Buddhism in Cambodia, part 2

The dominant religious tradition in Cambodia is not actually Buddhism; it is in fact a rich belnd of Buddhism, Brahmanism (usually placed under the larger category of Hinduism), animistic practices, and with the impact of the Chinese diaspora in the 19th and 20th centuries, Chinese folk beliefs. This syncretism has existed in Khmer society for many centuries dating back to the days of the Angkorian empire (c. 850-1450), the peak of Khmer civilization. Before the Angkorian period, Indian culture and Brahmanistic traditions gradually mixed with local folk beliefs over a period of about one thousand years. Angkor Wat and many of the other temples in the vicinity were built as Hindu monuments, although today they now house Buddha images. Angkor Wat, for instance, was built as a temple dedicated to the Hindu god Vishnu, and the bas-reliefs and iconography in the temple reflect Brahmanistic beliefs. In the 14th or 15th century, however, it was converted to a Theravada Buddhist wat to reflect the changing beliefs in the kingdom. Bayon, another famous Angkorian temple, was constructed under the orders of Jayavarman VII, a rather self-centered and megalomanical monarch who saw himself as an heir to the archetypal Buddhist kingship of Emperor Ashoka in India, and the temple displays tantric Mahayana Buddhist concepts popular with the Khmer elite at that time. But Jayavarman VII also built Brahmanistic monuments, so it is clear that kingdom maintained a tolerance for both Buddhist and Hindu beliefs. In short, syncretism is nothing new in Khmer society.

But what does Khmer religion look like today? My perspective, of course, is limited, because I tend to view Buddhism from a philosophical or practical point of view rather than one of faith or culture. Thus it is easier to consider most of the religious practices I see as having nothing to do with Buddhism, though many would say otherwise. For example, people often consult monks or achar (laypeople adept in rituals who often dress in white and spend most of their time in the wat) for astrological or other speculative purposes. Not only is fortune-telling specifically recommended against in the vinaya, it has very little to do with Buddhism.

When I was in Siem Reap, I visited a small wat in the forest near some the Angkorian temples. Near the vihear (main hall of the temple) a middle-aged monk was performing a ritual in which he splashes blessed water on a groups of praying recipients. I'm afraid that I don't know very much about the origins of this ritual, which is very common throughout Cambodia. Again, I don't mean to criticize in any way, but it points to a broad dichotomy in Cambodian Buddhism, between "traditionalists" who maintain that orthodoxy in Buddhism means these sort of "supernatural" rituals, practiced in Cambodia for centuries, and "modernists," who advocate a text-based study of Buddha's teaching and the elimination of "magical" elements. There is, of course, a great deal more subtlety to this dichotomy, and many shades of gray in between. But when I observe Buddhism in Cambodia, this is the dominant paradigm I see.

Now I have given a few examples of the traditionalist side of Buddhism in Cambodian, but I have also observed more modernist elements as well. I currently study vipassana meditation at Wat Langka three days a week. Vipassana, or insight meditation, was the practice heralded by Theravada Buddhist modernists in the early and mid-twentieth century and it continues to be taught and practiced by monastics and laypeople, both in Southeast Asia and the in the rest of the world. Even though other aspects of life at Wat Langka may be more traditionalist in character, there are still some monks who feel more connected to a more modernist approach.

When I was visiting Angkor Wat, Ratanak and I were looking closely at some Buddha images when we noticed that the pedestals that the sitting Buddhas were supported by were actually Brahmanistic yoni altars with the linga removed. Linga, phallic representations of the Hindu deity Shiva, are very common throughout Southeast Asia as a result of Brahmanistic religious influence. In many of the Angkorian temples near Siem Reap, there are many altars featuring linga and/or yoni, the female counterpart to the lingam. I suppose that as Angkor Wat was converted to a Theravada Buddhist temple hundreds of years ago, the people in charge simply plopped the Buddha images on top of the yoni, which made convient pedastals. I was slighlty bemused by this, but Ratanak seemed to think it was disrespectful to place a Buddha image on a non-Buddhist altar. To some extent it represents a misguided attempt at syncretism, but on the other it simply shows disrespect to both religious traditions. And for those that would like to see Buddhism "purifed" of Brahmanistic, superstituous, and animistic elements, it is just another symbolic representation of the dilution of Buddhist teaching.

As a closing example, when I had a chance to meet with Ven. Pin Sem at Wat Bo, he also mentioned some things that struck me as going against the grain of religion in Cambodia. Many people in all Buddhist countries and of all dispositions regularly offer incense and pray before a Buddha image. About this Ven. Pin Sem says (this a paraphrase of what I got through translation), "If you pray to Buddha, and make offerings to him, he won't help you. Indeed, Buddha won't help you at all. The key point is to rely on yourself. You are the only one who can help you. This is the difference between Buddhism and other religions. You can't go to God or to Buddha and ask him for help or ask for your sins to be forgiven. You have to work with the consequences of your own actions and work things out for yourself."