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Home , Ang Em, Ang Em (prince), Atanatiya Sutta, Bayon, Bhavavarman I, Buddhism and science

THE INFLUENCE OF

ON SPIRITUAL AND SOCIAL REFORMS IN

by

Joanna Sokhoeun Duong

A Dissertation Submitted to

the Faculty of the California Institute of Integral Studies

in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of

Doctor of in Humanities with a concentration in

Philosophy and Religion and an emphasis on Asian and Comparative Studies

California Institute of Integral Studies

San Francisco, CA

2009 UMI Number: 3377741

Copyright 2009 by Duong,Joanna Sokhoeun

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I certify that I have read THE INFLUENCE OF THERAVADA

BUDDHISM ON SPIRITUAL AND SOCIAL REFORMS IN CAMBODIA by

Joanna Sokhoeun Duong, and that in my opinion this work meets the criteria for approving a dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Doctor of Philosophy in Humanities with a concentration in Philosophy and

Religion and an emphasis on Asian and Comparative Studies at the California

Institute of Integral Studies.

Rina Sircar, PhD, Chair Faculty, Asian and Comparative Studies Program

Yi Wu, PhD Faculty, Asian and Comparative Studies Program

James Ryan, PhD Faculty, Asian and Comparative Studies Program

Venerable Chhean Kong, PhD Banares Hindu University, Abbot, Khemara Buddhikaram, Cambodian Theravada Buddhist © 2009 Joanna Sokhoeun Duong Joanna Sokhoeun Duong California Institute of Integral Studies, 2009 Rina Sircar, PhD, Committee Chair

THE INFLUENCE OF THERAVADA BUDDHISM ON SPIRITUAL AND SOCIAL REFORMS IN CAMBODIA

ABSTRACT

My personal of losing 30 family members to the "Killing Fields" of the regime in Cambodia, collective memory of a country devastated by holocaust, and the decline of moral and ethical conduct during Cambodia's civil war prompt me to demonstrate that Buddha's teaching can assist a people in recovery from the sphere of revenge and corrupted . This study re-examines early to demonstrate the adaptability of ancient prescriptives to modern , because moral and ethical values are necessary to lead a good in general and to control the compulsive passion to dominate and possess in particular. This research project is a form of pragmatic inquiry, shining the light of knowledge on a very dark chapter in Cambodia's history with the intention of discovering means to move the country toward a positive future.

The dissertation highlights specific Buddhist values from the Canon of Theravada Buddhism (Tipitaka) and recommends social movement and reforms. The Tipitaka is the primary source used for discussion, emphasizing spiritual cultivation, positive ways people can establish peace from within, and a medium to extend peace beyond. In particular, the disciplines and code of conducts (Patimokkha) and the -Samukkhamsa or Innate Principles of the

iv disciplines of the Vinaya Pitaka are essential in the disciplinary of monks and nuns; discourses from the five Nikayas of the Sulla Pitaka are very useful for the improvement of moral and ethical conduct and for insights into living the calm life necessary for good leaders and societies; and the seven books of the

Abhidhamma Pitaka offer teaching on a psycho-ethical system of truth and the reality of life to reach liberation from dissatisfactoriness or suffering.

The dissertation also presents an approach to balancing problems, psychological and social, present in today's world with particular to the writer's native Cambodia, proposing proper understanding, specific practice, and principles derived from Theravada Buddhism to enhance current spiritual and social reforms in Cambodia. Buddhism requires humankind to develop an insightful attitude toward the world at large, and to appreciate the sacredness of life itself hidden within the complexity.

v DEDICATION

This academic endeavor is especially dedicated to the sacredness of the word 'Mother,' the Divine Spirit of the land mass known as JambudTpa, the

legacy of Khmer Kings whose dhammas are depicted in numerous stone monuments reflecting what are essential for humanity. I am indebted to the

spiritual guidance of the Queen Mother, Her Majesty Sisowath Kossamak

Nearyrath Serei Wathana, for her instructing me to begin the work to revive the spiritual roles and original characteristics ofSlrei Khmer, the authenticity of

Cambodian religions and kingship, and the re-examination of Khmer literature and history. The emphasis of her address focused on a Cambodian saying, "Chin

11 gm-pT r-ak Preah-bat. Dhammik (a Chinese pilgrim carrying religious texts on his back in a quest to find the keeper of the Dhamma)" I bow to Ananda who professed the Buddha's dhamma enshrined in the seven-headed naga (serpent) of the north-south axis gates of Thorn. For the Dhamma having shown humanity the way, I too, accept responsibilities and continue to carry out the

Divine Mission, a Heavenly mandate.

Alma dlpa

Om namo HariHara-Prajnanam-Sambuddham

Shantih Shantih Shantih

Sadhu Sadhu

vi ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

There are blessings 1 receive embodying this research study. The meetings with individuals who are mostly relatives and statements made by several of them have contributed to my contemplation throughout the process of the writing of this dissertation. During my sincere conversations with Upasika Dy Pok when she was alive, she explained to me her effort to help revive and rebuild Cambodian and across the country; at her funeral service, her husband

Upasaka Hun Neang explained to me the essence of the three characteristics

{Anicca, Dukkha, ). I exchanged conversations on the meaning of

Cambodian nationalism with H.E. Sam Rainsy, a political leader, and was blessed by an audience with the Elder Monarch, His Majesty the august King Norodom

Sihanouk and the Queen Mother Monineath Sihanouk, who extended my understanding of spiritual credibility which marks and ponders on one question: who is the keeper of Buddha's dhamma! I must add here that my academic pursuit at the California Institute of Integral Studies (CIIS) is indeed a spiritual decision, and the journey has given me a chance to learn various aspects of knowledge and disciplines from Eastern and Western traditions.

Often enough I found myself very fortunate to have studied directly with three distinguished professors: Dr. Rina Sircar, a Theravada Buddhist nun who is my Committee Chair and who is specialized in the Abhidhamma; Dr. James Ryan, who is well professed in and South Asian literature, and is a scholar; and Dr. Yi Wu who specializes in Chinese philosophy, Ch'an Buddhism,

Confucianism, and the I Ching. Additionally, the Venerable Dr. Chhean Kong,

vii Abbot of the Khemara Buddhikaram in Long Beach, has been coaching me throughout the process of the research study. He has been a great resource in helping me to better understand the Cambodian Buddhist Saiigha.

I only hope that this research study essentially serves as an 'opening door' to Cambodians and to those of keen interest, so that they may embark in the spirit and the sacred matters of life by making efforts and engaging into their fuller stage of -mind purification, and become enlightened. This auspicious journey could not have been possible without the supports from my lifetime partner

(Keith), my husband and father of our two daughters (Amara and Amarin), who performs his roles and responsibilities to his very utmost abilities, making my dream come true. My two other daughters (Sedhasy and Sedhya) who lived through and survived the Pol Pot regime gave me great strength and motivation to complete this research study. It is impossible not to mention my only surviving sister, Sophie Duong Karet, and her family (Sari Jean, Natalie, and Alain Karet)— their attentive hearts are always well remembered. May she be blessed in her spiritual tasks and be successful in her required performance.

I would also like to express my sincerity and thanks to: Jane Marie

Johnson, my teacher and friend who has been helping me with editing over the past twelve years, another member of our family; Mayumi Oda and Martha

Glessing, two incredible women full of and energy who always set their priority to serve humanity; many friends and individuals who gave me advice and support with political, humanitarian, and academic journeys; and especially to Papusa Molina who made a commitment of her knowledge and

viii throughout the period of my political campaign in Cambodia in 1998. Last but not

least, I am greatful to have worked with Anna M. Fhzpatrick, my technical editor, who holds the skill to produce a final product from my writing, and with Anne

Teich, Dr. Sircar's assistant. It has been my great to have met and learned from individuals from all walks of life in Cambodia and in the United

States, and their concerns about the degradation of human morals and are well presented in this study. May all of you be healthy, happy, and safe.

IX TABLE OF CONTENTS

Abstract iv

Dedication vi

Acknowledgements vii

CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION 1

CHAPTER TWO

A REVIEW OF LITERATURE 15

The Pali Canon or the Three Baskets (Tipitaka) 16

The Basket of Discipline (Vinaya Pitakd) 16

The Obligatory Rules (Patimokkha) 18

Communal harmony 23

The etiquette of a contemplative 24

The Basket of Discourses {SuttaPitaka) 24

The Higher Teaching (Abhidhamma Pitaka) 27

Sources Covering Cambodian History and Religious Records 34

Tracing the Establishment of 36

Recent Western Presentations of Cambodian History and Religion 58 Efforts to Preserve the Legacy of Theravada Buddhism During the Colonial Era 63

Core Teachings of Theravada Buddhism 66

Setting in Motion the Wheel of Truth (Dhammacakkappavattana) 67

The (Cattarl Ariyasaccani) 69

The First Noble Truth or Suffering (Dukkha) 69

The Second Noble Truth or the Arising of Suffering (Samiidaya)!!

x The Third Noble Taith or the Cessation of Dukkha () 83

The Path or 'Magga,' the Fourth Noble Truth, or The (Ariya-Atthangika-Magga) 87

Selected Texts 88

The Innate Principles of the Disciplines (Vinaya-samnkkhamsa) .89

The Law of Dependent Origination (Paticcasanmppada) 93

Discourse on the Characteristic of No-Self

{Anal talakkhana Sutta) 99

The Discourse of Sakka's Vxob\em%{Sakkapafiha Sutta) 106

The Fruits of the Contemplative Life (Samaniiaphala Sutta) 108

The Path of () 108

The Path of Purification {Visuddhi-magga) 110

The Elders Verses (TherTgatha) 112

The Questions of King Milinda (Milindapanha) 114

The Abhidhamma Pitaka 116

My Understanding of Spiritual Development in the West:

Buddhism in the United States 122

Theravada Buddhism in the United States 132

Buddhism and 140

The Nature of Personhood 146

Men, Women, and Values 147

The Buddhist Movement in the United States 151

The Future of Theravada Buddhism in and Cambodia 154

Modern Cambodian Writing on Buddhism 159

Conclusion 161

XI CHAPTER THREE THE HISTORICAL SETTING AND CONTRIBUTION OF GOTAMA BUDDHA: AN OVERVIEW 165

Historical Setting 169

Social and Religious Problems in Ancient India during the 171

The Life and Times ofBuddha 176

Buddha as a Moral, Ethical Teacher, and Buddhist Influence toward Spiritual and Social Change 180

The Spreading of Buddhism by King Asoka 193

Theravada Buddhism in Southeast 197

The Compilation of the Pali Canon 208

The First Buddhist Council 208

The Second Buddhist Council 211

The 214

The Fourth Buddhist Council 216

Buddhist Commentaries: and Dhammapala 218

CHAPTER FOUR BUDDHIST DEVELOPMENT, INSTITUTIONS, AND PHILOSOPHY IN THE CONTEXT OF CAMBODIAN HISTORY 223

The Foundation of Early Cambodia 225

The Empire of 227

The Empire of 229

The Effects of Indianization on Culture, Civilization, and Religion 231 Highlights of Cambodia from the Thirteenth Century to the Present Day 244

The Period of French Colonization 246

The Role of Kings as Main Supporters of Religion 248

xii The in Cambodia 256

Buddhism in Present-Day Cambodia and Abroad 268

The Impact of Western Buddhism, or Engaged-Buddhism,

on Cambodia 279

Contemporary Buddhist Practice in Cambodia 282

Comparative Overview of Buddhism and Social Reforms

in , , and Thailand 291

Present-Day Sri Lankan Buddhism 300

Present-Day Buddhism in Burma (Myanmar) 307

Present-Day Buddhism in Siam (Thailand) 314

Concluding Themes 316

CHAPTER FIVE IMPORTANT BUDDHIST TEACHING INFLUENCING SOCIAL REFORM MOVEMENTS IN CAMBODIA 319

Initial Efforts to Rebuild Society and the Country 321

Direction for Future Reforms and Revitalization 321

Revitalizing Cambodia's Psycho-Ethical Heritage 327

Efforts to Rebuild Nation-Traits within Individuals 332

Steps and Process for Spiritual Cultivation 339

The Ten Modes of Insights (Vipassana-nana) 342

Consciousness 344

Emancipation 347

Arahatship 349

Spiritual Progress in the Context of Theravada Buddhism 353 The Foundation of { Sutta) 356 Good Conduct or , Concentration, and Wisdom (Sila, , and Panna) 360

xiii CHAPTER SIX SUMMARY 366

CHAPTER SEVEN CONCLUSION 380

Social Reform Movement Protection 381

Leadership: Who Should Be in Charge in the Government? 381

Risk Assessment 382

Protection and Security 382

The Need to Maintain Moral and Ethical Values from

Theravada Buddhist Tradition 383

The Divine Abidings () 383

Perfections (Parami) 384 Mindfulness () and Liberation (nibbana) 384 Revive What Has Been Lost 387

The Need to Maintain Cambodian Unity 389

The Roles of Individuals 389

The Organizational Arrangements for Cambodian Identity

in the New Millennium 391

REFERENCES 393

BIBLIOGRAPHY 404

xiv CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

This dissertation presents how the Buddhist country of Cambodia and its people became victims of mass killing and post-traumatic stress disorder, which continue to reflect in an ongoing, unstabalized society, and how the teaching of the Buddha could spark a movement for social reforms to improve moral and ethical values from a Theravada Buddhist perspective.

Theravada Buddhism emphasizes one's own spiritual effort toward enlightenment, the quintessence of Buddha's teaching. His first discourse was entitled "Setting in Motion the Wheel of Truth or The Foundation of the Kingdom of Righteousness" (Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta, ) and delivered to five ascetics with whom he formally practiced austerities. In this discourse Buddha gave the fundamental teaching of the Four Noble Truths, a basic statement about our phenomenal world: First, life is inevitably sorrowful; second, the dissatisfactoriness is caused by craving; third, there is way to stop this suffering; and fourth, the way is through steps of disciplinary practice leading to spiritual transformation. These four truths are the common property of all Buddhist schools. The Buddha initiated for enlightenment by propounding on cultivating the mind, perfecting wholesome thoughts and actions, and meditating. His doctrines of (anicca), dissatisfactoriness (dukkha), non-entity or insubstantiality (anatta), and dependent origination

T. W. Rhys Davids, trans., Buddhist Suttas, 1881, Sacred Books of the East (Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, 1994), 146.

1 (Paticcasannippada) are the essential tenets and the root by which life continues

and one thing leads to another, the process of birth and death.

Before getting into the core writing of this dissertation, I would like to

share what prompts me to pursue this research study. I am one among the

fortunate who did escape the "Killing Fields" of Cambodia's Pol Pot regime

(1975-1979). Having the personal memory of losing more than 30 family

members, and the collective memory of a country devastated by holocaust and the

degradation of the moral and ethical values of its people, one of my primary

intentions is to discover how the Buddha's teaching can assist a people in recovery from spiritual and social degredation. I understand that this task will probably take generations, but 1 believe that all Cambodian nationals continue to carry out their responsibilities to build the country anew by contributing their visions from various aspects of knowledge whether from academia, life experiences, or .

In 1989,1 made my first trip to Cambodia along with an American journalist, Caroline Drew, who wanted to write a story on Angkor in

Siem Reap after the civil war, our family's friend Zeppelin Wong, and Keith. We landed in (Ho Chi Minh), then were transported in a tourist bus facilitated by the Cambodian Consulate in . We went through a thorough inspection at the border checkpoint between Vietnam and Cambodia (Ba

Viet) by Vietnamese custom officers. The trip was an emotional experience but rewarding, since 1 was able to find the location where my whole family was shot and buried. I heard stories told by my few surviving relatives (who are mostly

2 widows) and by other Cambodians I met during the trip. I closely followed and

observed the process of "peace talks" among Cambodian political factions, talks

sponsored by numerous nations and institutions.

The people of Cambodia anticipated that peace would take place in the

near future and that the new government would bring economic stability and justice for the people. In particular, the people trusted in the first democratic

general election, which was formulated under the auspicious supervision of

United Nations Transitional Authority in Cambodia (UNTAC) and scheduled for

July 1993 and every five years thereafter, following the guideline of the

Cambodian Royal Constitution.

The outcome from the 1993 election showed that Cambodian voters

favored the royal party FUNCINPEC (United National Front for an Independent,

Neutral, Peaceful, and Cooperative Cambodia), but FUNCINPEC did not hold enough votes to stand alone as the winning party. Therefore, the power to rule had to be shared with the Cambodian People's Party (CPP), the second political party chosen by the people. Cambodia returned to a monarchy with a constitution, but the sharing of power led to a coup in 1997 where the leader of the royal party was ejected from the country, leaving Cambodia back at square one. There has also been an opposition party all along, led by Sam Raingsy, a Cambodian elite educated in France who is the son of Sam Sary, one of King 's enemies.

The second general election took place in July 1998, and in this election I participated in Cambodian politics by launching a political party for Cambodian

3 women (the Neang Neak Neary Khmer Party ) under the motto, "Women in

Leadership—Dharnma—Nation." During this second democratic general election,

I proposed a plan for the country's reconstruction and development by stressing key issues pertaining to the historical and cultural background of the county. The emphasis on the reality of the world in the new millennium was highlighted, demonstrating how globalization plays its role in wealth distribution, what the purposes of globalization are and the outcome of new technology, and how dharnma (Pali word) remains essential for humanity. At this time the National

Election Committee (NEC) of Cambodia presented a variety of questions to all candidates, and all their answers were published by one of Cambodia's prominent newspapers, the Archives Khmer Publication (AKP).

With Cambodian history and the present-day situation in mind, I answered the questions as directly as possible: Peace for Cambodia will start from each individual. Alike are those who are wealthy and mighty, and without discrimination are high and low, rich or poor, learned or ignorant, as well as royalty of different lineages, military, those who are in religious orders, people in commerce, and the general public. The task is very challenging, no doubt, but I kept the words of the Buddha in mind:

Akkocchi mam, avadhi mam, ajini mam, ahasi me'ye tarn apanayhanti veram tesam na sammati.

Neang Neak Neary Khmer Party, National Election Committee (NEC), Royal Kingdom of Cambodia. A Political Party, Constituent No. 14 on the list of the General Election in 1998. Founder, Duong, Sokhoeun (Joanna Sokhoeun Duong).

4 He abused me, he struck me. he overcame me, he robbed me—in those who harbor such thoughts hatred will never cease. (3)

Akkocchi mam, avadhi mam, ajini mam, ahasi me'ye lam na upanayhanti veram tes' upasammati. He abused me, he struck me, he overcame me, he robbed me—in those 4 who do not harbor such thoughts hated will cease. (4)

My response to the questions specifically addressed the roles and responsibilities of every Cambodian inside the country and abroad, and called on royalty, military, people in commerce, religious leaders, and the general public to come together and carry out a new spirit to move the country forward, especially to strengthen moral and ethical values according to the teaching of Buddha.

Since that second election, I have continued to observe a sociopolitical and religious shift in Cambodia. Unfortunately, in spite of having captured the attention of the international community, life throughout the country is gradually worsening. The yearly budget of the Cambodian government contains strict guidelines for the improvement of the people's social status, promoting democratic leadership, human rights, and especially health and education; however, the irony of a humane international effort is that there is even more corruption, judicial injustice, and other violations.

A new constitution promised market economics, parliamentary democracy, and respect for human rights. There were independent human rights organizations and newspapers aligned with various political parties, was filled with foreigners, including aid workers, legal advisors, human rights advocated, and journalists. Assistance from the

3 S. Radhakrishnan, The Dhammapada (Madras, Delhi: Oxford University Press, 1987), Chapter One, "Yamakavaggo" - The Twin-Verses," 59. 4 Ibid.

5 West and from international lending institutions was pouring in. Cambodians were optimistic. The old power structure was still in place...

In addition, monasteries are flourishing, even booming, although gross

misconducts by monks and laity appear in newspaper headlines and television broadcasts: monks wearing secular clothes to enjoy night life, engaging in gambling, and committing adultery and criminal acts.

Such violations by monks are against the monastic codes of the Vinaya

Pitaka:

Anikkasdvo kasavam yo valthamparidahessati apelo damasaccena na so kasavam aharati. He who will wear the yellow robe without having cleansed himself from impurity, who is devoid of truth and self-control, is not deserved of the yellow robe. (9)

Yo ca vantakasav' assa stlesn susamahilo upeto damasaccena sa ve kasavam arahali. But he who puts away depravity, is well grounded in all virtues, and is possessed of self-restraint and truth is indeed worthy of the yellow robe. (io)7

This controversy around the expansion of new monasteries is more political than spiritual, and is exacerbated by corrupt laity including military officials engaged in land grabbing, drug cultivation and sales, money laundering, human trafficking, prostitution, deforestation, adultery, and many other crimes.

Evan Gottesman, Cambodia After the : Inside the Politics of Nation Building (New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2003), 351. 6 Radhakrishnan, Dhammapada, 61. 7 Ibid.

6 These unethical behaviors are in violation of the most basic Buddhist principles.

The causes of this socioethical decline need to be identified and reversed. How can the respectful teachings of Buddha survive if so many individuals in Buddhist countries betray the legacy of his ethical teaching?

The ongoing problems of present-day Cambodia are reflected in Karen J. g Coates's book: Cambodia Now: Life in the Wake of War. Coates's numerous interviews with Cambodians can be viewed from three perspectives. The first concerns the reconciliation of the past, of the remnants of war such as land mines and the desperation Cambodians had to live through, the daily living of ordinary people and those of the elite class like Admiral Ong Sam Kann. Coates further furnished stories from Cambodians living in Kampuchea Krom, which was once part of Cambodian territory and is now under Vietnamese control. Stories told by

Khmer in Kampuchea Krom significantly express the fear that they could be caught and killed by the Vietnamese government if their stories get published.

