada__ - The more conservative form of Buddhism practiced by mostly in Sri Lanka, Mymar (Burma), Thailand, Cambodia, and Laos.

__Khmers__ - The ethnicity for over 90% of the Cambodian population and the ancient civilization that dominated the Cambodian, Laos area during the 6th c. The golden age of the Khmers was during the Angkor period (889 - 1434). The civilization was formed by mostly Indian culture and was able to have both Buddhism and Hinduism with the worship of Shiva and Vishnu at the same time. The Khmers greatest achievement was was their beautiful architecture and sculpture. In 1113 AD the construction of Angkor Wat by Suryavarman II highlighted the advanced skills of the khmer empire. In 1434 the Khmer empire period ended with the Thai capture of Angkor and the Capital moving to Phnom Penh. The khmers successfully helped shape cambodia.

**Timeline of Cambodia**

500 - 700 CE. - The Mekong Khmer kingdom of Khmers replaces the Funan Kingdom.

802 CE. - Jayavarman II takes thrown as devaraja or the "God King". He successfully establishes the Khmer empire.

1113 CE. - Suryavarman II comes into power and builds the Hindu temple Angkor Wat dedicated to the god Vishnu.

1243 - 1295. - Jayavarman VIII is enthroned and returns the kingdom to Hinduism. Many of the Buddhist statues were destroyed.

1300's. - Influenced by the different kingdoms of the west, theravada Buddhism wins the popular allegiance. Many changed occur such as, Pali replaces sanskirt as language; wood replaces brick and stone as building medium.

1431. - Khmer rulers move capital southeast near present capital Phnom Penh away from Angkor.

=Geography =

The black dots on this map represent all of the major cities and provinces of Cambodia.

The gold temples represent all of the major temples in Cambodia.

Angkor is the largest Hindu temple site in the world and also one of the wonders of the world. The largest and most famous of these temples are Angkor thom and Angkor wat

**Monastic Practice**

media type="youtube" key="yyFqHe4Qiik?fs=1" height="385" width="480" align="right" This video shows a man interviewing a Buddhist monk that is currently staying at Angkor wat along with many other monks for about ten days

practicing and meditating in the different temples. The monks portrayed here are all different ages from the old to the very young such as ten years old. Anyone may become a monk at any age or any gender. Living in a Buddhist monastery in Cambodia, ones life would be made up doing about four main things: 1.) Partaking in studies in groups or individually.

2.) Partaking in daily tasks such as chores or maintenance of monastery.

3.) Meditating

4.) Performance of religious services to the lay community.

**Lay Practice**

media type="youtube" key="nDS1SrzOPSQ?fs=1" height="307" width="384" align="left" Theravada Buddhism primarily is not practiced in the United States unless someone from south east asia has moved and is practicing it here. People who do practice therevada Buddhism in the United states would make a pilgrimage to see the wonders that the city of Angkor held for them. Even practicers of Mahayana the much more liberal form of Buddhism have still been known to travel to Angkor to see its glorious temples. Theravada is only largely practiced in the south east area of Asia including Cambodia, Thailand, ect. Small pockets of people in larger countries such as China do practice Thereveda buddhism but it is not the primary religion practiced.

In this video we have a group of women gathered in an Angkor temple and they are lighting incense and praying to the god Vishnu.

= Scriptures and Poetry =

media type="custom" key="7272385" align="right" width="65" height="65"

This scripture gives the basic outline for the history of the Khmer empire in Cambodia but also the history of the practice of Buddhism in Cambodia along with many of its followers and practitioners

= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = Buddha Images (of the Theravada tradition): =

This statue is not a statue of the Buddha but actually a Bodhisattva named Avalokitesvara. He is the Bodhisattva who embodies the compassion of all Buddhas. In the thailand Cambodia area the Avalokitesvaras' has been changed to Lokesvara. This statue depicts the Bodhisattva in much less formal position since it is tilting slightly to left with its shoulder. Also both knees are not flat on ground as they usually are when Buddhas' are depicted when they're meditating. His eyes are created so that they are never looking directly at the viewers His small smile on his lips emphasize the Bodhisattva's attitude of serenity and compassion. His calm and compassionate character his also seen in the way his skin and body flow together so smoothly.

This buddha dates back to the Angkor period possibly in the 12th century. It is created out of bronze and then covered in gold leaf to give the impression that it is created out of solid gold. The buddha is wearing a gold crown and sitting a position of meditation with his hands folded gently across his lap. His hands are in the position of Dhyana Mudra which means the state of absolute balance. The hands represent a bowl which means that they are the head of an order. His hangings ear lobs represent that he once was a royal prince of his kingdom and then he selflessly left that that life in pursuit of a better one. The lips that are not smiling yet not frowning show that the buddha is in peace in the middle way with life and is perfectly content with were he is in life. The unusual aspect of this buddha is that unlike others he is seated on top of a pedestal not on a completely flat surface like other buddhas. Another thing is that this Buddha is dressed with jewelry and not robes like other more traditional Buddhas.

