Buddhism and Spirit Worship

Buddhism:
The majority of Cambodians practice Buddhism, but there are still traces of Hinduism, which was practiced alongside of Buddhism between the 1st and 14th centuries. Important ceremonies, especially those celebrating births, deaths, and marriages, contain elements of Hinduism. The two religions are intertwined, and the Hindu gods are considered to be the guardians of the Buddhist religion.

Theravada Buddhism was introduced in Cambodia between the 13th and 14th centuries and remained the state religion until 1975, when the Khmer Rouge attempted to wipe out all traces of the religion. Between 1975 and 1979, they massacred the majority of Buddhist monks in the country and damaged or destroyed almost all of the temples (over 3000). When Buddhism became the state religion once more at the end of the 80s, there were about 6000 monks, who, according to law, were at least 60 years old. This rule is no longer followed, and now there are many young monks in Cambodia. In fact, most of the monks today are teenagers or men in their twenties.

According to its followers, the Theravada school of Buddhism is an older and less corrupt form of Buddhism than the Mahayana schools found in East Asia or the Himalayas. It originated in the Indian Himalayas in the 6th century B.C. when its concepts were “discovered” by Prince Siddhartha Gautama, the Buddha.

Theravada doctrine stresses the three principal aspects of existence: dukkha (stress, suffering, disease), anicca (impermanence, transience of all things), and anatta (insubstantiality or non-essentiality of reality – no permanent soul). These concepts were in direct contrast with the Hindu belief in an eternal, blissful self. Therefore, Buddhism was originally a heresy against India’s Hindu religion.

The Buddha (meaning “the enlightened” or “the awakened”) spoke of the four noble truths that had the power to liberate any person that could realize them. These noble truths were 1) the truth of dukkha (suffering); 2) “Dukkha is caused by grasping”; 3) “Eliminate the cause of dukkha (i.e. grasping) and dukkha will cease to arise”; 4) the Eightfold Path is the way to eliminate grasping and extinguish dukkha.

The Eightfold Path consists of 1) right understanding; 2) right mindedness; 3) right speech; 4) right bodily conduct; 5) right livelihood; 6) right effort; 7) right attentiveness; 8) right concentration. The word “right” can be translated as “complete” or “full.”

The path is also called “the Middle Way” because it avoids the extremes of austerity and of sensuality.

The ultimate goal of Theravada Buddhism is nirvana, which literally means “blowing out” or extinction of all grasping and thus of all dukkha (suffering). It is the end of the cycle of rebirths. The object is to find a way to cool the passions through the practice of morality and mental development. If followed to conclusion, it will result in the wiping out of suffering caused by the human condition.

Most Cambodian Buddhists aim for rebirth into a better existence rather than nirvana itself, of which many don’t feel worthy. They may gain merit by making donations to temples, feeding monks, praying regularly, etc. They hope to acquire enough merit to reduce their number of rebirths. “Making merit” is an important social and religious activity in Cambodia. Both men and women may achieve nirvana, but men are considered to have a higher spiritual status than women. For example, if men are bad, they will return in a subsequent life as a woman (as punishment). All Buddhists, and most non-Buddhists, believe in reincarnation.

There is no particular day of the week when Buddhists are supposed to visit the temples. They may visit whenever they feel like it. Typically, the visits include the offering of lotus buds, incense, and candles to various altars, offering food to the monks, and perhaps seeking counsel from individual monks or nuns.

Monks and Nuns:
Every male Buddhist is expected to become a monk for a short period in his life, optimally between the time he finishes school and the time he starts a career or marries. Traditionally, the amount of time spent in a temple is three months and coincides with the rainy season. Nowadays, however, men may spend as a little as one week in a temple in order to accrue merit as a monk.