The second perspective shows how Cambodians are living with despair through violence and crimes at home and in the streets, and reflects their hope for democracy,

I don't know exactly what democracy is.. .we just think about whether we have rice to eat.. .because I am a farmer, we never hope for anything other 9 than the rice field.

Karen J. Coates, Cambodia Now: Life in the Wake of War (Jefferson, NC: McFarland, 1971).

Ibid., HI.

7 Another Cambodian discussed his feelings about witnessing the tragic execution of his fellow soldiers,

What happens to your emotions when you have seen a quarter of your compatriots murdered, when you have lived yourself in the hardship of a brutal regime, when you are fighting against the odds to rebuild a devasted nation /

Coates not only heard stories told by ordinary people and military servicemen but also by women and children who were victims of domestic violence, homeless children wandering around from place to place with the fear of being caught by the "master" (children traffickers and pimps).

They must send their kids to Thailand.. .the master took me every night to get money. If I did not get the money, the master beat me.. .1 want to find my parents...when I stayed in Thailand, I begged money, and I sold flowers...a Vietnamese trafficker took me to Pattaya.

According to Coates, the office of the Cambodian Women's Crisis Center

(CWCC) in Phnom Penh released a list of statistics for the first quarter of 2003, and in that quarter alone there were 63 sex trafficking cases, 130 domestic violence cases, and 35 rapes, as compared to the figures for the entire year 2002 of 141 trafficking cases, 635 domestic violence cases, and 98 rapes.

I well remember answers from women I spoke to during my political campaign in 1998, women in their homes and on the streets: that their families need sufficient income so the children are not starving; that the children can have

10 Ibid., 143.

11 Ibid., 197.

8 education; that they can be able to care for their children when they are sick; that they are protected from various abuses. All these are cries calling for help that bear countless unanswered questions regarding life experiences from the past regime and behaviors of the current government needing explaination and justice.

But as everyone knows, the major problem is "corruption," which seriously paralyzes the nation.

It is understood that ethical and social reforms in Cambodia may take generations to build. Realistically, Cambodians now are facing a day-to day-living challenge, a "fast money-making rush," a quick way to accumulate wealth so they can live up to the current world's economic needs. Thus, there may not be adequate support to achieve my vision, but this dissertation presents an attempt, using descriptive and comparative analysis, to open up the topic for those who wish to take a closer look and make changes. Therefore, writing of ancient and modern; sacred and secular; and primary, secondary, and tertiary; as well as the latest work by Eastern and Western scholars are included here with an intention to gain understanding of the Buddha's teaching and arouse the creative impulses within.

In order to show that Pali texts can influence social reforms in Cambodia, the dissertation also presents the country's background, Buddhist developments, . institutions, and within the context of its history. One must understand (1) the history of the country in its geographical setting and the economic, political, social, and religious aspects that are relevant to this study, and (2) the way Buddhism was established as a mean of political and economic

9 development in Cambodia with relation to the chronological events of and the world from the beginning of Christian era (see Chapter Four). Hence, many sources are investigated, such as the works of numerous scholars who have contributed to the topic: An Ancient Hindu Colony in Cambodia by

R. C. Majumdar; Histoire du Cambodge depuis le ler siecle de note ere by

Adhemard Leclere; The lndianized States of by George Coedes;

Studies in Sanskrit Inscription of Ancient Cambodia by Mahash Kumar Sharan; and History ofTheravada Buddhism in South-East Asia by Kanai Lai Hazra.

In addition, the latest scholarly works are presented with discussion on the current religious and social dilemma in Cambodia by naming a few writers of significance: Cambodian Buddhism: History and Practice by Ian Harris; History,

Buddhism, and New Religious Movements in Cambodia by John Marston and

Elizabeth Gunthrie; Cambodia Now: Life in the Wake of War by Karen J. Coates;

Monarchy in South-East Asia: The Faces of Tradition in Transition by Roger

Kershaw; Exiting Indochina: U.S. Leadership of the Cambodia Settlement and

Normalization with Vietnam by Richard H. Solomon; and A by David Chandler.

The recommendation for religious movement and social reforms in

Cambodia is strongly drawn from passages of the Three Baskets ofTheravada

Buddhism (Tipi.taka), the main source of reference for outlining steps and guideline for moral and ethical cultivation. The first basket of the Pali Canon, the

Basket of Discpline (Vinaya Pitaka), puts an emphasis on the disciplinary

(activities, monastic codes, and regulations for monks and nuns). Although the

10 textual framework of this collection contains three divisions, this dissertation focuses on certain parts such as the discliplines and codes of conduct

(Patiinokkha) and the Innate Principles (Vmaya-samukkhamsa) whereby monks and nuns know whether an action would or would not be considered allowable by the Buddha. The second basket is the Basket of Discourses {Sutta Pitaka) that exhibits Buddha's discourses to a variety of individuals from all walks of life. The preaching uses practical examples as a method to solve problems, and the problems contained in the five collections provide meaningful messages that are vital and useful for the improvement of moral and ethical conduct, the development of insight to live a calm life, and the understanding of the qualities of good leaders and good societies. Lastly, the Basket of Higher Teaching

{Abhidhamma Pitaka) offers a psycho-ethical system of Truth relating to liberation from suffering, though it does not give a systematical knowledge of mind, the complex machinery of men. Rather, the Abhidhamma Pitaka investigates the mind (ndma) and matter (riipa), which in turn enable one to understand all phenomenal things as they truly are, so that one can establish good character and right ethical conduct.

Certain key factors from the Abhidhamma, such as the five aggregates

(pancakhanda) and the combination of the five components that are not the same from moment to moment, support the understanding that the whole being or the individual is always in a state of flux. Life continues through the evolving of one thing leading to another, and Dependent Origination {Paticcasamuppada) explains the root that causes the process of birth and death. The Classification of

11 Dharmna (Dhammasctngcrni) of the Abhidhamma Pitaka starts with the content

(Matika), which is a list of subjects for analytical treatment in the text, then grouped in triads or dyads. There are 22 ways to group the dhamma into the

triads, and 100 ways into dyads. In each triad the dhamma holds three categories, whereas in the dyad it consists of two categories. One triad is selected that describes the three categories of the dhamma: meritorious dhamma {Kusala dhamma): demeritorious dhamma {Akusala dhamma); and dhamma that are neither meritorious nor demeritorious (Abyakata dhamma). One who is mindful can understand the reality of suffering and become able to establish a promise of noble living. Therefore, Buddhism is not a pessimistic teaching but rather reassures that a person needs to develop an insightful attitude toward life in order to create virtuous thoughts and actions.

The Theravadins preserved Buddha's teaching as authentically as they could over the course of human history, and five countries have continued practicing this orthodox Buddhism to the present day: Sri Lanka, Myanmar

(Burma), Thailand, Cambodia, and . But the irony of such religious preservation does not seem to reflect the essence of its orthodoxy since these countries appear to have religious and social conflicts, both inside the countries and among their neighbors. Such conflicts can be found in Sri Lanka where the ongoing clashes between the Singhalese sahgha and the still remain an issue; the Junta of Myanmar is still in power oppressing freedom of religious practice and social development; the Khmer Rouge of Cambodia totally demolished religious practice while in power; the unwillingness of the Thai

12 Buddhist to support the ordination of Theravada Buddhist nuns; the latest territorial dispute involving of Northwest Cambodia and the

Thai border where the Temple belongs to Cambodia according to the decision of the June 15, 1962 The Hague Conference; and the socialists of Laos still restrict relious practice.

Buddha's teaching is a unique spiritual treasure for humankind to cherish because it is grounded from a practical point of and not from a metaphysical or theological standpoint. The practice of Good Conduct (Sfla) helps develop ethical behavior and discipline; good concentration comes from right understanding and right thought; and wisdom is cultivated by right effort, mindfulness, and right attitude toward life. Does King Asoka's legacy of

Theravada Buddhist tradition as claimed by these five countries survive, and how does it relate to spiritual practice, common sense for daily living, and a proper understanding by laity versus countries' political means of using such noble teaching as tools for political and social control?

As for spiritual movement and social reforms in Cambodia, the dissertation also highlights relevant Theravada Buddhist doctrine that addresses personal transformation and social change, a process for uplifting and transformation, namely: the Four Divine Abidings (Brahmavihara), the Ten

Spiritual Perfections {Parami), the mindfulness meditation and Precepts

(Satipa.tthana Sutta and Sikkhapada); the role and responsibilities of individuals drawn from the Designation of Human Type (Puggala-pannatti); The Path of

Purification (Visitddhi-magga); selected passages from the Sutta Pitaka used as

13 models for mind cultivation; and selections from the seven books of the

Abhidhamma Pitaka and the Dhammapada. Additionally, the essence of the parable of the "raft" and its application toward current world problems is included, presented in detail and providing spiritual insights from a Theravada

Buddhist perspective.

The dissertation stresses that it is important to perceive Buddhism in its true essence and not through and by any distortion or manipulation, because the teaching serves as a tool conveying spiritual healing; maintaining love, tolerance and forgiveness; developing compassion; and embracing enlightenment. The future generation of Cambodia and the world at large need to redefine Buddhism and re-evaluate Buddha's teaching by pondering the very spiritual essence of human integrity, which makes humankind the highest among all beings and the sole being to keep and to hold things in order according to heavenly mandate.

14 CHAPTER TWO

A REVIEW OF LITERATURE

This dissertation is intended to offer historical analyses and practical guidelines for spiritual progress and social reforms in Cambodia. Hence, many sources are presented with a close examination for validation and for suggestions regarding further research. I rely heavily on the Pali Canon, the Tipitaka, and later Buddhist works by both Eastern and Western scholars who have contributed to the topic, though I also place strong emphasis on the moral and ethical cultivation grounded in Theravada Buddhism, which is the of

Cambodia. Buddhism in general stresses the fact that lack of knowledge is the cause of worldly misery—only when a person comes to realize how worldly events evolve (whether natural or secular), understands, and accepts the truth of all things, does he or she become enlightened. The Buddha was a self-realized individual who decided to teach humankind from his life experience, so that humankind could clearly see the universal truth, and his 45 years of preaching were recorded in writing after his passing. Theravada Buddhism, which is known as the teaching of the elders, uses Pali as its written ; the three collections of the Theravada Buddhist canon are known as the Tipitaka. I briefly present these three collections, with selected passages to support the purpose of this research study. Additionally, since the research topic relates to social and spiritual movement for reform in Cambodia, I also select literature covering the country's history and religious movements from the early period to the present, pertaining to an overview of the country: scholarly works by numerous authors like Coedes

15 and Leclere, the champions of the studies of Cambodia; and Chandler, Harris,

Marston, and Guthrie from Western research institutions.

The Pali Canon or the Three Baskets {Tipitaka)

The Pali Canon is the earliest systematic collection as well as the most complete collection of early Buddhist literature belonging to Theravada

Buddhism. Its sacred scripture, the Pali language, is one that is closely related to ancient of India, Prkriti and the classical scholarly Sanskrit. When referring to the teaching of the Buddha, the Pali Canon {Tipitaka) is known as an ancient Buddhist scripture and doctrine developed primarily for the Theravada school, and first compiled in writing by Sri Lankan monks of the Theravada school at the beginning of the first millennium. To this day, the Pali Canon continues to be held as the sacred teaching of the Buddha by Theravada

Buddhists. The arrangement of the collection reflects the importance and the essence of the teaching of the Buddha, and so Buddha's words were preserved in the canon in three collections: the Basket of Disciplines {Vinaya Pitakri), the

Basket of Discourses (Sutta Pitaka), and the Basket of Higher Teaching

(Abhidhamma Pitaka).

The Basket of Discipline (Vinaya Pitaka)

The Basket of Discipline is the textual framework for monastic rules of conduct for the community of monks and nuns, and is divided into five major parts grouped into three divisions. The first, the Division of Rules (Sutta- vibbanga), contains commentary on the Obligatory Rules (Patimokkha-sutta),

16 which are the oldest part of the Pali Canon and form the framework and nucleus of the V/naya Pitaka. This commentary is divided into the Great Division (Maha- vibbahga) for monks and Nuns' Division (Bhikkhiml-vibba nga) concerning nuns with additional and more specific rules and regulations. This organization of the commentary on the Patimokkha-sutta reflects the organization of the Patimokkha

-sutta itself into two parts, the Rules for Monks {-patimokkha) and the

Rules for Nuns {Bhikkhiim-patimokkha). In the Division of Rules, the offenses committed by monks or nuns are listed according to seven different punishments, described below.

The second division of the Basket of Discipline is called the Sections

(), and it also has two parts. The Great Grouping (Mahavagga) includes sittta-Y\ke texts giving accounts of the period immediately after the

Awakening of the Buddha, for example, his first sermon to the five monks and stories of his disciples' awakenings and joining of the Sarigha. Such stories include the Monk with Dysentery {Kucchivikara-vattha, Mv. 8.26.1-8) or the

Story of Prince Dighavu (Dighavu-kumara Vatthu, Mv. 10.2.3-20). The Small

Grouping {Callavagga) contains the elaboration of the ' etiquette and duties pertaining to rules for ordination, observance days (such as the assembly for reciting the Patimokkha), descriptions of rainy season retreats, clothing, food, , judicial rules, and other miscellaneous rules. Thus, the Mahavagga is regarded as the record of the development of the Buddha's community, whereas the Cullavagga provides supplementary details to the former to make it more authoritative as a compilation of what the Buddha said.

17 The Basket of Discipline's third division is titled the Accessory

(Parivara), and it summarizes and classifies the disciplinary rules. This division

serves as a supplement intended to remind monks and nuns of the established

rules and to bring their awareness to the goal of following those rules.

The Obligatory Rules (Patimokkha). As the Buddhist community of

monks and nuns gradually developed into a more complex society, misconduct

inevitably occurred, and therefore Buddha established suitable rules in response to

the incidents. Buddha himself set out the origin of these rules as designed to seek

safety and properly govern his community and its interaction with society, because it is vital that monks and nuns strictly adhere to right behaviors in order

to maintain such high moral and ethical models. The Canon recorded the words of

Buddha to acknowledge the origin of the stories and help people understand why such rules were established. The motivations for the rules were countless, from monks fondling visiting laywomen to decisions about lodgings, money handling, and what kind of food and drink to consume. When these incidents continued to happen, more rules were added, and Buddha assigned Venerable Upali to gather the rules and set them into the code or Patimokkha. Eventually, there accumulated

227 rules for monks and 311 for nuns, and thus the Patimokkha itself is part of the sutta called the Basic Training Rules (Sutta-vibbhanga). This sutta presents each and every rule with its original story followed by any permutations, and each rule is well analyzed to demonstrate all necessary factors, , and intentions regarding whether a penalty is assigned to the miscreant.

18 As Buddha established his spiritual community, many individuals of the

Sakya clan to which the Buddha belongs joined the Buddha's Community

(Sangha), and female members of this clan also wished to become part of the triple gem's —the refuge with the Buddha, the Dhamma, and Sangha. The

Canon recorded the stories of how Buddha accepted women as part of his

Community {sangha). Buddha's cousin Ananda made several attempts to convince Buddha to ordain women. Mahapajapati, who was Ananda's mother and also the step-mother and aunt of the Buddha, tried many times asking Buddha to ordain her as a nun or Bhikkhunl. Ananda himself pursued the Buddha to accept this wish, and three times he failed. He then rephrased his request, focusing on whether a woman was able to successfully attain her spiritual goal. In the case of

Mahapajapati Gotami, she had fulfilled her duty to Buddha in various ways, as his aunt, as a governess, and as a wetnurse after his own mother passed away.

Once a woman had performed her duty, she should be allowed to leave household life, follow the teaching, and become a disciple of Buddha. Ananda presented two strong arguments: first, that a woman can also gain the highest spiritual fruits at different levels up to arahatship (whereas if she stayed as a , this goal would be difficult to achieve), and second, that

Mahapajapati had performed many meritorious services such as raising Buddha himself and this service could be recognized only by the Buddha. Buddha accepted Ananda's arguments and he also knew that the order of nuns had been established before, although there had been some incidents of misconduct on the part of both nuns and monks. Although he accepted Ananda's wish, Buddha was

19 extremely cautious not to let the ordination of bhikkhums bring about certain misconducts which could be threats to his Community; to this end, he strengthened all the rules and disciplines to ensure that his community would be safe from those dangers.

Ananda also asked Buddha about the qualities monks might need to be teachers for nuns, and the Buddha answered that a teacher monk does not have to be a saint or an arahant, but there are eight practical and concrete qualities necessary for a teacher monk. These eight qualities are as follows:

1. The monk teachers of nuns must be virtuous; 2. Must have comprehensive knowledge of the dhamma; 3. Must be well learned of the Vinaya, especially rules for nuns; 4. Must be a good speaker of pleasant character, very fluent at delivery of such teaching faultless in pronunciation, and intelligibly convey the meaning; 5. When teaching Dhamma to nuns, he should teach providing approach with encouragement, stimulating, and clear explanation for good elevation of comprehension; 6. The monk teachers to nuns must be well presented and addressed so they are welcome by nuns for good teaching relationship where nuns must hold respect and esteem to him not only when he teaches but also on occasion when nuns want to address them; 7. The monk teachers must never have committed sexual misconduct with a nun; 8. He must have been a fully ordained as Buddhist monk for a least 12 twenty years.

It is rather difficult to bring the Patimokkha into a clear detailed presentation here, as the purpose of the dissertation focuses on the authenticity of

Theravada Buddhism to influence spiritual and social reforms in Cambodia and today's world. Such strict rules are needed for monks and nuns because they represent the main characters holding strict discipline and obedience to the Book

Anguttara Nikaya, 8.52.

20 of Disciplines (Vinaya Pitaka), and most of all, the rules containing in this book help maintain the strong moral and ethical values established by the Buddha for his Community. Their professing the dhamma taught by Buddha is the means to educate lay people, who in turn give their support to the Community—a bridge binding the Buddha's community of monks and nuns to function peacefully in society.

In summary, the Patimokkhct were especially crafted by Buddha based on real incidents from which Buddha laid down each rule and the reasoning for it, to foster the Community and society and protect them from polluted mind and behaviors. The for the rules are categorized in three types: two external, concerning wellbeing and safety within the sangha itself, to foster, protect, and maintain the relationship between lay people and the Community; and the third internal, referring to the role, responsibility, and ability of monks and nuns in mental cultivation away from polluted mind, where training on mindfulness toward speech and actions is mandatory. However, after the physical departure of

Buddha, new shools were developed and rules within Buddhist disciplines now vary depending on the region where each is practiced. In other words, they are not universally systemized on a commonly grounded guideline for the disciplinary of monks and nuns regarding ethical norms.

Buddha made use of the principles of dhamma and set out models for his disciples to establish virtues, and these rules were formulated to provide complete training and curb the behaviors of monks and nuns whether the context for such rules was simple or extraneous. Buddha established them as objectively standard

21 principles to be accepted by the sarigha at large; however, although they are treated as essential behavioral guidelines within the sahgha, inevitably they tend to hold some weaknesses. Since each rule was defined precisely to suit a particular time and place, it may not fit as well for other times and places, making it difficult to determine suitable the times and circumstances. Thus, when examining rules in the Patimokkha, it is necessary to keep in mind that they function in a larger context.

The teachings and practice of Buddha's dhamma can be understood and remembered as Dhamma-Vinaya, because one cannot function without the other—Dhamma alone is not fully meaningful if the actions carried out contain no discipline or rules. Moreover, the Buddha did not set out these codes of conduct at one time; as mentioned earlier, they all related and responded to incidents on different occasions, and there are countless stories presenting the reasons and origins of the rules in the three collections of Buddhist texts.

The Patimokkha provides seven different types of punishments, grouped according to kind: defeat (Parajika), which entails expulsion from the Sangha; rules for communal meetings (Saiighadisesa); indefinite rules (Aniyata); forfeiture and confession {Nissaggiya pacittiya); the Confession {Pacittiya), which has nine parts (the lie chapter, the living plant chapter, the exhortation chapter, the food chapter, the naked ascetic chapter, the alcoholic drink chapter, the animal chapter, the in-accordance-with-the rule chapter, and the treasure chapter); Acknowledgment (Patidesanfya); and rules of Training (Sekhiya).

22 With this description of the rules as background, the Patimokkha can be organized in five major categories, partly drawn from the Fourth Noble Truth.

The three factors of the Fourth Noble Truth or the Noble Eightfold Path are Right

Speech, Right Action, and Right Livelihood, in addition to communal harmony and the etiquette of a contemplative. These three factors of the Noble Eightfold

Path comprised the training into heightened . The explainations below describe in detail how the five categories of rules are essential to heighten the high esteem of monks and nuns. Thus, the summary of rules can be seen as follows:

Right Speech is covered in four specific offenses (lying, divisive speech, abusive speech, and idle chatter).

Right Action covers three types of wrong actions (killing, taking what is not given, and sexual misconduct).

Right Livelihood is mainly covered in seven areas of living conducts

(lying of any kind such as swindling or storytelling; care for the robes; food; lodgings; medicines; money handling; and care of the bowls with other requisites such as keeping the alms bowl more than ten days.

Communal harmony. Buddha faced a great task in insuring order and harmony among his disciples, both monks and nuns, and as well as between his

Community and lay supporters. For this , the Buddha set out rules that were reasonable yet strict enough according to the Dhamma, and set a high standard for his monastic order and the village supporters as a whole. Among the communal harmony rules, there are four topics concerning any attempt to form a schismatic

23 group—all are treated as sanghadisesa offense. Then follow two topics where a bhikkhu committed aparajika, sanghadisesa, orpacittiya offense which requires the Community to investigate the charge and deal with it accordingly. A pacittiya offense is ruled out in most of the 27 charge topics in this category, but the last 7 require the whole community to meet in the presence of the charged bhikkhu, and the penalty is in accord with the Dhamma and the Vinaya.

The etiquette of a contemplative. The Etiquette of a Contemplative being the last of the five categories, most charges are pacittiya offenses, 15 in all.