**Pilgrimage Sites** Here is a picture of one the most famous Buddhist/Hindu temple that still stands in Cambodia today, Angkor wat.

This picture is showing the walkway up to the main portion of the temple.

Buddhist Hindus and just tourists from all over the world will travel hundreds of miles to see this beautiful example of Khmer architecture.

Many festivals and Holidays are celebrated at the Angkor temples such as The Angkor Festival. This is a festival held in honor for the traditional arts of the Angkor and Khmer people. Things that occur are: - Acted out scenes from epic poems such as Ramyana - Myths and legends from eastern cultures told. - Many different forms of folk music played.

Probably the most important religious event of the whole year is Pchum Bhen. This holiday celebrates the souls of loved ones that have passed on. All Buddhists temples such as Wat Phnom located in the capital Phnom Penh have people from all over the country come to pray and make sacrifices for their loved ones. This is compared to the spanish's day of the dead celebration ceremonies.

**Current Events** In Phnom Penh Cambodia, A Khmer Rouge Jailer was sentenced to 19 years for his war crimes. Kaing Guek Eav also known as Duch was found guilty of torture and murder. The Tribunal spokesman Lars Olsen wants justice for the estimated 1.7 million people who perished because of, execution, overwork, disease and malnutrition because of the viscous laws of the khmer communist Rouge Regime that lasted from 1975 - 1979. Duch was originally sentenced to 35 years in prison but was able to reduce his time by 11 years, and he was compensated 5 years for illegal detention in military prison.

**Personal Reactions** The most Interesting thing i believe after researching about this subject is that how Buddhism and Hinduism are able to worship so relatively close to each other and not have too many problems. Even though Buddhism is based off of Hindu traditions its seems that they are one of the few religions that are able to exist at the same time in the same place and still be peaceful. Another thing that was fascinating was architecture that the Khmer people had for building the temples of Angkor Thom and Angkor wat. At a time were there were very few people living in England, the Khmers were building wonders of the world built out of solid rock with such stunning detail on all of the hundreds of faces seen on the towers at Angkor Thom.

= Bibliography =

1.) Angkor Wat.net, "Holidays and Festivals." http://www.angkor-wat-net.com/festivals.htm (accessed October 19th 2010).
2.) The Associated Press, "The Canadian Press." October 19th 2010.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/canadianpress/article/ALeqM5ikOTzfBT8cJfDnnWe1aZB3zCTP6Q? docId=4878608 (accessed October 19th 2010).

3.) Chanroeun PA. MA PH., November 15-18, 2006 . http://camcape.wordpress.com/2007/08/27/doing-and-teaching-philosophy-in-the-cambodian-context/ (accessed October 19th 2010).

4.) Harris,Ian. Cambodian Buddhism: History and Practice. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 2005.

5.) Knierim, Thomas. "Introduction to Buddhism." www.thebigview.com (accessed October 19th 2010).

6.) UNC School of Education, "Cambodia: A timeline." http://www.learnnc.org/lp/pages/604 (accessed October 19th 2010).

7.) http://www.holiday-in-angkor-wat.com/angkor-wat-temple.html
8.) UNC School of Education, "Cambodia: A timeline." http://www.learnnc.org/lp/pages/604 (accessed October 19th 2010).

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">9.) http://zoutenzoetwaterparels.com/travel/Cambodia2004/index.html

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">10.) http://library.artstor.org/library/welcome.html#3|search|1|khmer20buddha|Multiple20Collection20Search|||type3D3126kw3Dkhmer20buddha26id3Dall26name3D

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">11.) http://library.artstor.org/library/welcome.html#3|search|1|Angkor20wat|Multiple20Collection20Search|||type3D3126kw3DAngkor20wat26id3Dall26name3D

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">12.)

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">13.) "http://www.factmonster.com/ce6/.html." The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> © 1994, 2000-2006, on Fact Monster. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> © 2000–2007 Pearson Education, publishing as Fact Monster. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> 21 Oct. 2010 <http://www.factmonster.com/ce6/history/A0827550.html>.

= GRADING: = F: Follows directions. Steals material. (No attempt to cite anything.) C: Follows directions. Pastes the correct items into the correct places but takes no care in explaining the choices made. Uses less than six sources. Text is SLOPPY - no proofing! B: Follows directions. Describes the choices made using complete sentences and clear language. Labels items correctly. Cites sources. Organizes the visuals. A: Does B - but, shows some extra care, thought and research. An A has a "Wow" factor. This does not mean more color or flying moneys. It means that the content selected does a great job TEACHING about Buddhism in that region.