Boys under 20 years of age may enter the temple as novices. This practice is very common, as families acquire great merit if one of their sons wears the monastic robe. Apparently, certain young monks are delinquants, newly released from prison, who try to improve their karma by spending time in a temple. Of those ordained for a lifetime, a large percentage becomes scholars or teachers, while some specialize in healing or folk magic (this last practice is largely discouraged by the party in power).

Monks must adhere to 227 monastic vows or precepts. They rise early (generally around 4 AM), pray, study, and may eat only twice per day – before noon. They are required to remain strictly celibate and should at all times remain sober and restrained in behavior. According to the Buddhist scriptures, their life should represent a striving for self-denial and the quenching of earthly appetites. Their life should be one of meditation, asceticism, learning, and in the case of senior members, teaching, interpreting the scriptures, and offering moral guidance. They enjoy high status in society and are recognizable by their orange robes and shaved heads.

There does not exist a similar order for nuns, but they are alowed to live in temples as secular nuns. They have shaved heads like their male counterparts, but wear white robes instead. Temples that have sizeable numbers of nuns are respected because it implies that the quality of teaching in the temple is high. Having to adhere to only 8 vows, nuns have an inferior social standing to monks and may not perform religious ceremonies.

Animism and Spirit Houses:
Although the overwhelming majority of Cambodians are Buddhists, their ancient Animist traditions (spirit worship) that pre-date Buddhism have hung on. Hinduism and Buddhism, when they appeared in Cambodia, simply embraced and incorporated the Animist beliefs into the new religion instead of rejecting them. So they persist to this day, and have combined to form a fatith unique to Cambodia.

The concept of Neak Ta, uniquely Cambodian, comes from Animist beliefs in the sacred earth and the sacred spirits who envelop and surround us. The spirits may take the form of wood, rock, termite hills, or any other element that symbolizes a liaison between the people and their ancetors and the earth. The Loeu Khmers, an ethnic minority of the Northeast, practice the purest form of animism. Although some have converted to Buddhism, they still venerate the spirits of the Earth, Sky, and Ancestors. In case of a bad recolt, for example, a tribe will invoke the spirits to implore the end of the punishment. To communicate with the spirits, villagers will drink rice wine until they become drunk and enter into a trance.

The most visible sign of animist beliefs is the spirit house, which can be seen outside of many houses. The spirit house is quite literally a small house built for the spirits of the land to live in. If a spirit house is not offered to the spirits, it is likely that the spirits will end up living in the main house with the people, which can cause a lot of trouble. The average spirit house outside of a personal residence is a birdhouse-sized imitation of a temple mounted on a pedestal.

It is very important to make sure that the spirit house is a more auspicious place to live in than the main residence so that the spirits will not feel slighted and decide to live in the main house. It should have a prominent location and should not be shaded by the main home. Also, the persons in the main house should make offerings of food, flowers, candles, incense, and drinks. If additions or improvements are made to the main house, then improvements must be made to the spirit house, as well. The interior of the house is decorated with ceramic or plastic figurines representing the property’s guardian spirits. A damaged or abandoned spirit house can’t simply be thrown away. It should be deposited against the base of a sacred banyan tree or in the corner of a sympathetic temple where benevolent spirits will watch over it.

Small temples and shrines are often set up on the floors inside of private homes, guesthouses, and other buildings, as well. They are often covered in lights and always have offerings.

Islam:
Cambodia Muslims descend from the Chams of Vietnam, who migrated from central Vietnam after the definitive Vietnamese victory over the Chams in the 15th century. They follow a strict form of Sunni Islam, and like the Buddhists, call their followers to prayer by striking a tambour instead of calling over the muezzin (public loudspeaker found on mosques in many Muslim countries). Halal meat can be found in the markets of Phnom Penh.

Christianity:
Although there were a lot of churches in Cambodia before the war, the Khmer Rouge destroyed many of them. Christian missionaries tried to penetrate into the refugee camps in the 1980’s by distributing food, and many Cambodians converted officially in order to survive, but returned to Buddhism after they left the camps.