Within this category there are certain etiquettes ruling on what a bhikku should be like when going out of the or sitting in meditation, discussing appropriate clothing, body language, eating habits, and toilette, as well as teaching of the Dhamma.

The Basket of Discourses (Sutta Pitaka)

The Basket of Discourses is by far the largest collection of the Pali Canon.

It consists of five collections {nikayas) and is known as the complete collection of

Buddha's discourses, though it should be noted that the discourses it contains were not all delivered by the Buddha. Those discourses delivered by his disciples begin with the affirmative statement, "Thus I have heard," followed by the place and occasion of such discourse. As this dissertation draws heavily from Buddha's teaching set forth in Sutta Pitaka of the Pali Canon, descriptions of the five collections follow.

24 The Long Discourses {Dlgha Nikaya) contains 34 suttas divided into three

books and presents lively descriptions of the different aspects of life reflecting prevailing beliefs during the Buddha's lifetime. The discourses also reveal ascetic practices and Buddha's ideas on ethics. Examples from this nikaya are used below

to discuss how one can purify the mind.

The Middle-Length Discourses {) has 152 suttas that present Buddha's conversations and lectures regarding his ideas on what constitutes ideal living. These discourses cover some of the same topics as the

Dlgha Nikaya.

The Collection of Kindred Discourses or Group-Factored Discourses

(S&myutta Nikaya) contains 2,941 suttas classified into 59 divisions and grouped in five parts or sections (vagga). The first vagga is in the form of poems or stanzas that begin with a question-and-answer format describing particular occasions when the stanzas were spoken. The second ponders the importance of dependent origination (paticcasamuppada). The third vagga deals with the doctrine of "no-self." The fourth vagga discusses similar issues to the third vagga except that it is not focused on philosophical principles underlying the analysis but on the transitoriness of the elements, the basic parts of reality. Discussions of

Buddhist philosophy, culture, and religion are included in the fifth vagga.

The Collection of Item-More Discourses (Ahguttara Nikaya) covers a variety of topics in eleven books (nipatas) and includes about 2,308 small discourses that cover discussions such as the practice of loving kindness, the three types of training (conduct, concentration, and insights), and the eight worldly

25 concerns relating to life (gain and loss, pleasure and pain, rebuke and praise, fame, and blame).

The Collection of Small Texts (Khuddaka Nikaya) holds 15 different titles on its own. Book One is the Collection of Little Texts (Khuddaka-pattha), the smallest book in the entire Tipitaka; these smallest readings are used on various occasions by primary trainees. Book Two is the Path of Virtue {Dhammapada), which is known as the Buddhist book of verses on the Dhamma. It contains 26 chapters whose 423 verses present Buddhist proverbs expounded with a universal appeal, recommending life practices for peace and purity. Book Three is

Utterances (Udana), the 80 utterances of Buddha and his chief disciples that include words about the achievement of emancipation and bliss. Book Four is the

"Thus Said" (), where 112 short pieces relate words of the Buddha that address ethical principles such as generosity, malice and evil, greed, and passion.

Book Five is the Collection of Suttas (Sutta-Nipata); considered one of the most important books of the Khuddaka Nikaya, the book is comprised of verses high in poetic quality, with mixed verses and prose. Book Six is the Tales of Heavenly

Mansion {Vimanavatthu), illustrating the world of where individuals have been bom into that realm as the result of their . Book Seven is Tales of

Ghosts (), which gives a view opposite to that of the Heavenly

Mansion—a place of punishment reached because of woes and wicked deeds.

Book Eight is the Hymns of Elders {), a collection of 264 songs attributed to personal disciples of the Buddha, reflecting an abstract view of

Buddhist teaching. Book Nine is the Hymns of Senior Nuns {Therigalha), which

26 presents 100 songs attributed to female disciples of the master that exhibit rich

material from the studying of the nuns during Buddha's time. The songs express

the joys and merits of the Buddha's teaching. Book Ten is the Tales of the

Buddha (Jaiaka), a collection of stories recounting Buddha's previous . Book

Eleven is the Exposition (), consisting of 15 small texts in two parts and

belonging to the group of commentaries. One is Excerpts of Commentary in

Poetic Style (Mahaniddesa), and the other is Commentaries in Plain Text

(Cullaniddesa); both provide comments on the Sntta-Nipata. Book Twelve is The

Way of Analysis (Patisambhida-magga), serving as a reference book on the

philosophical ideas of the intensive study of the Sutta Pitaka. Book Thirteen is

Biographies (Apadana), containing stories of the previous lives of Buddha, the

"Silent" Buddhas {Pratyeka-buddhas, those individuals who attain enlightenment by themselves but do not teach), the chief disciples, and other important figures.

The emphasis of this collection is to show that even a small act of merit has great potential for reaping positive results in the future. Book Fourteen is the of the Buddhas (Buddhehavamsa), which illustrates the lives of the previous 24

Buddhas before Sakyamuni, as well as the story of Sumedho the ascetic who became the Sakyamuni Buddha. Book Fifteen is the Basket of Conduct {Cariya

Pitaka), stories illustrating the different spiritual perfections that must be mastered in order to reach the stage of .

The Higher Teaching (Abhidhamma Pitaka)

The third basket of the Tipitaka is the Higher Teaching {Abhidhamma

Pitaka), recognized by both Western and Eastern scholars as the core intellectual

27 teaching of Buddha's dhamma within Theravada Buddhist disciplines and in its philosophical sense. The Higher Teaching deals with the reality of what we each identify as 'person' or an 'individual' or 'me' and so on. But the truth about this is actually the mind (nama) and matter or body {riipa). What we call a

'person' is the sum of the five aggregates {Pancakhanda). Mind {namd) is regarded by Theravada Buddhism as the four immaterial components of one's identity, namely: feelings {vedana), perception or ideation (sanna), mental formations or dispositions (sankhara), and {vinnana).

Body/Matter {riipa), on the other hand, are of various physical qualities, namely: solidity, water, fire, air, and ether.

In the Abihidhamma, mind and body are referred to as the complex machinery of man—it is beyond human intelligence to claim to know the mind.

Rather, one can work to understand all events connected with and through the process of coming and going, of birth and death; Abhidhamma teaches a without a psyche (contrary to that of Western psychology, which tries to understand the mind with such limited analysis). In its microscopic analysis,

Abhidhamma intricately demonstrates and clarifies points and issues relating to the Dhamma. The path for liberation is clearly explained, consciousness is well defined, and thoughts are analyzed and classified precisely from an ethical and values standpoint. Unlike modern psychology, the teaching of the Pali

Abhidhamma enumerates all mental states, the composition of each type of consciousness is organized and explained in detail, and the thought processes that arise through the five sense doors (eyes, ears, nose, mouth, and skin) and

28 perceptions of the mind doors are logically described. Hence, Abhidhamma

investigates the two composite factors of "being"—namely mind and body—to

help the understanding of worldly things as they truly are. Development within

the philosophical work of the Abhidhamma leads to a framework that strongly

stresses moral and ethical values. Its system has evolved, but it remains realistic

to realize the quintessence of the Abhidhamma teaching—its ultimate goal,

liberation (Nibbana).

The Buddha strongly stresses his teaching on Nibbana, the attainment of

liberation. When examining discourses in the Seven Factors of Enlightenment

(Suttanta), the Buddha often took his audience into consideration, selecting words

to suit the intellectual level of the audience, and teaching the dhamma in

conventional terms such as "Me or Mine," "I or She," "the mountain or river,"

"cow or elephant," and so on. But within the Abhidhamma, the Buddha did not grant such terms: he taught and treated dhamma in its terms of ultimate realities.

He analyzed all phenomenal terms into their ultimate components, so that words like mountain, cow, or woman are all relative concepts and are reduced to their ultimate elements. In this sense the Abhidhamma teaches compound and conditioned things that are expressed in terms of aggregates (khanda); the sense- bases (ayatana); elements (dhatus); faculties (); fundamental truths

(); and so on. What we call a child, a man, or a woman are strictly conventional terms—the reality is that they (1) resolve into an ultimate stage of mental and physical components that are so truly conditioned by various external phenomenal (called impermanent or anicca), (2) all are subject to suffering

29 (dukkha), and (3) all have no entity (anatta). These are the three tenets, a true

characteristic of a person viewing life from a Theravada Buddhist perspective. In

this sense, the Abhidhamma teaches us in-depth what Buddhist psychoanalysis

has to offer because it contributes to one's spiritual awareness and upliftment.

In other words, the study of the Abhidhamma over time helps those who

want to plunge into a more profound teaching of Theravada Buddhism to reach a

higher perfection of mental and physical health and values. (It should be noted

that the Pali version of the Abhidhamma strictly belongs to the Theravada

Buddhist Collection because the work of its seven books has much less in

common with the Abhidhamma works compiled by other .)

Also it is important to mention here that the Theravadins were quite concerned to

preserve what they believed to have been what Buddha had said, rather than being

concerned with the development of ideas from Buddhism. For this reason the Pali

Abhidhamma holds little influence outside Theravada tradition.

The first book of the Pali Abhidhamma, Summary of Dhamma

(Dhammasangant), is an enumeration of the entities constituting reality and is

divided into Consciousness (), Matter (riipa), Summary {Nikkhepa), and

Elucidation (Atthuddhara). The two volumes of the Dhammasangani'by U Kyaw

Khine discuss the Abhidhamma when presenting the Dhamma within three categories: meritorious dhamma (kusaladhamma), demeritorious dhamma

(akusala dhamma), and dhamma which are neither meritorious nor demeritorious

{abydkata dhamma). Meritorious dhamma is referred to as the absence of the

13 U Kyaw Khine, The Dhammasangani: Enumeration of the Ultimate Realities, Vols. 1-2 (Delhi, India: Sri Satguru Publication, a Division of Indian Books Center, 1999).

30 of greed (lobha), hatred (dosa), and ignorance (). When the four

aggregates (sensation, perception, volitional activities, and consciousness) associate with the three wholesome roots (generosity, friendliness, and wisdom), it is said that the physical, verbal, and mental actions arising with them constitute a meritorious dhamma.

The second book of the Pali Abhidhamma, Division (Vibbahga), gives a definition of the entities of the DhammasanganT from various points of view. It contains 18 divisions grouped in 3 parts: explanation on the Seven Factors of

Enlightenment {Suttanta), explanation of the Higher Teaching {Abhidhamma), and Catechism (Panhapucchaka). Out of the entire 18 divisions, the first three are the most important, dealing with Aggregates (Khanda), Sense-Spheres (ayatana), and Elements (Dhatu). The rest of the divisions deal with Truth (Sacca),

Controlling Faculties (Indriya), Causal Genesis {Paccayakara), Foundation of

Mindulness {Satipatthana), Supreme Efforts (Sammdappadhana), Means of

Accomplishments (Iddhipdda), Factors of Wisdom (Bojjhanga), Ecstacies or

Absorptions (Jhana), Illimitables (Appamafifid), Paths (Magga), Precepts

(Sikkhapada), Analytical Knowledge (Patisambhidd), Wisdom (nana), Minor

Subjects (Khuddakavatthu), and Essence of Truth (Sammdhadaya).

The third book of the Pali Abhidhamma, Division of Elements

(Dhdtukatha), is a classification of the elements of reality according to various levels of organization. This book contains 14 chapters and mainly discusses

Dhamma alone, as to whether or not it included and is associated with

31 Aggregates, Bases, and Elements, the three most important divisions of the Book

of Treatises or Division {Vibbanga).

The fourth book of the Pali Abhidhamma, Designation of Person

{Puggala-pafmatti), is a psychological typology in which people are classified

according to their intellectual acumen and spiritual attainments. The ten chapters

of this book are quite similar to those of the Ahguttara Nikaya of the Sutta

Pitaka. The difference is that the Anguttara Nikaya deals with various dhamma whereas the Pitggala-pafinatti deals with various types of individuals. Chapter one of the Designation of Person talks about single individuals, and describes a grouping of 50 human types. Chapter two contains 27 pairs of questions characterizing the individuals, for example, "What sort of person is angry and what then is angry?" Chapter three has 17 groups of human types, with three questions for each type, such as "What sort of person is hopeless? What sort of person is hopeful? What sort of person is he who has lost hope?" The rest of the chapters explain the questions in their titles, except for chapters eight, nine and ten. In chapter eight the question is, "Who are the four persons identifiable with the path and who are the four identifiable with the fruition?" This chapter mainly tells the four types of individuals and the four paths to arahatship, whereas chapter nine holds nine questions on the types of people who reach enlightenment: What sort of person is a perfectly enlightened one, what sort of person is one who is enlightened for himself, what sort of person is emancipated in both ways, and so on. Lastly, chapter ten has two questions that are directly focused toward the

32 result of life practice within good moral and ethical conducts according to

Theravada Buddhist tradition.

The fifth book of the Pali Abhidhamma, Points of Controversy

{Kathavaithu) holds 216 issues and is a much later work discussing controversial doctrinal points among the various ancient schools. This book mentions the general doctrines of the Mahasahghikas, the school belonging to the great order of monks that were the early Buddhist and from which Buddhism later developed. At the third Conference held at Patna (Pataliputta) in the third century BC, King Dhammasoka presided and Venerable Moggalliputta Tissa

Thera was credited for his authorship of this book, which was then included into the Abhidhamma Pitaka at the Conference.

The sixth book of the Pali Abhidhamma, The Book of Pairs () contains basic sets of categories arranged in pairs of questions. The book is divided into ten chapters: Roots (Miila), Aggregates {Khandha), Bases (ayatana),

Elements (Dhatu), Truths (Sacca), Conditioned Things (Sankhara), Latent

Dispositions (Anusaya), Consciousness (Citta), Controlling Faculties (Indriya), and Dhamma. Owing to its method of treatment, the whole book reflects questions and conversations; for example, in the first chapter the topic deals with roots and the arranged method runs as follows: Are all wholesome Dhamma wholesome roots, and are all wholesome roots wholesome Dhammasl

The seventh and final book of the Pali Abhidhamma, Activations

{) is a voluminous work mainly discussing the 24 kinds of causal relations. The term Patthana is composed of the Pali prefix pa, meaning

33 "various," and thana, meaning "relation" or "condition." The book is also known as the Book of Relations (Maha Pakarana), and is treated as the most important book of the Abhidhamma Pitaka. The 24 modes of causal relations (which are also mentioned in Triplets and Couplets in the DhammasanganT) are the essence of Buddha's teaching in the Abhidhamma.

Hence, the seven books belonging to the Higher Teaching of Buddha

{Abhidhamma) are extremely helpful to those who seek the key to open the door of reality and realize Nibbana. To comprehend the teaching in the Abhidhamma is to accept all realities in life, a practical and peaceful way of living based on the experience of those who have understood and realized how our phenomenal world evolves. Since the Abhidhamma is a profound teaching of the Buddha, one may find it difficult to understand and to develop its insightful and fruitful values; however, one can still gain deliverance by first working to understand the four

Noble Truths, Buddha's foundational teaching of dhamma, because his teaching is a law that is not apart from oneself. One has to look within, seek the reality of all things around, and one will unfold the mystery of life, the truth in its own aspect.

Sources Covering Cambodian History and Religious Records

To provide background for the dissertation, this section lists certain books covering Cambodia, its history, and its religious records. From historical writing, there are prominent French scholars such as Goerge Coedes, Adhemard Leclere, and E. Aymonier who often used Chinese sources as references in their works on the study of Cambodia. They used Chinese chronicles as references: The History

34 of The Chin, of The Liang, of The Southern Chi, of The Three Kingdoms, of The 14 Early Sung, of The T'ang, and of The Sui. This shows that indeed had eyed on Cambodia long time ago. Work by Kanai Lai Hazra is also included:

History of Theravada Buddhism in South-East Asia. Some of the latest scholarly writings on Cambodian Buddhism are used to highlight religious practice in present-day Cambodia, including: Ian Harris, Cambodian Buddhism,

History- and Practice; and John Marston and Elizabeth Gunthrie, History,

Buddhism, and New Religious Movements in Cambodia.

Two books better present Cambodia in its current situation. Roger

Kershaw's Monarchy in South-East Asia: The Faces of Tradition in Transition illuminates and positions how Southeast Asian monarchies take on roles and responsibilities to sustain Theravada Buddhism, and considers how Asian monarchs like those in Thailand and Cambodia will stand in the future. Also presenting issues relating to Cambodian politics, Richard H. Solomon's Exiting

Indochina: U.S. Leadership of the Cambodia Settlement and Normalization with

Vietnam exhibits the reality of global politics in today's world, and examines strategies toward Cambodia and Vietnam from political, economic, and social perspectives.

They can be found in Leclere, Coedes, and especially in R. C. Majumdar's Kambuja- Desa: An Ancient Hindu Colony in Cambodia (Kalighat, Calcutta, India: University of Madras, 1944).

Kanai Lai Hazra, History of Theravada Buddhism in South-East Asia with Special Reference to India and Ceylon (New Delhi, India: Munshiram Manoharlal, 1981).

35 Tracing the Establishment of Buddhism in Cambodia

It is useful to present Cambodia as recognized by the world, with its rich civilization and priceless religious monuments such as the Temple,

Angkor Thorn, and , because these monuments provide some indications of religious transformation throughout Cambodian history. Several authors have contributed great documentation on Angkor, including Joan Lebold Cohen,

18 19 20 Bernard-Philippe Groslier, Madeleine Giteau, and Donatella Mazzeo. The 21 name Angkor (according to the Cambodian dictionary ) is a word used in a later historical period, perhaps by foreigners. The original word is nokor, deriving from the Sanskrit and Pali word nagara, which means "city" or "town," identifying an ancient political center—the core of the which lasted for over 500 years (802-1432).

Claude Jacques, ANGKOR, in collaboration with Rene Dumont (Cologne, France: Konemann Verlagsgesellschaft, 1999).

17 Joan Lebold Cohen, Angkor: Monuments of the -Kings (New York: Abrams, 1975). 18 Bernard-Philippe Groslier, Angkor: Hommes etPierres (Paris: Arthaud, 1965). 19 Madeleine Giteau, The Civilization of Angkor, trans. Katherine Watson (New York: Rizzoli International, 1976). 20 Donatella Mazzeo and Chiara Silvi Antonini, Monuments of Civilization: Ancient Cambodia (New York: Grosset & Dunlap, 1978). 21 Dictionnaire Cambodgien, vol. 1, 5th ed. (Phnom Penh, Cambodia: Edition de lTnstirut Bouddhique, 1967), 1973.

36 Stone carvings of ancient Khmer monuments recorded major religious

transformations in Cambodian life in particular, indicating the mobilization of

population, and cultural and religious establishment at the beginning of the 22 Christian era. According to David Chandler, a prominent Western scholar and

expert on the study of Cambodian history, there were three phases of

transformation: first, the period of Indianization at the beginning of Christian era;

second, the Angkor period with its peak of political and economic power in the

ninth and tenth centuries; and last, in 1177, when the Angkor Empire was

destroyed by the invasion of the and religious practice was subsequently

converted to Mahayana Buddhism by King Jayavarman VII. Chandler also

describes a poorly documented era, which is part of the problem of examining

Cambodian society before and after these transformation phases.

M. K. Sharan carefully investigated Cambodia through Sanskrit

23 24 inscriptions, discussing administration, socioeconomic life, and religious 25 conditions from Hindu practice to Mahayana Buddhism; his study is quite useful in terms of examining Cambodian religious movements.

Kanai Lai Hazra's History of Theravadct Buddhism in South-East Asia relied on G. Coedes's works and those of several other scholars such as

22 David Chandler, A History of Cambodia, 3rd ed. (Boulder: Westview Press, 2000). 23 Mahesh Kumar Sharan, Studies in Sanskrit Inscriptions of Ancient Cambodia, (New Delhi, India: Abhinav Publications, 1974), 149-51. 24 Ibid., 171-73.

Ibid., 225-86.

37 K. Bhattacharya and R. C. Majumdar. In the opinion of Hazra and these other scholars, Sanskrit inscriptions at J'a Prohm in the province of Bad support the accuracy of the Chinese Annals of recorded Cambodian history. The inscription begins with an invocation to the Buddha, and in another stanza to the

Buddha, Dhamma, and Sangha. The palaeographical date of this inscription belongs to the middle of the sixth century AD, which confirms the facts presented in the Chinese Annals relating to the existence of Buddhism at Funan in the reigns of two kings, Kaundanya-Jayavarman and . Hazra wrote:

Coedes is of the opinion that at that time Mahayana Buddhism did not flourish at Funan...that Buddhism with its Sanskrit language existed at Funan in the fifth and in the first half of the sixth centuries A.D. A statue of the Buddha with an inscription ' Ye dhamma...' has been found at Toal Preah or Preah That in the province ofPrei Veng in Southern Cambodia. The whole text is in Pali. But the word 'hetuprabhava" is in Sanskrit. There is no date to this inscription. It probably belongs to the sixth or seventh century A.D. K. Bhattacharya is of the opinion that the script of this inscription belongs to the seventh century A.D. The use of the Pali language in this inscription is probably an indication of the existence of HInayana Buddhism in Cambodia.

It seems clear that Sanskrit was used as the religious and during the time of Funan (ancient Cambodia). Sharan referred to a number of other scholars whose works were highly esteemed in regard to the study of

Cambodia: Jules Harmand, who prepared the estampages of the inscriptions;

H. Kern, who was the first scholar to decipher the inscription of Kambiija from the estampages; and E. Aymonier, who prepared the first systematic collection of inscriptions in French-Cambodian based on the estampages prepared under his

Hazra, History ofTheravada Buddhism, 74.

