Cambodia: Culture: Religion

Almost all Cambodians are Buddhists. Once, Buddhist monasteries ran all the schools and all young men became monks for at least a few months after they left school. Now, the government runs schools and most boys only stay in the monastery for a week or two. Still, most national holidays are Buddhist festivals. Monks give a blessing at ceremonies like weddings and funerals, but they do not run the ceremony itself. That is the job of the achar, an expert in the spirit world.

Even if they see themselves as Buddhist, Hindu or even Muslim, most Cambodians also believe that spirits live in almost everything around them. Some of these spirits are good, but most are bad and will cause trouble for anyone who does not respect them and leave them gifts of food at a spirit house. People ask advice from astrologers, and go to sorcerers when they are sick or in need.


How Buddhism started

In the 6th century BC (that's nearly 2600 years ago), an Indian prince, Siddhartha Gautama, saw suffering everywhere. He left his palace and his family to live simply and to meditate. After many years, he reached what he called "enlightenment". That is why people called him the Buddha, which means, "enlightened one". He taught that life is suffering, and that people should try to eliminate their desires, and their attachment to the world. Their goal was to reach enlightenment through the eight-fold path:

1. Right thought (or views)
2. Right intention (or goals)
3. Right speech
4. Right action
5. Right livelihood (or work)
6. Right effort
7. Right attentiveness
8. Right concentration (or meditation)


Buddhism first came to Cambodia in the first century. At that time, most Cambodians were Hindus, worshipping many gods whose stories are told in the Ramayana, India's great epic. Gradually, Buddhism replaced Hinduism, so that by about 1400 AD, almost all Cambodians were Buddhist.

What Buddhists believe

Buddha was a man, who is revered because Buddhists believe he reached enlightenment. Statues and pictures of him help Buddhists remember his achievement. They try to reach the same goal themselves. There is no god in pure Buddhist teaching.

Like Hindus, Buddhists believe in reincarnation. In other words, they believe that when someone dies, they come back as another person or animal. If a person lives a good life, their next life will be better, but if they are cruel, they will come back as something worse - perhaps as a poor person, or a low animal. The goal of a Buddhist is to reach nirvana, which is escape from suffering and release from the cycle of rebirth. This process may take many lives, so most people aim only to earn a better life next time. They do this by making sure they do not cause suffering to any people or animals; by helping others; by giving gifts to Buddhist monks; and if they are men, by becoming a monk themselves, even if only for a few weeks.

Giving food and gifts to Buddhist monks
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