38 own direction. Additionally, as Adhemard Leclere said in Histoiredu Cambodge depuis le ler siecle de note ere, which contains all available documents relating to

Cambodian in his more than two decades of scholarly work:

Mais alors un autre livre s'imposait; il fallait ecrire VHistoire du Cambodge depuis le premier siecle de notre ere jusqu'a aujourdhui et c'etait un gros travail a mener. J'ai hesite longtemps a l'entreprendre a me decider a utiliser le notes, les documents nombreux, que j'avais ramasses en vingt-deux ans et qui comportaient beaucoup de lacumes, de pages encore inconnues don't l'absence m'avait vingt fois decourage. J'avais entre mes mains traductions du Corpus Bergaine et Barth, des inscriptions sur pierres traduites par nos sanscrivants, et ce qu'on sait du Cambodge par les Chinois, les Annamites, et le Siamois, puis des satras graves sur feuilles de palmier, des livres ecrits sur des registres europeens, ceuvres de lettres modernes soucieux de ramasser tout ce qu'on avait note dans le passe, et j 'avais toute la traduction orale, toute les legends qui flottent dans Fair, dans 1'ambiance des choses, tous les souvenirs qui dormant dans 27 Fame du peuple Cambodgien...

Sharan's evidence clarifies that Theravada was established at the time of the Funan Empire. Further, like the philosopher or the Purohita as the royal adviser, Buddhist ascetics performed similar roles and duties for the Royal patrons, as reflected in the story of King Asoka who was guided by his The Great 28 Path of the Law (Dhammamahamatras). Hence, it was rather difficult to separate the traditions outside of India since traders, colonizers, and administrators were accompanied by Buddhist . Sharan added that when Buddhism penetrated into early Cambodia, even though it was not a dominant religion, noticeable images of Lokesvara appeared during the reign of

Adhemard Leclere, Histoire du Cambodge depuis le ler siecle de note ere (Paris: Librairie Paul Geuthner, 1914) ix-x. 28 Ananda K. Coomaraswamy, Buddha and the Gospel of Buddhism, 1916 (New York: Harper & Row, 1964).

39 29 the first Buddhist king Swyavarman I (1001-1050), and they became more visible everywhere during the reign of Jayavarman VII (1181-1220?)." An inscription dating from the end of the sixth century or beginning of the seventh century AD describes with great dedication the of male and female slaves

31 32 to the Bodhisauas, who are three in all: Sasta, Mailereya, and Avalokitesvara.

Such indications show that Buddhism was established in Cambodia long ago, as claimed by the royal families. In addition, Saivism and Buddhism were almost united—one inscription referenced the combined images, the of ,

Visnu, and Buddha.

Regarding the history of Cambodian Buddhism from the beginning of the

Christian era to the thirteenth century, through the work of George Coedes,

Leclere, and M. K. Sharan, it can be concluded that accounts recorded from inscriptions in Sanskrit and Cambodian languages validate the dates identifying

Buddhist establishment in Cambodia. Furthermore, Sharan's study helps to

Dawn Rooney, Angkor: An Introduction to the Temples (New York: Norton, 1999), 285. 30 Ibid., 286. 31 Vettam Mani, Puranic Encyclopaedia: A Comprehensive Work with Special Reference to the Epic and Puranic Literature, 1964 (Delhi: Motillal, Banarsidass, 1998), 700, states that' Sasta' is the presiding (idol installed) in the Sabarimala Temple. It was created when Siva fell in love with Mahavisnu in His assumed form as MohinT, and Sasta was the result of their union. However, this name needs further research. 32 Sasta is the name of the deity, the union of Siva and in the form of Mohim (per Hindu tradition). Maitereya is the Buddha to be in the future. Avalokitesvara is one of the 108 forms of Lokesvara who refuses to accept (Hindu Tantric tradition in and ).

40 identify and evaluate the personal qualities and leadership skills ancient

Cambodian rulers possessed by combining the knowledge from Hindu tradition, the insights and wisdom of Buddhism, and perhaps from Sankrit and Pali traditions. In his own words, Sharan expressed his choice of study with confidence:

Since history of South-East Asian countries is an important subject of my Department, I desired to make use of this knowledge of mine to explore the possibility of constaicting a judicious and well informed history of India's relations with South-East Asian countries, the history of which has remained very much obscure. And for this I preferred Cambodia for the first attempt. All the past efforts of scholars were principally based on other sources in information rather than securing help from palaeography of the innumerable Sanskrit inscriptions scattered throughout the 33 country.

The present study also exhibits evidence from scholarly studies, allowing me to fine-tune the timeframe of the establishment of Theravada Buddhism, whether the texts were in Sanskrit or in Pali used in ancient Cambodia. The chronology of the Pali texts, as presented in a new study by B. C. Law, may indicate a different time period for when Theravada Buddhism took root in

Cambodia (either before or through the expansion of King Asoka). But first, a quick examination of what Coedes said in regard to the Pre-Angkorean period:

The oldest archaeological remains these states have left us are not necessarily evidence of the first civilization wave. It is probable, a. priori, that the priests who consecrated the first Brahmanic or Buddhist sanctuaries and the scholars who composed the first Sanskrit inscriptions were preceded by seamen, traders, or immigrants—founders of the first Indian settlements. These settlements, in turn, were not always entirely new creation; in many cases (Oc Eo in Cochin China, Kuala Selinsing in

Sharan, Studies in Sanskrit Inscriptions, xi.

41 Perak; Sempaga in the Celebes, etc.), they were built on Neolithic sites that the seamen from India had frequented perhaps from time . 34 immemorial... The Indianization of Farther India is the continuation overseas of a "Brahmanization" that had its ealiest focus in Northwest India and that "having begun well before the Buddha, continues to our day in Bengal as well as in the South." And, in fact, the most ancient Sanskrit inscriptions of Farther India are not much later than the first Sanskrit inscriptions of India itself... Indianization must be understood essentially as the expansion of an organized culture that was founded upon the Indian conception of royalty, was characterized by Hinduist or Buddhist cult, the mythology of the Pnranas, and the observance of the Dharmasastras, and expressed itself in the Sanskrit language.. .This Sanskrit or Indian civilization, transplanted into Southeast Asia and called according to the 35 country, "Indo-Khmer", Indo-Javanese," etc...

Furthermore, Coedes provides the first evidence of the Indianization of

Farther India by giving the following statement found in a passage of the

Arthasastra—the treatise on politics and administration by the Kautiya, minister of Chandragupta (end of the fourth and beginning of the third century

BC)—proving that the colonization of India dates back at least to the Maurya emperors. Louis Finot did not agree with this theory, which relied on an aged source that in its present form is of uncertain antiquity, but regardless of this disposition by Finot, and of the age issue, Coedes stresses:

The Arthasastra, which simply recommends to the king that he "people an old or new country" either by taking the territory cannot prove much and is less explicit than the Jatakas, with their tales of seamen, and the , which mentions Java and perhaps Sumatra. The Niddesa, a Pali canonic text which dates at the latest to the very first centuries of the Christian Era, is even better informed; it enumerated a number of Sanskrit

34 G. Coedes, The Indianized States of Southeast Asia, ed. Walter F. Vella, trans. Sue Brown Cowing (Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 1968), 14. 35 Ibid., 15-16.

42 or Sanskritized place names that Sylvain Levi has suggested may be identified with localities of Farther India. In our present state of knowledge, neither archaeological and epigraphic documents nor foreign sources can be dated any farther back than the Niddesa.'

Coedes' statement offers support for B. C. Law's argument clarifying the chronology of the Pali canon. Additionally, Coedes gives dates that show old evidence of the existence of Indian kingdoms in Farther India. For example, in

Burma that now is Myanmar, besides the religious missions of the two Buddhist monks—Sona and Uttara sent by Emporor Asoka in the third century BC to the

Land of Gold (Snvannabhumf)—there was no trace of Indian penetration before

AD 500, the date found in the fragments of the Pali canon at Moza and Maungun on the ancient site of Prome.

In the region of Thailand, in the Menam Basin, at the site of Phra Pathom and, stretched to the west, the site of Phong Tuk on the Kanburi River, some substructures of edifices and Buddhist scrulptures in Gupta (fourth to seventh century AD) and post-Gupta styles have been found. The bronze statuette of the

Buddha which was considered to belong to the Amaravati school can be dated back to the third or fourth century AD. More evidence was provided by the

Brahmanic statues of Si Thep on the Nam Sak whose inscription was found at the same site but cannot date any earlier than the fifth or sixth century AD. There is one exception in a bronze statuette of Buddha found in the region of Korat which shows Gupta influence and can be dated to the fourth century.

Ibid., 16.

43 Chinese records attribute the founding of the kingdom of ancient

Cambodia (Funan) to the Brahman Kaundiya in the first century AD; China began relations with Funan in the third century AD, and the oldest of the four

Sanskrit inscriptions Cambodia has handed down can be dated back to that time.

The evidence refers to (1) the bronze statuette of Poseidon found at Tra-vinh

(Cochin, China); (2) the famous statue by Lysippus on the Isthmus of Corinth;

(3) various objects from the excavations at Oc Eo in western Cochin China, south of Phnom Bathe; and the most ancient, (4) a gold medallion bearing the likeness of Antoninus Pius (AD 152). Though this Roman medallion from Oc Eo and other objects are definitely Indian, especially objects with engraving cut into a hard surface and seals with Sanskrit inscriptions, they date from the same epoch and from following centuries.

The Chinese began to speak of the kingdom of (present-day

Vietnam) in AD 190-93. The oldest archaeological remains found to date in this country's territory are the Dong-Duong (Quang-nam) Buddha. It is most artistic and has been identified as being in the style of Amaravati, but it is actually of

Gupta influence. This object dates as early as the fourth century.

On the Malay Peninsula, the date recorded by the Chinese was from the second century AD, and the Sanskrit inscriptions do not include anything farther back than the fourth century. There were also Sanskrit inscriptions of

Mulavarman referring to the archipelago, the region of Kutei, Borneo, dated in the beginning of the fifth century AD, and from Purnavarman in the western part of

Java dated to the middle of the same century. Only certain images of the Buddha,

44 the most notable of which are the one discovered in the Celebes, have been identified as of Amaravati tradition and of Ceylon (perhaps fourth to fifth century); another important image found in southern Jember Province, eastern

Java, shows Singhalese influence and is dated in the fourth and fifth centuries.

In all, Coedes concludes that none of the above findings can be dated before the second century AD, and that a greater flow of commerce, traders, and immigrants including religious leaders and scholars would be sufficient to confirm the rapid founding of Indian kingdoms in Southeast Asia, where previously there were only the inhibitants of various aboriginal tribes. As for ancient Cambodia (Funan), the earliest Sanskrit inscription describes the union of a Brahman and a native woman and is no later than a century and a half from the date fixed by the Chinese. So, it it safe to say that Indianization became intense in the second and third centuries AD and came to its fullest in the fourth and fifth centuries AD. The new findings on the chronology of the Pali canon, which has been carefully studied and analyzed by B. C. Law, can validate the time when

Theravada Buddhism came into contact with ancient Cambodia.

The three collections of Theravada Buddhist texts can be used to further examine Law's research on the chronology of the Pali Canon and its authenticity.

Law's work is of great importance to the topic of this dissertation because it gives a new direction for further study on Cambodian Buddhism, helping to fill the gap within this research topic. Additionally, knowledge could be gained by re­ examining Chinese sources, Sanskrit records, and perhaps records in other languages such as Burmese and Malay pertaining to the country in connection to

45 the history of Farther India. Whatever gaps remain, B. C. Law's clarifying of the

chronology of the Pali canon is a new step within scholarly challenge. In his own

words, he states:

Rhys Davids in his Buddhist India (p. 188) has given a chronological table of Buddhist literature from the time of Buddha to the time of Asoka which is... This chronological table of early Buddhist literature is too catechetical, too cut and dried, and too general to be accepted in spite of its suggestiveness as a sure guide to determination of the chronology of the Pali canonical text."

The following gives a chronological table of Buddhishist literature from the time of the Buddha to the time of Asoka according to Rhys Davids in his

Buddhist India:

1. The simple statements of Buddhist doctrine now found, in identical words, in paragraphs or verses recurring in all the books. 2. Episodes found, in identical words, in two or more of the existing books. 3. The Silas, the Parayana, the Octades, the Patimokkha. 4. The Digha, Majjhima, Anguttara, and Samyutta Nikayas. 5. The Sutta-Nipatta, the Therea and Then Gatha, the Udanas, and the Khuddaka Patha. 6. The Sutta Vibhanga, and Khandhakas. 7. The Jatakas and the Dhammapadas. 8. The Niddesa, the Itivuttakas and the Patisambbhida. 9. The Peta and Vimana-Vatthus, the Apadana, the Cariya-Pitaka, and the Buddhs-Vamsa. 10. The Abhidhamma books: the last of which is the Katha-Vattha, and the 38 earliest probably the Puggala-pannatti."

37 Bimala Charan Law, "Chronology of the Pali Canon: Annals of the Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute, Poona," 2004, retrieved on April 12,2009 from http://www.buddhanet.net/budsas/ebud/ebsut053.htm. 38 T. W. Rhys Davids, Buddhist India: The Story of the Nations (London: Fisher Unwin, 1903), 188.

46 After a lenghy explanation with concrete references to challenge Dr. Rhys

Davids, Law provided a new chronology of the Pali canonical literature:

1. The simple statements of Buddhist doctrines now found, in identical words, in paragraphs or verses recurring in all the books. 2. Episodes found, in identical words, in two or more of the exhisting books. 3. The STlas, the Parayana group of sixteen poems without the prologue, the atthaka group of four or sixteen poems, the sikkhapadas. 4. The Digha, Vol. I, the Majjhima, the Samyutta, the Anguttara, and earlier Patimokka code of 152 rules. 5. The Digha, Vols. II & III, the Thera-TherT-Gatha, the collection of 500 Jatakas, the Suttavibhanga, the , the Puggala- pannatti and the Vibhanga. 6. The Mahavagga and the Cullavagga, the Patimokkha code completing 227 rules, the Vimanavatthu and Patavattha, the Dhammapada and the Kathavatthu. 7. The Cullaniddesa, the Mahaniddesa, the Udana, the Itivuttaka, the Sattanipata. The Dhatukatha, the Yamaka and the Pattthana. 8. The Buddhavarnsa, the Cariyapitaka and the Apadana. 9. The Parivarapatha. 39 10. The Khuddahapatha.

Law's research was heavily based on literary records found in the Pali texts such as the Anguttara Nikaya, the Malinda-panha, the works of

Buddhaghosa, the , and other sources. I selected six key arguments presented by Law (the Octades, the Patimokkha, the four Nikayas, the

Cullaniddesa, the Mahaniddesa, and the Buddhist Councils) to show that Law's study is worthy of consideration for further academic research, especially on

Cambodian Theravada Buddhism. This new chronology of the Pali canon claimed by Law thus leads toward future re-examination and comparison to other languages such as Sanskrit, Chinese, or Maghady pertaining to Theravada

39 Law, Chronology of the Pali Canon, 171.

47 Buddhist literature. Primarily, I would like to verify the establishment of

Theravada Buddhism in ancient Cambodia as presented by Coedes in his

lndianized Slates of Southeast Asia where he often mentioned the record in the

niddesa describing activities of seagoing commerce in the region.

If Law's study is valid, then the CuUaniddesa and the Mahaniddesa can be

a solid ground to pin-point the date Theravada Buddhism was established in the

country. The resulting date might lead to a re-examination of the seven books of

the Abhidhamma in their Sanskrit version, producing futher research on the

application of religious practice (i.e., the Sanskrit version of Theravada Buddhism

and Hinduism) to statecraft during the period of ancient Khmer kings, the

Abhidhamm in Pali version when Theravada Buddhism took its full influence in

the country, and especially during the period where Thai Dhammayutta was

incorporated into Cambodian Buddhism. This dissertation enables the discussion

of Cambodian Buddhism from two different perspectives, namely spiritual and political, in Chapter Four.

Law argues that to place the Octades and the Patimokkha mentioned by

Davids as literary compilations in the third stage in the order of chronology is not possible. The Octades is the Book of Eights (Atfhakavagga), but the Book of

Eights as Law studied it from the Mahaniddesa or in the fourth book of the

Sattanipata is composed of 16 poetical discourses, only four of which

(Guhatthaka, Diitthatthaka, Suddhatthaka, and Paramatthaka) share the common title of Atthaka and consist of eight stanzas. That is to say, only four of the title sixteen poems fulfill the definition of an Atthaka or Octade, while none of the

48 remaining poems consists of eight stanzas as they ought to. Law further explained

that the present Atthakavagga composed of sixteen poems may be safe, placed

anterior to both the Mahaniddesa and Suttanipata; however, before cataloguing it

as a compilation prior to the four Nikayas and the Vinaya texts, it must be

ascertained whether the Atthakavagga presupposed by the four Nikayas was a

book of four poems each bearing the title of Anhaka and additionally that each consists of eight stanzas, or whether it was even in its original form, an anthology of sixteen poems.

Similarly, when placing the Patimokkha in the same category as the Silas and Parayas, it is important to inquire whether the Patimokkha as a code of monastic rules was then in existence, and if it was, whether the rules numbered

227 or fewer. Law points out that the Anguttara Nikaya, Volume II, page 232 states "conforming to one and half hundred rules (sadhikam diyaddehasikkhapadasatam)" and he asserts that this passage indicates the early code was composed of 150 rules or a little more. The Pali expression sadhikam diyaddhasikkhapadasatam means "just 150 rules," though to be more reasonable, 40 the number should be more than 150 and less than 200. Even though the earlier code presupposed by the Anguttara passages was composed of about 150 and less than 200 rules, it may be pertinently questionable. Is the Patimokkha as contained in the Pali texts of today the very code that had existed prior to the Anguttara

Nikaya! Law notes that doubt as to the antiquity of the Patimokkha as a bare code of rules is intensified by the tradition recorded by Buddhaghosa in the

40 Buddhaghosa, as discussed by Law, Chronology of the Pali Cannon.

49 Introduction to his Sinnaiigalavilasini (pt. I., p. 17) that the two codes of the

Palimokkha were to be counted among the books that were not rehearsed in the

First Buddhist Council.

Law's arguments on the placement of the four Nikayas under heading number four, with the implication that the Nikayas were anterior to the

Suttanipata and the remaing books of the Pali canon, are no less open to dispute.

According to Law, Buddhaghosa pointed out that the concluding verses of the

Mahaparinibhana Sutlanta of the DTgha Nikaya relating to the redistribution of

Buddha's bodily remains were originally composed by the rehearsers of the Third

Buddhist Council and added later on by the Buddhist teachers of Ceylon. In addition, Law argues that a material objection to putting the DTgha and the

Afiguttara Nikayas in the same category is that in the DTgha Nikaya, the story of

Mahagovinda (DTgha, II., pp. 220 foil.) has assumed the earlier form ofJatakas, characterized by the concluding identification of Buddha, the narrator of the story, with its hero, while in the Afiguttara Nikaya the story is a simple chronicle of seven purohitas without the identification. The iom Nikayas are interspersed with a number of legendary materials about the life of Buddha which appear at once to be inventions of a later age when the Buddha came to be regarded and worshipped as a superhuman personality. Hence, Law concludes that without discriminating the different strata of literary accretion, it will be dangerous to relegate all four

Nikayas to the early stage of the Pali canon.

In regard to the Cullaniddesa and Mahaniddesa, both are canonical commentary and they hold specific indications. Law demonstrates that the

50 Cullaniddesa's commentary addresses the Khaggavisana-sutta and the Parayana, a group of sixeen poems, all of which find a place in the anthology called the

Sulla Nipata. His aim was to show that this sutia indicates a stage of development of the Pali canon when the Khaggaviscma-sutla related to the Parayavagga as an isolated poem, without being part of a distinct group such as the Uragavagga of the Sulla Nipata. From this point of argument, it follows that the Cullaniddesa comes earlier than the ; at the same time, it cannot be denied that it is posterior not only to the Suttanta Jafaka as the Mahdpadaniya, Mahdgovinda,

Mahdsudassaniya and the Maghadeva suttanlas which are contained in the Digha and Majjhima Nikdyas, but also to the collection of the 500 Jdtakas titled the

41 Five Hundreds Birth Stories (Paiicajatakassalini). Hence, the Cullaniddesa cannot be dated much earlier than the reign of King Asoka (273-232 BC).

The Mahdniddesa is a canonical commentary on the Atthaka groups of sixteen poems and forms the fourth book of the Sutta Nipata. Law has demonstrated and shown that the attempt to explain the texts was all modeled on an earlier explanation of Mahdkaccana in the Samyutta Nikdya, and if the

Mahdniddesa came into existence when the Atlhavagga was not yet in place as an isolated group, then the date of its composition must be placed before the Sutta

Nipata. Furthermore, clear evidence of the date of this work can be derived from the list of places visited by Indian seagoing merchants, and the Mahdniddesa''s list clearly points to a time when the Indian merchants carried on a sea-borne trade with such distant places as Java in the east and Paramayona in the west, as well as

41 Cullaniddesa, 80.

51 followed a sea route from Tamali to Java via Tambapanni or Ceylon, a route followed in the fifth century AD by the Chinese pilgrim Fa-Hien. Additionally, a list in the Mihnda Panha that may be dated in the first or second century AD indicates a wide expansion of India's maritime trade as stated in Mahaniddesa list, which would seem impossible if the book was composed earlier than the second century BC.

In summary, Law's new placements of the chronology of the Pali Canon as presented above are indeed connected within the timeframe, and it should be considered that this chronology is a safer course when examining the upper and lower limits of such timeframe, and then ascertaining how the time may be apportioned between them in conceiving their chronological order. Law thus explained that on the upper limit, it is certain that there were no texts on

Buddhism before the enlightenment of the Buddha. Whatever the actual dates of the individual texts may be, they are definitely after the great event of Buddha's enlightenment, or even after the demise of the Buddha, when the first formal collection of the teachings of the Buddha had taken place. This memorable event is in accord with the unanimity of the Buddhist tradition. When looking from this point of view, the 45 years of Buddha's career as an active may be regarded as the formative period, reflecting the fashioning of the early materials of the Buddhist Canon.

With regard to the lower limit, there is no need to date so far down as to the time of the Pali scholastics of , Buddhaghosa, and Dhammapala which was about the fifth century AD. By tradition, the Buddhist Canon was

52 finally closed when written commitment was called for the first time during the reign of King Vattagamani of Ceylon (29-17 BC). The truth behind this tradition can be verified by clear internal evidence of the Malindapanha, the text compiled at about the first century AD, as well as the Pali books or chapters mentioned by name in this dissertation, the number of which is largely the traditional list. Also it was evident that the Malindapanha text was compiled and the division of the canon into three collections showing the five nikayas was well established, as were the seven books of \he Abhidhamma. Moreover, the Sinhalese commentaries

(the Mahatthakalalha, the Mahapaccariya, the Mahanirundiya, the Andhaka, and the rest), presupposed by the commentaries of Buddhadatta, Buddhaghosa, and

Dhammapala, thus point to the same fact that the canon became final and closed sometime before the beginning of the Christian era.

Hence, the timeframe for the lower limit can safely be placed in the last quarter of the first century AD. The interval of time between these two limits covers not less than four centuries, during which the six orthodox councils were convened, three in India and three in Ceylon. The first council was held during the reign of King Ajatasattu; the second, King Kalasoka; the third, King Asoka; the fourth, King Devanam Piyatissi of Ceylon; the fifth, King Dutthagamani of

Ceylon, and the sixth, King Vattagamani of Ceylon. If these councils can be considered certain, it can be concluded that during the first four centuries after the

Buddha physically departed, underwent as many as six successive redactions based on the dates assigned to these councils. Therefore, one may divide Pali literary history into periods shown as follows:

53 First period (483-383 BC) Second period (383 - 265 BC) Third period (265 - 230 BC) Fourth period (230- 80 BC) Fifth period ( 80- 20 BC)

As of this writing there is no sign of scholarly challenge to Law's finding, except that in the year 2000, a research report was published by Professor Oliver

42 Abeynayake reiterating Sri Lanka's contribution to the development of the Pali

Canon. Abeynayake claimed that there had been a noteworthy contribution from

Sri Lankan teachers who not only preserved the Pali Canon but also protected it from dilution and contamination from Sri Lankan cultural and literary influence.

But present-day Sri Lanka is torn between politics and religion. In Buddhism

Betrayed?: Religion, Politics, and Violence in Sri Lanka, Stanley Jeyaraja

43 Tambiah reveals the conflicts between Sinhalese Buddhist nationalism and militant Tamil leadership. Tambiah often faces questions from friends and collegues in regards to the country's unrest religious conflict: "If Buddhism preaches nonviolence, why is there so much political violence in Sri Lanka

44 tody?" In the end, he considered the question not worth answering because:

Oliver Abeynayake, "Sri Lanka's Contribution to the Development of the Pali Canon," in Buddhism For The New Millennium, 163-83 (London: World Buddhist Foundation, 2000), retrieved April 11, 2009 from http://www.buddhanet.net/budsas/ebud/ ebdha308.htm. 43 Stanley Jeyaraja Tambiah, Buddishm Betrayed?: Religion, Politics, and Violence in Sri Lanka (: University of Chicago Press, 1992). 44 Ibid., 1

54 "religion is merely an epiphenomena, and has little impact on real politik." The world has asked similar questions of Cambodia and Myanmar, both Theravada

Buddhist countries. The former experienced the genocidal Pol Pot regime (1975-

1979), and the latter is oppressed by the Junta leadership. Has Theravada

Buddhism of the Pali Canon been distorted?

If Law's new placement of the Chronology of the Pali Canon and the proposed timeframe of the Buddhist councils presented earlier can be accepted, it can be concluded that Theravada Buddhism was introduced to ancient Cambodia

(Funan) at an early period, before the Christian era, though the texts were in

Sanskrit. This conclusion can be re-examined and supported from Sharan:

The intellectual level of Funan was very much raised by the joint efforts of the teachers of all the religions and its fame as a center of learning reached even China from where monks were sent for translating Buddhist text written in Sanskrit.

The followers of Buddhism earned the respect of kings since they did not have any political bias. Besides Buddhists who flourished at the time of Funan belonged to the Hlnayana sect and had their canons in Sanskrit for which their 47 love increased with the introduction of Mahay ana.

In addition to the sources discussed above showing the existence of

Hlnayana Buddhism in ancient Cambodia (Funan), both Coedes and Hazra have shown that Sanskrit was the language used for religious texts during the kingdom of Funan. This also can be examined through the work of Coedes stating that

Sharan, Studies in Sanskrit Inscriptions, 226.

Ibid., 276.

55 dynastic tradition can be used as data with an attempt to establish a relationship between the Sailendras of Java and Sumatra, and the Sailas of Orissa, on the east coast of India. Comparing dynastic tradition in the period between the sovereigns of Funan and the Pallavas of Kanci, the founder and the great Indianizer of Funan were both of the Brahmanic clan , a clan that originated in northern

India and one branch of which exerted great influence over Mysore around the second century.

According to Hazra's analysis of data from Dr. N. Dutt, Buddhism was spreading even during the time of the Buddha, all over the central belt of India— from Kajarigala and Campa to the east, to Veranja and Avanti in the west, from

Rajagaha and Varanasi to Kusambi, Sravasti, and Saketa in the north, and also to the various tribes inhabiting the Himalayan foothills. But after the Great Decease

{Mahaparinibbana), different schools were established. For example, after leaving Pataliputta some Theravada monks went south and stayed in ancient

Mahisamandala; they were known to the Buddhist world as the Mahisasakas, and they settled in VanavasT (North Kanara) and Mysore. Other Theravada monks went north and used Sanskrit as the medium of their Pitakas; they were known as 48 the Dharmaguptas or the Dharmaguptikas. Another important school is the

Sarvastivadins; monks of this orthodox school of Buddhism of Magadha went

48 It is noteworthy to mention here that Hazra, referring to Professor Przyluski's work, noted that this school must have taken its name from the founder, Dharmagupta, who was identified with Dharmarakkhita, the Yonaka missionary who went to northwestern countries during the reign of Asoka. Asoka, a Mauryan king of the third century BC, had reconquered the territory of the Kaliriga kingdom which was taken by Mahapadma, the founder of the dynasty (343-321 BC) of Magadha. But at the decline of this dynasty, Kalinga seceded, which later led to a terrible bloody war with the Mauryan of Asoka. It was during this war that Asoka was converted to embrace Buddhism.

56 towards northern India and settled in Mathura, Gandha, and Kasmlra. This branch

is also known as the Mulasarvastivadins and the Aryasarvastivadins, and they used Sanskrit as the language of their sacred scriptures.

The information presented here is not a primary topic of this dissertation, but is included to establish two important points: first, to verify that Theravada

Buddhism used Sanskrit in the Funan period; and second, to relate to Law's work on the chronology of the Pali Canon in order to suggest that the ancient rulers of

Cambodia did not practice solely on one religious tradition, but that Vaisnavism,

Saivism, and Buddhism existed side by side, as presented by Sharan in his Studies in Sanskrit Inscriptions of Ancient Cambodia. Furthermore, as Marston and

Guthrie have shown:

In recent years, Francois Bizot, Oliver de Bernon, and others have documented a significant body of Buddhist texts that has been preserved in Cambodian monastic libraries. This work is still in progress, but these texts and associated Buddhist practices are apparently the remnants of non-Theravada forms of Buddhism popular throughout the region before the Theravada became dominant. The fact that the texts and practices have survived well into the twentieth century suggests that it is impossible to understand the practice of Cambodian Buddhism without recognizing "the presence of two factions: one orthodox, coming from the official Buddhism of Sri Lanka, the other heterodox, coming from ancient 49 traditions of India, already in place at Angkor.

Therefore, it can be said that the Pali Canon of Ceylonese tradition was not used in ancient Cambodia, but instead was adopted centuries later and became integrated with the additional influence of Thai Dhammayutta (though the

Bizot (1976), as discussed and quoted by John Marston and Elizabeth Guthrie, eds., History, Buddhism, and New Religious Movements in Cambodia (Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 2004), 8.

57 Cambodian Buddhist sarigha developed a new institutional establishment in the

period of 1930 to 1942, as discussed in more detail in Chapter Four).

Recent Western Presentations of Cambodian History and Religion

Cambodia and its people are indeed blessed by scholarly endeavors,

Eastern and Western, ancient and modern alike, contributing voluminous writings

shedding light on the establishment of Cambodian Buddhism throughout history.

Lately there have been more works by Western scholars discussing Cambodian

history and religion—of keen interest here are Marston, Guthrie, and Ian Harris.

Ashley Thompson's chapter in Marson and Guthrie's Histor}-, Buddhism,

and New Religious Movements in Cambodia exemplifies the discussion of

Cambodian religion and politics among many Western scholars:

There was little writing in English about Cambodian religion prior to the Civil War period, with the exception of short articles by Ebihara (1966), Kalab (1968), and a chapter in Ebuhara's dissertation (1968), all more concerned with peasant social systems than religion per se. Chandler wrote several articles on the intersections between religion and politics (1974, 1976, 1983). In the 1980s, a Khmer scholar residing in the United States wrote an insightful description of the relationship between Cambodian Buddhism and politics between 1954 and 1984 (Sam 1987). A volume in English published out of a refugee camp also explored the relationship between Buddhism and politics from the perspective of the Cambodian resistance movement of the time (Khmer Buddhist Research Center 1986). In the 1990s, work began to appear describing Cambodian religious practices in countries of resettlement, for example, Kalab (1994), Mortland (1994), Higbee (1992), Ledgerwood (1990), and especially, Smith-Hefner (1999).50

50 Ashley Thompson, "The Future of Cambodia's Past: A Messianic Middle-Period Cambodian Royal Cult," in History, Buddhism, and New Religious Movements in Cambodia, ed. John Marson and Elizabeth Guthrie, 13-34 (Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 2004), 2.

58 On the other hand, Ian Harris focuses on Cambodian religion, and his

writing shows how Western scholars have cited French materials in reproducing

the latest writing on Cambodian Buddhism.

Surprisingly little material specifically related to Cambodian Buddhism has been written in English. A brief glance at the bibliography accompanying this book demonstrates the truth of this assertion. Rather more is available in French, as one would expect from the ex-colonial power, but much is out of print and can be consulted only in specialist libraries. In addition the bulk of French-language materials tends toward the recondite, and no introductory overview exists. The present book represents a modest attempt to fill the gap. ... No one can write about the early phases of Cambodian history without an enormous debt to the labors of George Coedes. This remains as true today as it was in the past.

Harris presents Cambodian Buddhism in connection to the symbolism of

Angkor's various successor capitals, and the link between Theravada and the cult of kingship (devaraja cult) up to the reign of King (1841-1859). His examinations and discussions on Cambodian Theravada Buddhism cover a number of important points. First, premodern Khmer interpretations of their environment from physical and methological perspectives show that key preoccupations and dichotomies were preserved; Theravada cult activity

(Cambodian Theravada) perhaps owes a significant debt to this archaic way of understanding reality. Second, Harris surveys literary resources and practices characteristic of Cambodian Buddhist tradition—not those of mainstream

Theravada beliefs and practices rooted in canonical traditions—focusing on

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

52 „Ibid. •, , •IX .

59 several distinctive Cambodian literary genres before giving detailed attention to

the elaborate secrecy of such traditions as F. Bizot mentioned. Third, Harris

discusses the ways Cambodian Buddhists reacted to and challenged colonial rule,

and the impact of various foreign influences such as the establishment of the Thai

Thommayut which fractured Khmer sangha into modern dhamma {ihor thmei)

and traditional or elder dhamma (thor cash). From the latter, the well known

twentieth-century Cambodian Venerable introduced modernization

and reform within monastic education and administration to cooperate with the

colonial power, though he was bitterly opposed. Fourth, Harris covers the

establishment and impact of Cao Dai, a new Vietnamese religion founded just

across the Cambodian border at Tay Ninh, and the Buddhist socialist movement

instigated by Prince Sihanouk in the early decades of the newly independent state.

Fifth, he suggests that the Buddhist-inspired nationalist movements provided a

fertile ground for the germination of Khmer Communism, and discusses the manner in which Buddhism was manipulated by various political groupings in the civil war period. Finally, Harris focuses on the gradual reemergence of Buddhism after the dark period of the Pol Pot years and the restoration of the sangha after the 1993 election with particular reference to political contexts of the country.

Harris targets an academic, Western audience, and therefore has less effect on current Cambodian realpolitik and Cambodian people in the country and abroad. Cambodian newspaper headlines and radio broadcasting (e.g., Voice of

America and Free Asia) often acknowledge the Cambodian people's present-day lifestyle under the leadership of the current government, with the government

60 itself strongly reflecting corruption in all levels of society. Such wrongful behaviors clearly indicate present-day Cambodians' moral and ethical decline from the principle teaching of Buddhism. However, these books were of equal importance in rewarding my choice to discuss Cambodian Theravada Buddhism as the topic of this dissertation. In other words, the dissertation is geared toward a more conservative view, nonbiased, and yet it mirrors Cambodian Buddhism in its complexity and at its most realistic. In this view, I find it most beneficial to present and recommend the essence of Buddha's teaching from Theravada

Buddhist perspective; rather than being weighted toward any national or institutional interests, my purpose is to present the Buddha's Dhamma guardianship as it is embodied in those who understand that his teaching serves as a vessel to sustain the human race and the moral and ethical foundation that is vital for humanity.

In this sense, I would like to re-examine and demonstrate Cambodian

Theravada Buddhism beyond the realm of the information presented by current writings; I refer to the purpose of this research study as "the turning point" of

Cambodian religion. That is to say, new generations of Cambodians obviously need to study well the history of the country; be familiar with its political, social, and religious background and its chronology in a regional framework; and yet at the same time, be knowledgeable of current world events covering global politics, money markets, health and environmental issues, and the good and bad sides of technology, and as well as what relates to religious crises.

61 There is no doubt that Cambodians are now enjoying the advantages of the high technology of the information age and Western culture. In today's

Cambodia, Western information technology is everywhere: cellular phones, flat-

screen televisions, and cable network access, which is a means for ordinary

Cambodians to be well informed about world events and entertainments. Internet access makes accessible foreign influences such as fashion, music, lifestyle, and so on, that can threaten the moral and ethical values of future generations of

Cambodians. Many questions are raised by this access to Western technology and culture. How does the current Cambodian government educate the people, and who are likely to be competent educators? How can Cambodia and other

Theravada Buddhist countries maintain the legacy of the historical teaching of the

Buddha?

The analyses of Richard H. Solomon and Roger Kerchaw suggest a new political, social, and religious landscape where Cambodia's future monarchy must converge the country's politics and religious tradition to match global expectations of structuring for economic control. Despite these anticipated changes, I still insist that nothing will override the teaching of the Buddha where moral and ethical dignity for mankind is mandatory. As for the literature and the survival of Theravada Buddhist tradition, history shows that the Pali scripture has been relied on for the preservation of religious practices in Theravada Buddhist countries where there were well known writers dedicating their lives to promulgate and preserve the teaching of the Buddha.

62 Efforts to Presence the Legacy of Theravada Buddhism During the Colonial Era

The island of Sri Lanka was a haven for monk scholars of the Early

School and preserved much in spite of setbacks affecting religious activities and

development throughout its history. Invasion and migrations from India

threatened the independence of the island; the country had to face periods of colonization from the Portuguese, the Dutch, and the British. Sri Lanka has been

firmly established in Buddhism since the official visit of Venerable in the second century BC—it is the place where the Tipitaka was essembled in the first century AD. Religious monuments were built to house Buddha's relics, such as the Great in ; statues of Buddha, such as the one at Gal

Viha, testify to the religious fervor of the people. The establishment of Buddhist nuns occurred with the visit of King Asoka's daughter, Sarighamitta. The country has continued its reputation for scholarly work to this day. Dedicated monks such as the late Venerable and the late Venerable Nyanaponika were responsible for The Buddhist Publication Society, which published for Western readers. After the departure of the Venerable Nyanaponika in October 1994,

Bhikkhu Bodhi continued as chief editor of the Buddhist Publication Society until his departure to the United States. He continues to be regarded as one of the foremost translators of Theravada Buddhist texts. Despite all this noble work, a report published in 2000 by Professor Oliver Abeynayake claimed Sri Lanka's contribution to the development of the Pali Canon, as discussed earlier. On the other hand, Stanley Jeyaraja Tambiah published a book revealing Sri Lanka as being torn between politics and religion.

63 In Burma (Myanmar), the country's Buddhist literature is indebted to various individuals. Shin Maha Ratha Thera wrote for the court of Ava; Shin

Maha Thila Wuntha, and Shin Uttamagyaw dominated the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. Shin Maha Thila Wuntha wrote a history of Buddhism in prose style, whereas the others wrote the "Ten Long Jatakas" (tales of the Buddhas previous lives) in the Golden Age period of the sixteenth century. In the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, monks such as Ledi , U Thittila, ,

51 and contributed significant writing. But in terms of the history of the establishment of Buddhism, the record of Myanmar's ancient time has more to reveal—when Mayanmar was constituted of upper and lower Burma, as discussed in Chapter Four.

In Siam (Thailand), there were a few kings whose dedication to Buddhism was noteworthy. King ( IV) was a monk before becoming king, and one of his sons, King Vajirananavarorasa, was prince-patriarch of Buddhism and a classical Pali scholar. He wrote many textbooks and was elected as an

Honorary Member of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britan. In the late nineteenth and twentieth centuries, Thai Buddhist teachers of great repute included Achaan Naeb (female teacher), Achaan Maha Boowa, and Achaan Chaa

54 of Laos. Additional information on the Buddhist establishment in Thailand is presented in Chapter Four.

Jack Kornfield, Living , Teaching of Twelve Buddhist Masters (Boston: Shambala, 1996).

64 History shows that the kings of Cambodia could not revive the country's administrative and vernacular literature when the country had become a vassal of

Thailand and Vietnam. The fall of the Khmer Angkor Empire civilization happened in two phases: the Chams (presently North and South Vietnam) seized

Angkor in 1177, and the Thai attacked Angkor in 1431. Both dates indicate great losses for Khmer borders, literary heritage, and other art forms, not to mention the French robbing much Khmer artwork that is now stored in French museums. Some Buddhist writings in Pali and Sanskrit were developed in the monasteries scattered around in the country, though it is hard to hope that such important works can have survived the regime of Pol Pot. On the other hand, perhaps these writings are well kept and will help maintain the long lasting teaching of the Buddha.

While the French tried to record and produce the history of Cambodia,

King Ang Duong wrote numerous Buddhist poems and literature reflecting

Buddhist values while his country was embroiled in the political and social crisis between Thailand and Vietnam. He is famous for a literary work, Ka Key, depicting an unfaithful woman and the punishment of her bad deeds, and this literary piece was used in educational curricula. He also composed poems addressing codes of conduct for men and women. Also, Samdach Sarigharaja

Chuon Jotannano of the late eighteenth century was a learned monk, a scholar

55 Rooney, Angkor, 282. 56 Trudy Jacobsen, Lost Goddesses: The Denial of Female Power in Cambodian History (Copenhagen: N1AS Press, 2006), 119.

65 in Pali and Sanskrit, and also fluent in French, Thai, Burmese, Laos, and Malay.

His contribution to Cambodian literature is the compilation of the voluminous

. , , 57 hirst C ambodian Dictionary.

Core Teachings of Theravada Buddhism

No matter what the original language was that Buddhism was written in,

what kind of society the doctrine is for, or who holds the first records of

Sakyamuni and his disciples, the most important thing is what we learn from his

teaching, how we make use of this valuable knowledge, and how to find the

central themes from Buddhism for humanity's spiritual uplifting. As Mrs. Rhys

Davids puts it, "Study the openings for change, together with the growing motives

CO

for making change." This change is reaffirmed by Ananda K. Coomaraswamy,

the author of Buddha and the Gospel of Buddhism:

For the common civilization of the world we need common will, a recognition of common problems, and to co-operate in their solution. At this moment, when the Western world is beginning to realize that it has failed to attain the fruit of life in a society based on competition and self- assertion, there lies a profound significance in the discovery of Asiatic thought, where it is affirmed with no uncertain voice that the fruit of life can only be attained in a society based on the conception of moral order and mutual responsibility.

Dictionnaire Cambodgien. 58 Mrs. Rhys Davids, or Buddhist Origin (New Delhi: Oriental Books Reprint, 1928), 5. 59 Coomaraswamy, Buddha and the Gospel of Buddhism, vi.

66 To the present day, Buddhism is still revered by millions in the world, and when one takes refuge in the Three Jewels, one is thinking first of the Buddha, an individual who was awakened, enlightened from his own life experience. This person, Gotama, turned India into a country of far reaching importance in the development of Indian thought and culture during a long, chaotic social period and spiritual oppression from Brahmanic sacrifices and practices. The birth of Buddha's ethical teaching was capable of taking root, and it is a major system of psycho-ethical behaviors contributing greatly to human history. After Buddha physically departed, his teaching expanded into various schools and led to extended philosophical interpretations. As mentioned earlier, this dissertation offers historical and practical guidelines for spiritual progress and social reforms in Cambodia from a Theravada Buddhist perspective. In addition to what is presented above, Buddha's first discourse to the five ascetics, the "Setting in

Motion the Wheel of Truth (Dhammacakkappavattana-sutta)" is worthy to mention here, together with other important Pali texts relating to the topic, such as the Vinaya-samukhkamsa, Paticcasamuppada, Anattalakkhana-sutta,

Sakkapanha-sutta, Samafinaphalla-sutta, Dhammapada, Visuddhi-magga, Thera and Theri-gatha, and Malindapanha.

Setting in Motion the Wheel of Truth {Dhammacakkappavattana)

The basic teaching of Buddha is the doctrine of the Four Noble Truths and

The Noble Eightfold Path in the Dhammacakkappavattana or "Setting in Motion the Wheel of Truth" of the Anguttara Nikaya, the fourth book of the Sutta Pitaka.

Dr. Rhys Davids, one of the prominent Pali scholars who initiated the Pali Text

67 Society in 1881, translated this sutta and established its authenticity in accord

with other scholars: first, M. Leon Fear's lithography of the Samyutta Nikdya

treatment in his Textes drees du Kandjour together with the text of the

corresponding passage in the "Lalita Vistara," the Tibetan translation of that

poem; second, the Sanskrit text that runs parallel to the sutta and is found in

Rajendra Lai Mitra's edition of the Lalita Vistara; and third, the translation into

French by M. Foucaux from the Tibetan text rGya Cher Rol Pa. Additionally, Dr.

Oldenberg's publication of the Vinaya treatment in the Mahd-vagga (I, 6) also

found it to be word-by-word comparable to that of Dr. Rhys Davids' translation of

this sutta; the transcript was found in Ceylon Manuscript (MS) recorded on silver

plates, and is presently kept in the British Museum. According to Dr. Rhys

Davids, although the Lalita Vistara differs greatly in small details, with regards to

the Four Noble Truths and the Noble Eightfold Path, both are the same to that of

the Dhammacakkappavattana sutta.

Hence, these four truths, the common attribute of Buddha's teaching, are

found in all schools of Buddhist thought regardless of their elaborations of the

entire Buddhist doctrine. Subsequently, this Buddhist essence has been embraced by people across the world, and new writers both from the East and West have

written and continue to write about its practical view and utility for life to this day. This relevance is due to the fact that Gotama Buddha came to understand what he had to do for others by preaching what he had experienced and

discovered about the truth of life. His first sermon to the five ascetics with whom

60 T. W. Davids, Buddhist-Suttas, 146.

68 he had formally practiced austerities gave the fundamental teaching of the Four

Noble Truths, which serves as a basic statement on the nature of human condition and the means for its transformation.

The Four Noble Truths {Cattarl Ariyasaccani)

Buddhism sprang from the notion of dissatisfactoriness in life, a notion of shock truly discovered by Gotama Buddha in his teenage years, and which led him on a quest for liberation. From his personal experience supplying the impulse of Buddhist thoughts and the analysis of this unpleasant view of suffering, the search for freedom,and the goal of escaping from suffering in life constitute the essence of his whole teaching, a pragmatic system rather than metaphysical.

The First Noble Tiiith or Suffering (Dukkha)

The First Noble Truth is that existence is inherently characterized by dukkha, which is translated as "dissatisfactoriness or suffering." That is to say, our experience and belief in our world and individual personality as permanent and substantive is by its very same nature accompanied by suffering because no amount of work to control our inner and outer worlds is successful.

Dissatisfactoriness is therefore the normal state of individual existence, because moment to moment we are consciously or unconsciously trying to control our environment; we try to create permanence where there is flux, and we constantly turn away from suffering by creating facades of . Only by transforming our understanding of how the world works can we change our deeply engrained self-habit.

69 In this section, I present the passages in Pali language from the work of

Dr. U Pe Maung Tin, the great Burmese scholar and translator into English, and also from the Buddhist Sutta by Dr. Rhys Davids. The following passage in Pali language is translated by Dr. Davids:

(1) Ekam samayam bhagaba bdrdnasiyam vihdrati isipatane migadaye. Talra kho bhagava pancavaggiye bhikkhu amcmtesi.

Thus, have I heard. The Blessed One was once staying at Benares, at the hermitage called Migadaya. And there the Blessed One addressed the company of the five Bhikkhus, and said:

(2) Dveme, bhikkhave, antd pabbajitena na sevitabbd. Katame dve? Yo cayam kamesu mdmesukhalli kannyogo htno gammo pothijjanito anariyo anatthasamhito; yo cayam attakilamatha nuyogo dukkho anariyo anatthasamhilo.

There are two extremes, O Bhikkhus, which man who has given up the world ought not to follow—the habitual practice, on the one hand, of those things whose attraction depends upon the passions, and especially of sensation—a low and pagan way (of seeking satisfaction) unworthy, unprofitable, and fit only for the worldly-minded—and the habitual. Practiced, on the other hand, of asceticism (or self- mortification), which is painful, unworthy, and unprofitable.

(3) Ete kho, bhikkhave, iibho ante anupagamma majjhimapatipada Tathdgatena abhisambuddhd cakkhuarani hanakarani upasamaya abhinnaya sambodhaya nibbanaya samvattati. "Katama ca set, Bhikkhave, majjhima patipada tathagarena abhisambuddha cakkhukararii ftdnakaram upasamaya sambhodhaya nibbanaya samvattati Ayameva ariyo atthahgiko seyyathidam - Sammaditthi Sammasankappo Sammacaca Sammakammanto SammdajTvo Sammavayamo Sammati Sammasamadhi.

Pe Maung Tin, Buddha's First Sermons: Dhammacakkappavattana and Anattalakkhana Sutta (Gandhamadanauyyana, Rangoon: U Tha Win, 1973).

70 Ayam kho sa, bhikkhave, majjhimapatipada tathagalena abhisambuddha cakkhukanam ndnakaraniiipasamaya abhihnaya sambodhdya nibbdnaya samvattati.

There is a middle path, O Bhikkhus, avoiding the two extremes, discovered by the Tathagata—a path which opens the eyes, and bestows understanding, which leads to peace of mind, to the higher wisdom, to full enlightenment, to Nirvana. What is that Middle path, O Bhikkhus, avoiding these two extremes, discovered by the Tathagata - that path which opens the eyes, and bestows understanding, which leads to peace of mind, to the higher wisdom, to full enlightenment, to Nirvana? Verily! It is this noble eightfold Path; that is to say: Right views; Right aspirations; Right speech; Right conduct; Right livelihood; Right effort; Right mindfulness; and Right contemplation. This, O Bhikkhus, is that middle path, avoiding these two extremes, discovered by Tathagata—that path which opens the eyes, and bestows understanding, which leads to peace of mind, to the higher wisdom, to Full enlightenment, to Nirvana!

(4) ldam kho pana, Bhikkhave, dukkham ariyasaccam -jdtipi dukkhd, jarapi dukkhd, byddhipi dukkho, maranampi dukkham, appiyehi sampayogo dukkho, piyehivippayogo dukkho, yam piccham na labhali tampi dukkham - samkhittena pancupaddnakkhandha dukkhd.

Now this, O Bhikkhus, is the noble truth concerning suffering: Birth is attended with pain, decay is painful, disease is painful, death is painful. Union with the unpleasant is painful, painful is separation from the pleasant; and any craving that is unsatisfied, that too is painful. In brief, the five aggregates which spring from attachment (the conditions of individuality and their causes) are painful. This then, O Bhikkhus, is the . noble truth concerning suffering.

(5) ldam kho pana, bhikkhave, dukkhasamudayam ariyasaccam -yayam tanha ponobbhavikd nandirdgasahagatd tratra tatrdbhinandlni, seyathidam kamatanhd, bhavatanhd, vibhavatanhd.

Now this, O Bhikkhus, is the noble truth concerning the origin of suffering. Verily, it is that thirst (or craving), causing the renewal of existence, accompanied by sensual delight, seeking satisfaction now here,

71 now there that is to say, the craving for the gratification of the passions, or the craving for (a future) life, or the craving for success (in this present life). This then, O Bhikkhus, is the noble truth concerning the origin of Suffering.

The following comparison of translations may give some idea of and

reflect the thinking in terms of "words" as rendered differently by Eastern and

Western translators. Dr. U Pe Maung Tin, who followed the work of the

Venerable , gives a shorter and more direct translation, though with

footnotes providing detail for the reader, whereas Dr. Rhys Davids selects the

closest English word for his translation. For example, the word bhagava is

translated by Dr. Davids as "The Blessed One." But the word remains in its

original form in Dr. U Pe Maung Tin's translation because by tradition, most

Theravada Buddhist countries keep Pali words when developing vernacular forms of writing. Both translations follow.

Ekam samayam bhagava baranasiyam viharati isipatane migadaye. Tatra kho bhagava pancavaggiye bhikkhu amantesi.

At one time, The Bhagava was dwelling in Benares, at the deer park, Isipatana. Then the Bhagava addressed the group of five Bhikkhus... (Dr. Maung Tin's version)

Thus, have I heard. The Blessed One was once staying at Benares, at the hermitage called Migadaya. And there the Blessed One addressed the company of the five Bhikkhus, and said... (Dr. Davids' version)

The sutta mentioned above unveils the truth of our phenomenal world, explaining that "dissatisfactoriness" can be found in every aspect of life. We are

62 Ibid., 3-13.

' T. W. Davids, Buddhist-Suttas, 146.

72 unhappy even parting from things that are dear and pleasant to us. Hence, the

Buddha's contribution to revealing "truth" depends on how man honors this noble teaching and applies it toward life. As Rahula Walpola put it:

He taught, encouraged and stimulated each person to develop himself and to work out his own emancipation, for man has the power to liberate 64 himself from all bondage through his own effort and intelligence.

Hans Wolfgang Schumann wrote:

From his followers the Buddha demands self-discipline and kindness, deriving these ideals from philosophical deliberations which we are able to reconstruct from his sermons handed down in Pali language.

In the same view, Robert O. Ballou wrote in his introduction to The Bible of the

World:

It seems to me that the choice open to an intelligent man to-day is evidenced not in the question: "Must I have religion at all, and if so, which one?" but rather in this: "What have these profoundly felt religions, which have influenced all mankind, that will help me in my own search for of eternal Truth?"

And stated in In the Buddha's Words, An Anthology of Discourses from the Pali Canon:

Sri Rahula Walpola, What the Buddha Taught (New York: Grove Press, 1959), 1. 65 Hans Wolfgang Schumann, Buddhism: An Outline of its Teachings and School, trans. Georg Feuerstein (Madras, India/London, England: Theosophical Publishing House, 1973), 12. 66 Robert O. Ballou, ed., The Bible of the World (New York: Viking Press, 1949), xii.

73 The teacher did not intend to present a complete system of ideas; his pupils did not aspire to learn a complete system of ideas. The aim that united them in the process of learning—the process of transmission—was that of practical training, self-transformation,

Inevitably, life is sorrowful as expounded by Buddha. The Pali word dukkha translated as "suffering" is rather unjustly defined due to linguistic limitations; thus, the accuracy of its definition became an issue within scholarly debate. Subsequently, dukkha tends to be negatively and pessimistically perceived by the general people. Nevertheless, Walpola Rahula realistically explains

"suffering" objectively and positively toward the reality of life:

first of all, Buddhism is neither pessimistic nor optimistic. If anything at all, it is realistic, for it takes a realistic view of life and the world. It looks at things objectively 'yathabulam . It does not falsely lull you into living in a fool's paradise, nor does it frighten and agonize you with all kinds of imaginary fears and sins. It tells you exactly and objectively what you are and what the world around you is, and shows you the way to perfect freedom, peace, tranquility and happiness.

Walpola described how the conception of dukkha may be viewed from three perspectives: (1) dukkha referring to common occurrence; (2) dukkha caused by inside and outside things that altered, changed or modified; and (3) dukkha affected and conditioned from various factors. In contrast, Hans Wolfgang

69 Schumann stressed "suffering" {dukkha), a definition which came into existence

Bhikkhu Bodhi, In the Buddha's Words: An Anthology of Discourses from the Pali Canon (Boston: Wisdom, 2005), 1.

68 Walpola, What the Buddha Taught, 17. 69 Schumann: Buddhism: Teachings and Schools.

74 after the Buddha's death, in threefold. First, suffering results from pain (dukkha- dukkhd) caused from the existence of an individual subsequently exposed to and affected by countless evils. Second, suffering is originated from change or impermanance {xiparindma-dukkha), which also includes pleasant happiness

{) in all things and emotions. Third, suffering arises out of the personality- components (sankhdra-dukkha) among conditioned states, the fears and anxieties anticipated within intellectual reasoning that are not yet emerged.

In spite of differences in analyses by various scholars, suffering is clearly not a pessimistic concept. provides a more reflective translation from passages of Pali text in the Sukha Sutta (SN 36.2) and

Atthasatapaiyaya Sutta (SN 36.22), on teaching of Buddha that clearly points out happiness in life:

There are, O monks, these three feelings: pleasant feelings, painful feelings and neither-painful-nor-pleasant feelings. Be it a pleasant, be it a painful, be it neutral, one's own or others,' feelings of all kinds—he knows them all as ill, deceitful, evanescent. Seeing how they imprint again, again, and disappear, he wins detachment from the feelings, passion-free. I shall show you, O monks, a way of Dhamma presentation by which there are one hundred and eight (feelings). Hence listen to me. In one way, O monks, I've spoken of two kinds of feelings; and in other ways of three, five, six, eighteen, thirty-six and one hundred and eight feelings.

What are the two feelings? Bodily and mental feelings. What are the three feelings? Pleasant, painful and neither painful nor pleasant feelings. What are the five feelings? The faculties of pleasure, pain, gladness, sadness and equanimity. What are the six feelings? The feelings born of sense-impression through eyes, ear, nose, tongue, body and mind.

75 What are the eighteen feelings? There are the (above) six feelings by which there is an approach (to the objects) in gladness; and there are six approaches in sadness and there are six approaches in equanimity. What are the thirty six feelings? There are six feelings of gladness based on the household life and six based on renunciation; six feelings of sadness based on the house­ holder life and six feelings based on renunciation; and there are six feelings of equanimity based on household life and six feelings based on renunciation. What are the one hundred and eight feelings? There are (above) thirty six feelings of the past; there are the above thirty six feelings of the future and the above thirty six feelings of the present. These, O monks, are called the one hundred and eight feelings; and this is the way of the Dhamma presentation by which there are one hundred and eight feelings.

These two suttas identify happiness as natural and realistic enough, from which when a person is able to grasp these insightful explanations, he or she is able to live without projecting life as pain and suffering. Hence, the First Noble

Truth should be understood and accepted as the "reality" of life, the same way we accept all worldly conditions occurring naturally and culturally such as different seasons, volcanoes, storms, floods, diseases, marriage, birth, death, and so on. All these are known to mankind and history tells us how human knowledge and intelligence were means and tools used to craft human survival.

From this view and understanding about suffering as a normative aspect in life, we, the human family, should continue to sustain love, be tolerant, learn to forgive, and embrace peace and compassion towards our fellow beings and other beings on this planet. Within societies we have families and friends to love, in nature we have wonderful things to enjoy and to cherish, and in relationship we have trust, respect, loyalty, and hope. All these are essential and it is our

76 responsibility to keep this treasure alive—the joy of life because life is a reward and sacred.

The Second Noble Truth or the Arising of Suffering (Samudaya)

Gotama Buddha identified the cause of suffering as tanha, which means

"craving" or "thirst." Beings who are ignorant of the conditioned nature of all things to rise and pass away—including the "self which we cherish so much— spend their lives craving the pleasurable and turning away from the painful. The

Buddha realized the impossibility of achieving lasting satisfaction by attaining the objects of desires. Acquiring does nothing to cure the underlying suffering; on the contrary, it reinforces that obsessive, compulsive urge that is so characteristic of desire. It is also true that trying to control everything, or even anything, is impossible. That is what the Buddha is referring to in the Second Noble Truth or the Arising of Suffering {Samudaya).

The craving or thirst described above is the manifestation of human desires itself in various ways. This desire gives rise to all aspects, good and bad, which characterize the continuity of things. Again, Walpola best explained this truth in What the Buddha Taught. The term thirst does not include only desire for sense-pleasure, wealth, fame, or power, but also a deeper desire for attachment of ideology, opinion, beliefs, and so on.

According to the Buddha's analysis, all the troubles and strife in the world, from little personal quarrels in families to great wars between nations and countries, arise out of this selfish 'thirst.' From this point of view, all economic, political and social problems are rooted in this selfish ' thirst.' Nothing can be more relevant to describing worldly problems, especially war. The Buddha had witnessed wars between the nations of his

77 time. His father, king Suddhodana of the Kosalas, ailed one of the powerful and wealthy kingdoms, and was constantly at war with other powerful kingdoms, so that young Gotama witnessed all kinds of madness, sadness, losses, and sorrows. After he became enlightened, Buddha preached to kings, , other religious clergy, and householders, demonstrating how humans are drowning in the realm of greed, hatred, and revenge. His discourses were a spiritual vehicle or a mirror reflecting upon human behaviors, explaining how individuals and societies can learn from their mistakes and thus make improvements or even discard unwholesome behaviors. Our current world becomes more and morose and greedy, and less humane, which in turn produces covert actions, mind manipulation through ideology, policies by proxy, organized crimes, and self-destructive attitudes in decisions and policy-making. We must heal ourselves from such a defrauding world. Is there any hope for healing, and for sustaining human dignity?

His Holiness the Dalai emphasizes two important things that all

Buddhists should keep in mind. The first is self-examination: examine and re­ examine our own attitude toward others and constantly check ourselves to see whether we are practicing what we are saying. Before pointing our fingers at others, we should point toward ourselves. Second, we must be prepared to admit our faults and get rid of egoism, as reflected in an old Cambodian saying:

"Ancient words, words of myth: one's own mistakes are overlooked, whereas

71 others' minor flaws are as big as a mountain."

According to Buddha's analysis, all the troubles encountered in life are inevitable, but we must require ourselves to ponder on dhamma, which can be interpreted as law, action, truth, teaching, righteousness, morality, justice, and so on. All these words relate to the Second Noble Truth where, by their nature.

Walpola, What the Buddha Taught, 30. 71 Author's translation, from Diversity of Law, copied from palm leaves, 6th ed. (Phnom Penh, Cambodia: Buddhist Institute, 1968), 55.

78 humans are born with desire at different levels according to cultural and environmental factors, physical growth, and mental maturity. Yet mental development is shaped by culture, tradition, and economic means, influencing man toward a wide range of characters according to race, religion, and geographical setting, let alone historical recording. Nevertheless, this sense of desire arises out of the five aggregates (Paficakhanda), discussed in the Third

Noble Truth below.

In short, all things pervading in life are identified as suffering and are relatively dependent on its "arising," which then leads to something—a "coming."

This coming is known in Theravada Buddhism as Dependent Origination

(Paticcasamuppada). Therefore, in order to guard desire, one should know what kind of thought or action is meritorious-dham ma {Jaisaladhamma), demeritorious- dhamma {akusala dhamma), or neuttal-dhamma (abyakatadhamma) which is neither meritorious nor unmeritorious. Negative or unwholesome thoughts and actions rooting in the mind are called "Fetters" in Theravada Buddhist tradition, and they are of ten kinds (dasa samyojanani). These ten fetters are the cause and the bridge that link the traveling of life's journey, the crossing of a vast ocean of and death. Hence, it is important to recognize and identify these fetters:

1. Self-illusion or belief in permanent personality (sakkhaya-ditthi); 2. Doubt (vicikiccha); 3. Indulgence in wrong rites and {silibbhatapramasa); 4. Sensual desire (-); 5. Hatred or anger (patigha); 6. Craving for existence in the world of forms (rupa-raga); 7. Craving for existence in the formless world (-raga); 8. Conceit or pride (mana);

79 9. Restlessness (uddhacca); and 72 10. Ignorance or delusion (avi/ja).

It is also important to recognize and identify how to develop steps for enlightenment or arahatship, which is the goal of liberation in Theravada

Buddhism. The Four Steps to Arahatship (ariya-magga) are:

1. Stream Enterer (sotapanna); 2. Once Returner (); 3. Non-Returner {anagami); and 73 4. One who has extinguished all passions or the Holy One (arahat).

Theravada Buddhism stresses that one should be able to recognize these ten fetters as mentioned above, the root of the everlasting conditioned chain of samara, the cycle of existence. By recognizing them, one is able to cultivate the mind and gradually get rid of them through life practice, the path described in the

Fourth Noble Truth. The Path (Maggd) provides moral and ethical guidelines and steps toward enlightenment, the progress that one can successfully achieve toward liberation or nibbana. Therefore, the ten fetters should be examined and dissected layer after layer, uncovering the hidden impurities whether in words, thoughts, or actions. In this sense we must establish mind control, for which the Satipatthana lays down grounding rules and practices.

Gary Ow, Ananda's path to becoming an arahat: How he overcame the ten fetters to attain the four stages of enlightenment, PhD diss., California Institute of International Studies, Dissertation Abstracts Internationa], publ. nr. AAT9961565, DAI-A 61/02 (2000): 642,47. 73 Ibid., 12.

80 Even if one has perfected moral and ethical conduct through this extinguishing method, one needs to realize that Buddhist teaching covers other facts relating to the causes of desire within the ten fetters. That is to say, such defilement includes the impurities of sensual desire (kama-raga) and those of an uneasy mind or troublesome mind (kilesa ), which according to the Cambodian dictionary's translation refers to anything irritating, annoying, bothering, or

74 upsetting the mind —the characteristics of "anger" and "hatred." Therefore, the very first thing a person needs to strive for is education (vijja), which in turn enables one to cultivate the mind away from delusion and suspicion, and discard all these defilements. As mentioned earlier, all economic, political, and social problems are rooted in this selfish "thirst." Great statesmen who try to settle international disputes and talk of war and peace only in economic and political terms touch only the level of superficialities, and never go deep into the real root of the problems. As the Buddha told Rattapala: "The world lacks and hankers, 75 and is enslaved to "thirst" (tanhadaso)."

It is understood that humans are born with a tendency toward clinging, to selfish desire which leads to problems and destruction for themselves and the world. But what has been discovered by Buddha is the way to stop rebirth, the re- becoming of this thirst, or at least to control such thirst. That is to say, the Buddha did not insist on the cessation of all worldly desires and thirsts, but only the control of our compulsive drive of desire to possess in the extreme level and to

74 Dictionnaire Cambodgien, 40:1a. 75 Walpola, What the Buddha Taught, 30.

81 control. It is understood that humankind exists to this present day based on the

process of countless learning, testing, experiencing, safeguarding, and sustaining

the goodness of human values and the planet we inhibit. But sadly enough, our

current world seems to plunge deeper into self-destruction.

However, there is a way to change our behaviors—Theravada Buddhism

teaches awareness by explaining the four nutrients we consume to sustain life and by contemplating and meditating on whatever makes up what we are and then contemplating what a person consumes on a daily basis. This is called "food"

(ahara), and it is of four kinds which can be simply referred to as food for physical need and for spiritual nurturing:

1. ordinary nutrients nourishment, food we consume in our daily life

(Kahalihkarahara)

2. food as the contact of the sense organs with sense objects

(Phassahara);

3. the food of mental volition {manosancetanahara); and

If, 4. the food of consciousness (yinhanahard).

These four kinds of food or nutrients we consume relate to the "grasping of the five Groups" (panca-upadankhanda): matter (rfipa); feeling/sensation

(vedana) that can be expressed as a pleasant feeling, unpleasant feeling, or neutral feeling; perception (sanfia), or the recognition of objects of the mental and physical worlds in accordance with the six senses (eyes, ear, nose, tongue, body,

If Nyanaponika Thera. "The Four Nutriments of Life: An Anthology of Buddhist Texts," 2006, retrieved April 11, 2009 from http://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/authors/ nyanaponika/ wheel 105.html.

82 and mind); and mental formation (sankhara), the corresponding sense objects

(visual, auditory, smell, taste, touch, ideation), and these six-fold of what is

perceived, which gives rise to craving or thirst or aversions. These cravings and

desires want to be fulfilled; thus, decisions and actions arise, and the dynamic of

physical and mental interaction constitutes the doctrine of Dependent Origination

{Paticcasapuppada). At this stage of consciousness (vihM.na), the fifth Group

{khanda) plays the most important role. An awareness of the senses that can be perceived through eyes, nose, ears, touch and so on begins to grasp and to differentiate through reasoning and analyzing. Though consciousness does not have the ability to recognize the objects, it holds an awareness of the presence of the objects depending on matter, feeling, perception, and mental formation.

Without these four, consciousness alone does not exist. Hence, it is essential that we carefully and clearly understand and keep in mind what is suffering and what is the original arising of the cause of suffering.

The Third Noble Truth or the Cessation ofDukkha (Tvlirodha)

The Third Noble Truth identified by Buddha is liberation or emancipation from suffering, a freedom bringing us an escape from the ongoing suffering in life. Scholars have found countless ways to explain the word Nibbana, but have only succeeded in adding confusion. From the Pali-English dictionary edited by

77 T. W. Rhys Davids and William Stede, Nibbana finds expression as the putting out of fire or passion, the application to the extinguishing of fire (inner and outer

77 T. W. Rhys Davids and William Stede, eds., Pali-English Dictionary (New Delhi: Munshiram Monohartal, 2001), 362:1a.

83 fire). This definition comes from an etymology standpoint, whereas on the basis

of the "import and range of the terra," Nibbana is purely and solely an ethical

state to be reached in this birth by ethical practices, contemplation, and insight. In the Cambodian definition, the word is identified from Sanskrit derivation of the word nis, meaning "exit, leaving, exiting with no return, empty," and the word van, which is a given name for thirst (tapha) entangled, intertwined, and tightened within the natural collected feelings in all beings. Thus nis or nir + van or van = nirvan. By the rules of Cambodian grammar regarding using and combining Sanskrit and Pali together, Nibbana holds the same definition as given in Sanskrit tradition, that is to say, it is a natural given name for feeling that has left with no return of desire, craving, or thirst entangling and intertwining in the mind. Thus, it is explained: no more having the same volitional action (kamma)

78 from here on.

Spiritual practice is important to attaining Nibbana through eliminating the root of suffering and by means of practicing the eightfold path. In doing so one has to control desires or thirst, the uprooting of attachment. To cut off the continuity of thirst is the attainment of liberation. The Utterances (Udana), the third book of the Khuddaka Nikaya contains eighty utterances of Buddha and

Dictionnaire Camgodgien, 511:11b.

84 includes words of achievement of emancipation and bliss. The following is one example (Udana &.l:Nibbana Surra or "Total Unhiding 1"):

There is that dimension where there is neither earth, nor water, nor fire, nor wind; neither dimension of the infinitude of space, nor dimension of the infinitude of consciousness, nor dimension of nothingness, nor dimension of neither perception nor non-perception; neither this world, nor the next world, nor sun, nor moon. And there, I say, there is neither coming, nor going, nor staying, neither passing away nor arising: unestablished, unevolving, in that support (mental object): This, just, this, is the end of stress.

Often enough, we perceive the meaning of nibbana in a negative way. But it is neither negative nor positive—nibbana cannot be self-annihilation because according to Theravada Buddhism, there is no self. The notion or the meaning of a "self or a "person" is nothing but the total of the five aggregates. Venerable

Nyanaponika explains that what we refer to as a "person" or a "man" is the most

80 profound and hard-headed false belief in humans. However, there is a possibility of learning to understand that nibbana is the ' Truth' as stated in the Majjhima Nikaya, An Analysis of Properties (Dhatuvibbariga-sutta, No.

140). This sutta was delivered by Buddha to a clansman named Pukkusati who renounced household life and became dedicated to the Buddha. At his potter's shed where Buddha spent the night with him, the relevant portion of the essence of the sutta states: a man is composed of six elements: solidity, fluidity, heat,

Bhikkhu Thanissaro, trans., "Udana 8 (1)(2)(3)(4), Nibbana Sutta: Total Unbeing," 1994, retrieved April 11, 2009 from http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/kn/ud/ ud.8.01.than.html. 80 Rina Sircar, The Psycho-Ethical Aspects ofAbhidhamma (Lanham, NY: University Press of America, 1999).

85 motion, space, and consciousness. None of these elements belongs to anyone; therefore, it cannot be claimed that it is 'mine' or 'me' or 'myself.' As he understood how consciousness appears and disappears, how pleasant, unpleasant, and neutral sensations appear and disappear, Venerable Pukkusati's mind became detached. He reached a state of pure equanimity. He then further thought and applied this purifying and cleansing equanimity to different spheres (sphere of infinite space, sphere of infinite consciousness, sphere of nothingness, and sphere of neither perception nor non-perception). Since he neither mentally created nor continued, he did not cling or feel anxious. Since he was not anxious, he was completely calm, and he truly knew: "Finished is birth, lived is pure life, what should be done is done, nothing more is left to be done." He was at the stage of the arahant. In short, nibbana is the "realization" from the experience of practicing the right path in life according to the teaching of Buddha, and wisdom is the key to putting out the thirst.

When wisdom is developed and mind cultivation follows through the

Fourth Noble Truth, one can see the reality of life. This reality is what is identified as 'secret,' but on the contrary, if we can see and discover the truth of life as it is seen and we cherish it with love and appreciation, life becomes more meaningful—thus, the answer is up to each individual. In summary, whoever has realized and clearly understood the truth of life and Nibbana is surely content, calm, and stress free, and appreciates life more because such an individual lives to enjoy the fullness of the present in a mindful attitude where love, understanding,

86 tolerance, forgiveness, endurance within the family, society, and the world will

follow.

The Path or 'Magga,' the Fourth Noble Tmth, or The Noble Eightfold Path

(Ariya-Attharigika-Magga)

The Fourth Noble Truth shows the way toward the cessation of suffering.

If one wants to understand and benefit from practicing Buddhism, one practical

view to keep in mind is that Buddha advises us to avoid the two extremes. One

extreme is the indulging in the search for happiness through unethical, immoral,

or unwholesome means in sense pleasure, and accumulating wealth and power

through wrongful doings. The other extreme is the search for happiness through self-mortification in different disciplines of asceticism, a mental and physical practice that is unprofitable, unnecessary, and painful. Buddha experienced these two extremes and learned them both to be useless. Therefore, his personal experience of the is the right way to achieve calm and greater insight, and thus enlightenment. This path is the only possibility to cure the disease of

"wanting" which afflicts all of mankind. If we follow the prescription given by a master physician, the Buddha, we may bring an end to the labeling of suffering.

The Fourth Noble Truth is composed of eight factors:

1. Right Understanding (Samma ditthi),

2. Right Thought (Samma sankappd),

3. Right Speech (Samma vaca),

4. Right Action (Samma kammanta),

5. Right Livelihood (Samma ajiva),

87 6. Right Effort (Samma vayama),

7. Right Mindfulness (Samma ), and

8. Right Concentration {Samma samadhi).

What we can learn from the most important teaching in Buddhism is how

Buddha foresaw the application of his teaching in the secular world. It is true that the world knows a few hard facts about Buddhism in the period between the

Buddha's physical departure and the accession of King Asoka. King Asoka was a towering figure for many reasons, including that King Asoka engaged one of the bloody wars of Indian history, and that his conversion as royal patron to

Buddhism played a primary role in Buddhist history. Asoka came to realize that engaging in such bloody war did not render him and his empire prosperity and peace, but rather a continuing loss of human lives and destructions of all kinds including economic. His patronage to Buddhism is reflected in one of the pillars

Asoka erected, a beautiful carved wheel with spokes representing the wheel of 81 Dhamma, and in the passages on the rock edicts.

Selected Texts

As previously stated in my observation of moral and ethical degradation in

Cambodians who present themselves as Buddhists, I believe that it is important to bring back the essence of the Buddha's teaching covering what is essential for people to maintain peace and harmony among themselves, the nations, and the world at large. In particular for Cambodia, the post-traumatic dilemma is beyond

81 Richard F. Gombrich, Theravada Buddhism: A Social History from Ancient Benares to Modern (London: Routledge and Kegan Paul, New York, 1988). 129-34.

88 description in terms of self-integrity, consciousness, and love for humanity. These

selected texts from the Pali Canon will help Cambodians find the ways of self- cultivating, awareness, and the taking of more responsibilities for themselves and

the world.

The Innate Principles of the Disciplines (Vinaya-samukkhamsaj

The Vinaya-samukkhamsa is from the reading selected by King Asoka entitled "That the True Dhamma Might Last a Long Time" and contains seven passages, of which the Vinaya-samukkhamsa is the first. His edicts show the most remarkable events in human history, his own effort to rule with policies based on

Dhamma in his administration, instructions to his people, and his own personal practice. The text of the Bharu Rock Edict reads:

His Gracious Majesty, King of Magadha, bows down to the Sarigha and— hoping that they are free from disease and living in peace—addresses them as follows: You know well the extent of my reverence and in the Buddha, Dhamma, and Sarigha. Whatever has been said by the Buddha has of course been well-said. But may I be permitted to point out the passages of scripture I have selected that the True Dhamma might last a long time: Vinaya-samnkasa, Aliya-vasani, Anagata-bhayani, - gatha, Mauneya-sute, Upatisa-pasine, and the Instructions to Rahula beginning with (the topic of) falsehood, as taught by the Blessed One. Reverend Sirs, I would like the reverend bhikkhus and bhikkhunis—as well as the laymen and laywomen—to listen to these passages frequently and to ponder on them. For this reason, Reverend Sirs, I am having this 82 inscribed so that they may know of my intention.

This edict inspired scholars to locate the seven passages named, and finally consensus was reached in identifying four of them. The Aliya-vasani or the

82 Bhikkhu Thanissaro, ed. and trans., "That the True Dhamma Might Last a Long Time: Readings Selected by King Asoka," 1993, retrieved April 11, 2009 from http://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/authors/thanissaro/asoka.html.

89 "Discourse on the Traditions of the Noble Ones" is from the Ahguttara Nikaya

(4.28); the Anagata-bhayam are the four discourses on "Future Dangers" of the

Ahguttara Nikaya (5.77-80); the Muni-gatha is the discourse on the Sage of the

Muni Sutta found in the Sutta Nipala (1.12); and the "Instructions to Rahula" are the Cula-Rahulovada Sutta of the Majjhima Nikaya (61). As for the other three passages, scholars concluded that the Maimeya-sute is of ihe Nalaka Sutta, although the Mauneya-sute of the Ahguttara Nikaya (3.23) and the Upatisa- pasine as "Question of Upatissa or Sariputta" of Sariputta Sutta have not been confirmed in the Sutta Nipata, which was the final conclusion of the text of

Bhabru Rock Edict. The Vinaya-samukasa or the "Innate Principles of the

Vinaya" is found in the Mahavagga (6.40.1) as Vinaya-samukkamsa; the single reference to this word in the Canon is buried, unread, or unmentioned in the

Parivara (VI.4). The Mahavagga has four such principles pertaining to the

Vinaya, and the Commentary identified them as die four Great Standards dealing specifically with the Disciplines for monks and nuns. This preference by scholars over the four in the Mahaparinibbana Sutta is reasonable enough because as mentioned earlier, the Parivara is regarded as supplemental to remind monks and nuns to be aware of the circumstances that would bring the disciplines within the 83 orbit of these rules.

The Vinaya-samukkhamsa or "The Innate Principles of the Vinaya" reads as follows:

My collective thoughts on the Vinaya, especially based on Bhikku Thanissaro, "That the True Dhamma Might Last a Long Time."

90 Now at that time uncertainty arose in the monks with regard to this and that item: "Now what is allowed by the Blessed One? What is not allowed?" They told this matter to the Blessed One, (who said): "Bhikkhus, whatever I have not objected to, saying, 'This is not allowable,' if it fits in with what is not allowable, if it goes against what is allowable, this is not allowable for you. "Whatever I have not objected to, saying, 'This is not allowable,' if it fits in with what is allowable, if it goes against what is not allowable, this is allowable for you. "And whatever I have not permitted, saying, 'This is allowable,' if it fits in with what is not allowable, if it goes against what is allowable, this is not allowable for you. "And whatever I have not permitted, saying, 'This is allowable,' if it fits in with what is allowable, if it goes against what in not allowable, 84 this is allowable for you."

According to Bhikkhu Thanissaro, the passage contains nothing

remarkable, and it is quite obvious that the passage has not been treated as

important; but on the contrary, it is a fine example of the Buddha's insightfulness

and farsightedness in his setting up the teaching of dhamma, regarding the proper application and flexibility of the rules. The Buddha also anticipated that there would be a number of things not covered or touched upon within the Vinaya, which subsequently tends to grow in numbers through the of time, and changes in culture and tradition in the future world. There was a possibility that those who were unenlightened to the changes would rely on the tradition that anything not allowed is forbidden, and that what is not strictly forbidden is allowed. The Buddha realized these two extremes as parallel to his realization of the extremes of asceticism and self-mortification. He thus set forth a system of

84 Bhikkhu Thanissaro, trans. "Vinaya samukkamsa: The Innate Principles of the Vinaya," 1996, retrieved April 11, 2009 from http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/ vin/mv/mv.06.40.01 .than.html.

91 interpretation in this passage as to avoid both of these extremes. He intentionally established an assurance to the long life of his teaching, the discipline of his doctrine; by being flexible, the guidelines for further expansion are open to being suitable to cover new objects and situations as they arise.

Hence the inherent principles pertaining to the Vinaya Samukkhamsa are a protective clause established by the Buddha as a provision for future use. There is a passage related to the Vinaya-samukkhamsa, translated by

85 Brahmavamso, which contains talks whereby monks and nuns know whether action would or would not be considered allowable by the Buddha. For example, there is a particular occasion discussed in the Vinaya about eating meat. Buddhist monks and nuns lived on alms-food, and the Buddha laid down several rules forbidding them from asking for the food that they liked. As a result, they would receive meals that ordinary people ate, which often included meat. A rich layman and general named Siha was a great supporter of the Jain monks, and upon hearing the teaching of the Triple Gem, he became a Buddhist. On one occasion, he ordered his servant to buy some meat from the market for the feast. This food preparation was resented by the Jain monks and they referred their complaint to the Buddha, stating that animals had been killed for the purpose of offering a meal to the Buddha. General Siha made the ethical distinction between "buying meat already prepared for sale" and "ordering a certain animal to be killed." To clarify the position on meat-eating to his sangha, the Buddha said:

85 Ajahn Brahmavamso, "What the Buddha Said About Eating Meat," of Western Australia Newsletter (April-June 1990), retrieved April 11, 2009 from http://www.buddhanet.net/budsas/ebud/ebsut034.htm.

92 Monks, I allow you fish and meat that are quite pure in three aspects: If they are not seen, heard or suspected to have been killed on purpose for a monk. But, you should not knowingly make sure of meat killed on purpose 86 for you.

The Law of Dependent Origination fPaticcasamuppada)

Paticcasamuppada or "the Law of Dependent Origination" is another

piece of literature from the Pali texts. Regardless of one's birthplace, what

language one speaks, or what religion one practices, the search for an explanation

of life on the planet Earth goes on forever as long as the problems occurring in life baffle our . In Theravada Buddhist tradition, the doctrine of the Law of

Dependent Origination explains the relationship and the outcome of actions—as

Egerton C. Baptist described it, "a worthy contribution to the vast literature of

87 modern Psychology and Philosophy."

The Law of Dependent Origination is a fundamental concept of Theravada

Buddhism describing the causes of pain and suffering and the course of events that leads a being through rebirth, old age, and death. After his enlightenment, the

Buddha contemplated and meditated on the truth of the various aspects of the dhamma he had realized, and particularly on the most important and difficult doctrine of causal relations, which is also known as dependent origination or conditioned genesis. This doctrine views everything as relative and interdependent. It teaches that there is no eternal everlasting, unchanging and permanent, or absolute such as the 'soul' or 'self as there is in Hinduism.

Gombrich, Theravada Buddhism, 129-34. 87 Egerton C. Baptist, Pa ticca Samuppada, or the Buddhist Law of Dependent Origination (Colombo: Maha Bodhi Press, 1959), i.

93 Dependent Origination is a law of interdependence or reciprocal conditioning of phenomena within the totality of physical, psychic, and psychosomatic existence.

In the Samyutta Nikaya (12.2), Buddha described and analyzed the doctrine:

And what is dependent co-arising? From ignorance as a requisite condition come fabrications. From fabrications as a requisite condition comes consciousness. From consciousness as a requisite condition comes name and form. From name and form as a requisite condition comes contact. From contact as a requisite condition comes feeling. From feeling as a requisite condition comes craving. From craving as a requisite condition comes clinging/sustenance. From clinging sustenance as a requisite condition comes birth. From birth as a requisite condition, then aging and death, sorrow, lamentation, pain, distress, and despair come into play. Such is the origination of this entire mass of stress and suffering. Now what is aging and death? Whatever aging, decrepitude, brokenness graying, wrinkling, decline of life-force, weakening of the faculties of the various beings in this or that group of beings, that is called aging. Whatever deceasing, passing away, breaking up, disappearance, dying, death, completion of time, break-up of the aggregates, casting off of the body, interruption in the life faculty of the various beings in this or that group of beings, that is called death. And what is birth? Whatever birth, taking birth, descent, coming- to-be, coming-forth, appearance of aggregates, and acquisition of [sense] media of the various beings in this or that group of beings, that is called birth. And what is becoming? These three are becoming: sensual becoming, form becoming, and formless becoming. This is called becoming. And what is clinging/sustenance? These four are clinging: sensuality clinging, view clinging, precept and practice clinging, and doctrine of self clinging. This is called clinging. And what is craving? These six are classes of craving: craving for forms, craving for sounds, craving for smells, craving for tastes, craving for tactile sensations, craving for ideas. This is called craving. And what is feeling? These six are classes of feeling: feeling born from eye-contact, feeling born from ear-contact, feeling born from nose- contact, feeling born from tongue-contact, feeling born from body-contact, feeling born from intellect-contact. This is called feeling. And what is contact? These six are classes of contact: eye-contact, ear-contact, nose-contact, tongue-contact, body-contact, intellect contact. This is called contact. And what are the six sense media? These are six sense media: the eye-medium, the ear-medium, the nose-medium, the tongue-medium, the body-medium, the intellect-medium. These are called the six sense media.

94 And what is name and form? Feeling, perception, intention, contact and attention: This is called name. The four great elements, and the form dependent on the four great elements: This is called form. This name and form are called name and form. And what is consciousness? These six are classes of consciousness: eye-consciousness, ear-consciousness, tongue- consciousness, body consciousness, intellect-consciousness. This is called consciousness. And what me fabrication! These three are fabrication: bodily- fabrications, verbal fabrications, mental fabrications. These are called fabrications. And what is ignorance! Not knowing stress, not knowing the origins of stress, not knowing the cessation of stress, not knowing the way of practice leading to the cessation of stress. This is called ignorance. Now from the remainderless fading and cessation of that very ignorance comes the cessation of fabrications. From the cessationof fabrications comes the cessation of consciousness. From the cessation of consciousness comes the cessation of name and form. From the cessation of name and form comes the cessation of the six sense media. From the cessation of the six sense media comes the cessation of contact. From the cessation of contact comes the cessation of feeling. From the cessation of feeling comes the cessation of craving. From the cessation of craving comes the cessation of clinging/sustenance. From the cessation of clinging sustenance comes the cessation of becoming. From the cessation of becoming comes the cessation of birth. From the cessation of birth, then aging and death, sorrow, lamentation, pain, distress, and despair all cease. 88 Such is the cessation of this entire mass of stress and suffering.

So, the doctrine shows that ignorance is a barracade to the truth, to envisaging the reality of the phenomenal world. In other words, this ignorance refers to the lack of understanding of the Four Noble Truths, which explain that misery originates within us, from craving. In order to eliminate this craving one has to understand the mechanism by which human psychophysical being evolves, otherwise we would remain indefinitely in the continual flow of transitory existence {samsara). Existence is seen then as an interrelated flux of phenomenal

Bhikkhu Thanissaro, trans., "Paticca-samuppada-vibhanga Sutta Analysis of Dependent Co-arising (SN 12.2)," 1997, retrieved April 12, 2009 from http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/sn/snl2/snl 2.002.than.html.

95 events within the material and physical with no real independence of its own.

These events happen in series, one interrelating group of events producing

another.

In order to step out ofsamsara, a proper understanding of the Four Noble

Truths is needed. Thus, the Buddha said to Venerable Kaccanagotta at Savatthi:

This world, Kaccana, for the most part depends on duality—upon the notion of existence and the notion of nonexistence. But of one who sees the origin of the world as it really is with correct wisdom, there is no notion of nonexistence in regard to the world. And for one who sees the cessation of the world as it really is with correct wisdom, there is no notion of existence in regard to the world. This world, Kaccana, is for the most part shackled by engagement, clinging, and adherence. But this one [with right view] does not become engaged and cling through that engagement and clinging, mental standpoint, adherence, underlying tendency; he does not take a stand about 'my self.' He has no perplexity or doubt that what arises is only suffering arising, what ceases is only suffering ceasing. His knowledge about this is independent of others. It is in this way, Kaccana, that there is right view. 'All exist': Kaccana, this is one extreme. 'All does not exist': this is the second extreme. Without veering towards either of these extremes, the Tathagata teaches the Dhamma by the middle: With ignorance as condition, volitional formations [come to be]; with volitional formations as condition, consciousness. ..Such is the origin of this whole mass of suffering. But with the remainderless fading away and cessation of ignorance comes cessation of volitional formations; with the cessation of volitional formations, cessation of consciousness... Such is 89 the cessation of this whole mass of suffering.

Hence, by properly understanding this Law of Dependent Origination, one

is led to the knowledge of the universal law because this law explains how all

things in the world, physical and mental, are conditioned. And together with the

89 Bhikkhu Bodhi, trans., "Samyutta Nikaya. II. The Book of Causation (Nidanavagga) 15 (5) Kaccanagotta," 2000, retrieved April 11, 2009, from http://www.abhidhamma.org/ KaccanagottaSutta.htm.

96 doctrine of non-entity (Anatta), insubstantiality, the whole teaching of Buddha's

Dhamma, the Paticcasamuppada therefore, means "Cause and Effect":

For, if there is smoke, there must be fire too, somewhere. In other words, without fire, there can be no smoke, just as also a mango tree does spring 90 forth from the earth because there is a mango seed.

Another explanation on the Law of Dependent Origination is given by

Aggamahapandita Ashin Thittila of Myanmar, stating that it mainly answers three

great questions which had always puzzled the Bodhisatta (the Buddha to be,

before he became the Buddha). The Bodhisatta had countless lives practicing all kind of austerities, approaching many philosophers and meditation masters. But all answers did not satisfy him. The first question is, 'Where did we come from into this world, into this existence? Why are we here? Where are we going?'

There are no right answers to these questions if the Four Noble Truths are not properly understood. The Buddha expounds on Suffering, the Cause of Suffering, the Cessation of Suffering, and the Way Leading to the Cessation of Suffering.

The Law of Dependent Origination {Paticcasamuppada), too, has an explanation where it is shown that suffering is together with birth (jati) followed by old age

(jara), decay (byadhi), death, sorrow, lamentation, physical pain, grief, and despair. In addition, being separated from loved ones is suffering, or being associated with those one dislikes, or not getting what one wishes:

Unless one knows this Paticcasamuppada one cannot begin to understand the real nature and function of cause and effect, the cause of suffering, how suffering arises. And in meditation there is a stage where one

90 Baptist, Paticca Samuppaaa, 12.

97 becomes free from doubt about one's own existence; this again means a knowledge of Paticcasamuppada, a proper understanding of cause and effect, so that no doubts exist as to how one arises and passes away as a human being.

In all, Theravada Buddhism strongly stresses, primarily and essentially,

the teaching of Buddha in the Foundation of the Kingdom of Righteousness or

Setting in Motion the Wheel of Truth {Dhammacakkappavattana). Additionally, the doctrine on non-entity/insubstantiality {Anatta) ofthe Anattalakkhana sutta provides a better understanding of these interrelated facts to gain spiritual uniqueness from this branch of Buddhism. Actually, Buddha initiated a practical and easy instruction to comprehend his teaching so those of keen interest could put it into life practice. With a wise view and proper understanding of the above passages Buddha gave to Kaccana referring to the theories of eternalism and annihilatism, the basic misconceptions of actuality in various notions of existence and non-existence are closely connected with the main root of ego-belief and self, from which in turn one can become liberated. The one-sided view, whether eternalism or annihilatism, perhaps springs out of our emotional reasons, the expression of our natural attitude toward life. In other words, it reflects our moods, our tendencies to regard life as optimistic and pessimistic. There is nothing wrong with hoping, wishing, and seeking security through materialistic life in this world, because Theravada Buddhism teaches loving-kindness, compassion for others, sympathetic joy, and equinimity. Hence, what is deep- seated in the teaching of Buddha is a true understanding of the Four Noble Truths,

91 Ashin Thittila, Essential Themes of Buddhist Lectures (Rangoon, Burma: Department of Religious Affairs, 1987), 158.

98 the quintessence of Buddhism which can be treated as the outlining of

symptomatic and prescriptive forms to sustain the well being of iife.'

Discourse on the Characteristic q/Wo-&?//YAnattalakkhana Sutta)

Anattalakkhana Sittta is considered as one of the most important suttas, yet it is hard to grasp its essence of reality in the teaching of Buddha. The doctrine of No-Self (Anatta) is one of the three tenets (the three characteristics, ti- lakkhana) in Theravada Buddhism (Impermanence or Anicca, Suffering or

Dukkha, and No-Self or Anatta); this doctrine is an analysis that there is nothing of permanence in man, no underlying substance that can be called the 'soul.'

Instead, a person is compounded of five factors of aggregates that are constantly changing. The recognition and correct understanding of these three characteristics is the spiritual grounding leading to enlightenment known as

Nibbana. At the time of Buddha, Indian society was predominantly , for whom the notion of'self or 'soul' essentially claimed to exist. On the contrary,

Buddha explained, the mind is the mechanism responsible for kammic continuity within the rebirth of mind. The link is rather kammic and not essential; hence, this sutta reveals the Pali canon in which Buddha's disciple presents die master's idea:

Thus I have heard. On one occasion the Blessed One was living at Benares, in the Deer Park at IsTpatana (the Resort of Seers). There he addressed the Bhikkhus of the group of five: "Bhikkhus."—"Venerable sir," they replied, The Blessed One said this. "Bhikkhus, form is not self. Were form self, then this form would not lead to affliction, and one could have it of form, 'Let my form be thus, let my form be not thus.' And since form is not-self, so it leads to affliction, and none can have it of form: 'Let my form be thus, let my form be not thus.' "Bhikkhus, feeling is not-self...

99 "Bhikkhus, perception is not-self... "Bhikkhus, determinations are not self... "Bhikkhus, consciousness is not self. Were consciousness self, then this consciousness would not lead to affliction, and one could have it of consciousness: 'Let my consciousness be thus, let my consciousness not be thus.' And since consciousness is not self, so it leads to affliction, and none can have it of consciousness: 'Let my consciousness be thus, let my consciousness not be thus.' "Bhikkhus, how do you conceive it: is form permanent or impermanent?" "Impermanent, venerable Sir." "Now is what is impermanent, painful or pleasant?" "Painful, venerable Sir." "Now is what is impermanent, what is painful since subject to change, fit to be regarded thus: 'This is mine, this is I, This is my self?'" "No, venerable sir." "Is feeling permanent or impermanent?... "Is perception permanent or impermanent?... "Are determinations permanent or impermanent?... "Is consciousness permanent or impermanent?..." "Impermanent, Venerable, sir." "Now is what is impermanent, what is painful since subject to change, fit to be regarded thus: 'This is mine, this is I, this is my self?" "No, venerable sir." "So, bhikkhus, any kind of form whatever, whether past, future or presently arisen, whether gross or subtle, whether in oneself or external, whether inferior or superior, whether far or near, must with right understanding how it is, be regarded thus: 'This is not mine, this is not I, this is not myself.' "Any kind of feeling whatever... "Any kind of perception whatever... "Any kind of determination whatever... "Any kind of consciousness whatever, whether past, future or present arisen, whether gross or subtle, whether in oneself or external, whether inferior or superior, whether far or near must, with right understanding how it is, be regarded thus: "This is not mine, this is not I, this is not myself.' "Bhikkhus, when a noble follower who has heard (the truth) sees thus, he finds estrangement in form, he finds estrangement in feeling, he finds estrangement in perception, he finds estrangement in determinations, he finds estrangement in consciousness. "When he find estrangement, passion fades out. With the fading of passion, he is liberated. When liberated, there is knowledge that he is liberated. He understands: 'Birth is exhausted, the Holy life has been lived out, what can be done is done, of this there is no more beyond."'

100 This is what the Blessed One said. The bhikkhus were glad, and they approved his words. Now during this utterance, the hearts of the bhikkhus of the group 92 of five were liberated from taints through clinging no more.

These five bhikkhus are the five ascetics who later became the first five disciples of the Buddha, the Venerables , Bhaaddiya, and Kondanna, who were the first three Arahats of the Order, and Vappa and Mahanama. The Buddha had practiced austerity during his early quest on the truth of life with them. These five monks were knowledgeable within the Brahmanic system of spiritual thought, where the doctrine of'self is totally different from what is explained in the above passage. According to Buddha, reality or the truth of permanence, whether external things or the psychophysical totality of an individual, consists in the succession and the chain of action; therefore, the Buddha reflected on the

'self from the subject of action in a practical and moral sense. From this view, existence was neither accepted nor denied but only useful to stress that life is a stream of becoming, a series of manifestations and extinctions. The object we identify ourselves within social position, wealth, body, and so on is only a popular delusion in us all. There can be no individuality without a putting together of components that is itself a becoming different, and there can be no way of becoming different without a dissolution, a passing away.

I support the doctrine of conditionally as one of the central principles of the Buddha's teachings. By understanding this doctrine, development for

92 Nanamoli, Thera, trans., Anatta-Iakkhana Sutta, Samyutta Nikaya. Samyutta Nikaya 22.59: Five Brethren (Pancavaggi Sutta) a.k.a The Discourse on Not-Self Characteristic (Anatta-Lakkhana Sutta), trans. Bhikkhu Nanamoli (Kandy, Ceylon: Buddhist Publication Society, 1981), 22.59.

101 liberation and liberation itself can be accomplished. This universal law, with its specific applications, rectifies suffering in life, as stated by the Majjhima Nikaya:

This being, that exists (Imasmiii sati idaij hoti); through the arising of this that arises (Imassuppddd idam uppajjati); this not being, that does not exist {Imasmim asati idam na hoti); through the ceasine of this, that ceases 93 {Imassa nirodha idam nirvjjhati).

The Buddha expounded the universal law very succinctly: "He who sees dependent arising sees the Dhamma; He who sees the Dhamma sees depending

94 arising." The problem of suffering laid out by the Paticcasamuppada reveals the true nature of the workings of life itself in a compact format as the Samyutta

Nitakdya, No. XII, which states:

With ignorance as condition, the kamma formations; with kamma formations as condition, consciousness; with consciousness as condition, mentality-materiality; with mentality-materiality as condition, the sixfold sense base; with the sixfold sense base as condition, contact; with contact as condition, feeling; with feeling as condition, craving; with craving as condition, clinging; with clinging as condition, existence; with existence as condition, birth; with birth as condition, aging and death, sorrow, lamentation, pain, grief, and despair arise. Such is the origination of this 95 entire mass of suffering.

93 Brahmavamso, "What the Buddha Said About Meat.' 94 Ajahn Brahmavamso, trans., "Majjhima Nikaaya I, 1.3.8, Mahaahatthipadopamasutta. m (28): The Major Disourse on the Simile of the Elephant's Footprint," retrieved April 11, 2009, from http://www.buddhanet.net/budsas/ebud/majjhima/ 028-mahahatthipadopama-sutta-e 1 .htm. 95 Bhikkhu Bodhi, trans. "Transcendental Dependent Arising: A Translation and Exposition of the Upanisa Sutta," Wheels 277-78 (1980), retrieved April 11, 2009 from http://www.bps.lk/wheels_library/wheels_pdf/wh_277_278.pdf.

102 And the Paticca-samuppada or "Buddhist Law of Dependent Origination"

states:

A knowledge of this Law of Dependent Origination—in other words, the Law which explains how all things, physical and mental, are conditioned, together with the doctrine of Anatta, or Impersonality on which the whole Buddha Dhamma pivots, is essential for a proper understanding and 96 realization of the Buddha's teaching.

Baptist further states:

It is because they had not comprehended, perhaps never heard of the Law of Dependent Origination—the Paticca-samuppada. And, what fate awaits those who hold false view? When the shutters go down on this side, up go their new "Destination-boards" and as we read them, we find in bold lettering, the words, "To the torments of the Cattaro Apaya" For, says the Buddha, while speaking to Ananda: "Ananda, by their not being able to comprehend the Dependent Origination, these people are entangled like a ball of cotton, and not being able to see the truth, are always afflicted by sorrow, born often into conditions that are dismal and dreary, where confusion and prolonged suffering prevail—states that are veritable hells. And, they do not know, how to disentangle themselves—how to get

From the point of view of Theravada Buddhism, the Buddha is a human being, not a god or a superhuman, and his teaching aims at ethical conduct as the first stepping stone to spiritual progress. As a human being, he attained knowledge through study with various teachers and also from his own life experience, both in luxury and as a mendicant, both easy and difficult. His self- effort in the end was rewarded. Hence, from Theravada Buddhist tradition, he or

Baptist, Paticca-samuppada, 1.

Ibid., 8-9.

103 she who reaches such a liberated stage is called a saint or Worthy One

(arahant)—the one who is free from greed, hatred, and delusion—and represents spiritual perfection because the person reaches the stage of nibbana. The practitioner will not fall back from this spiritual stage because he or she continues to observe Buddhist precepts. This assurance is found in the Designation of

98 Human Types (Puggala-panfiatti), the fourth book of the Abhidhamma Pitaka, describing the attainment of reaching the stage of arhantship. In the Division of

Human Types by Eight of the Puggala-pannatii, it states the following:

Tatlha katame cattaro maggasamaigino cat taw -samangino puggala? Sotapanno satopattiphalasacchikiriyaya patipanno; Sakadagami, sakaddgamiphalasacchikiriyayapatipanno; Anagami anagamiphalasacchikiriyayapatipanno; Araha arahattaya pa tipanno. lme cattaro maggasamahgino, 99 lme cattaro phala-samangino puggala ti.

Who are the four persons identifiable with the path and who are the four identifiable with fruition? The stream-winner and one who proceeds to realize the fruition stage; The once-returner and one who proceeds to realize the fruition stage; The never-returner and one who proceeds to realize the fruition sgage; And the Arahant (elect or worthy) and one who proceeds to attain Arahatship—these are the four persons who are identifiable with the Path and these four identifiable with the fruition.

Venerable Ananda, the closest disciple of Buddha and also his cousin and half-brother, attained the stage of arahatship by overcoming the Ten Fetters. His

B. C. Law, Designation of Human Types (Puggala-panhatti). London: Luzac, 1969. 99 Dr. George Landsberg and Mrs. Rhys Davids, eds., Paggala-pannatti , Puggala-Panflatti ed. Richard Morris, (London: Luzac, 1972), 73. 100 Law, Designation of Human Types, 108.

104 practice was done by following the precepts of the Vinaya, the teachings of the

Sutta, and the Abhidhamma where Buddhist insights serve as the path to purify

the mind, to understand the Five Aggregates {Pancakhandas). Similarly, other

great disciples of the Buddha such as Maha Kassapa, Moggalina, Subhuti, Upali,

and others were strictly instructed by Buddha to discipline their minds, to

eliminate hindrances, taints, fetters, and other unwholesome characters,

perceptions, and feelings.

There are countless discourses in the Sutta Pitaka delivered by the

Buddha and by his primary disciples to individuals or assemblies of different

ranks at different places on different occasions. They were expounded according

to the temperaments of the people, and they were given as prescriptions that could

cure the ills of the mind and the society. That is to say, they set forth examples not

only for social reform, but also for liberation from all kinds of personal suffering,

and even liberation from the round of rebirths. Calm and virtues indeed replaced

ill will and harmful actions, and many individuals joined Buddha's order. Some of

these noble characters included King Asoka, Sakka, and King Ajatasattu, as well

as women whose names are cited in the Thertgatha of the Khuddhaka Nikaya.

One of the famous examples of personal transformation is found in the

Angxdimala Sutta, Majjhimas Nikaya 86. ArigulTmala was the misguided student of a corrupt teacher who gave him the task of killing anyone he would encounter in order to obtain their fingers. Collecting fingers, Angullmala was told, would make him the most powerful being. The Buddha deliberately sought him out, and

Angullmala—unable to 'catch' the Buddha though he was running as fast as he

105 could—finally had to surrender to his teachings and exchanged his sword for the monk's robe.

The following sulfas demonstrate how Buddha's teaching is a means or raft to transport mankind across the ocean of life. 1 find the Sigalavada Sutta very useful for mind cultivation, especially for the young generation. It describes discipline for householders, including relationships between parents and children, between spouses, teachers and pupils, employers and employees, among friends, and within the circle of spiritual mentors. Also found in the Angiittara Nikaya

IV.255 is the discourse referred to as a Kula Sutta, which talks about families:

In every case where a family cannot hold onto its great wealth for long, it is for one or another of four reasons. Now which four? (1) They don't look for things that are lost. (2) They don't repair things that have gotten old. (3) They are immoderate in consuming food and drink. (4) They place a woman or man of no virtue or principles in the position of authority.

In every case where a family can hold onto its great wealth for long, it is for one or another of these four reasons. Which four? (I) They look for things that are lost. (2) They repair things that have gotten old. (3) They are moderate in consuming food and drink. (4) They place a virtuous, principled woman or man in the position of authority. In every case where a family can hold onto its great wealth for long, it is for one or another of these four reasons.

The Discourse ofSakka 's Problems (Sakkapanha-sutta)

The Sakka-panha sutta ponders the question of Fetters through the story of

Sakka, the ' king, who asked Buddha for his insight, saying:

Fettered with what dear sir—though they think, "May we live free from hostility, free from violence, free from rivalry, free from ill will, free from

Bhikkhu Thanissaro, trans., "Kula Sutta: On Families (AN 4.255)," 1997, retrieved April 12, 2009 from http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/an/an04/an04.255.than.html.

106 those who are hostile," do devas, human beings, asuras, nagas, gandhabbas, and whatever other many kinds of beings there are, nevertheless live in hostility, violence, rivalry, ill will, with those who are 102 hostile?

The Blessed One answered Sakka's first question by stressing that they all are

fettered with envy and stinginess, even though they think they want to live free of

these fetters. Pleased with the answer, the -king continued with consecutive

questions referring to desire, thoughts, and perceptions, and whether they all can be ceased. Sakka further asked the Buddha how monks practiced the cessation of

Fetters. In response, Buddha explained the two sorts of joy, equanimity, and grief practiced by monks. Delighted with the answer, Sakka pondered more on the practice by monks established in the Patimokkha where the two sorts of bodily and verbal conducts and searching were all clearly explained by Buddha. As the questions continued, the answers covered much on the five khandas.

The deva-king also informed Buddha of the responses to these same questions he had been given by the other priests and contemplatives—they seemed to be lost in those questions, and in turn they asked Sakka what kamma he had done to attain this state? Sakka's answer made him the teacher of those priests and contemplatives; that is to say, Sakka taught them the Dhamma as far as he had heard and mastered it as king of the 'devas.' But his last confession to

Buddha was that although he had led the 'devas' to battles with the asuras and won the battles, the joy and happiness he received was not nearly as much as from

Bhikkhu Thanissaro, trans., "Sakka-panha Sutta (excerpt), 21," 1999, retrieved April 12, 2009 from http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/dn/ dn.21.2x.than.html.

107 hearing the answers from Buddha with strong emphasis on: "Whatever is subject to origination is all subject to cessation."

The Fruits of the Contemplative Life (Samannaphala-sutta)

The Samannaphala Sutta is also drawn from Digha Nikaya, and contains the discourse about Ajatasattu, the son of King of Magadha, who was one of Buddhsa's earliest followers. , Buddha's cousin, urged Ajatasattu to support his plan to take over Buddha's position as the head of the Sangha. In doing so, Ajatasattu plotted to kill his own father and took possession of the throne. He visited the Buddha with the hope of finding a way to put his mind at peace from the evil act against his father. Buddha patiently described to him the step-by-step stages of the training of his teaching, starting from a very basic level and moving up gradually. In turn, Ajatasattu reached his spiritual attainment and took refuge in Buddha, Dhamma, and Sangha. After Buddha's death, Ajatasattu sponsored the First Council. From his evil deeds, he was killed by his own son

(Udayibhadda) and was rebirthed in one of the lowest regions of hell.

The Path of Virtues (Dhammapada)

The Dhammapada is a part of the Khuddaka Nikaya, and it is considered to be the Buddhist.bible, one of the 31 books that comprised the Pi taka holding the quintessence of the teaching of Buddha. It has 423 verses grouped in 26 chapters, and is a book of virtues that embodies succinctly the spirit of the

Buddha's teaching. According to Radhakrishnan, Dhammapada is a compound of two words: Dhamma, meaning "discipline, law, and religion," and pada "path, means (), way (/wagga)"; Dhammapada is thus the "path of virtue." Pada

108 also means "the base"; the word then can also mean the base or the foundation of religion. Ifpada is taken to mean "a part of a verse," then Dhammapada means the utterances of religion. On the other hand, Narada Thera rendered Dhamma as in the sense of "saying" or "Teaching" of the Buddha, andpada as implying

"sections, portions, parts, or way"; thus, Dhammapada may be rendered as

104 Sections or Portions of the Dhamma, or The Way of the Dhamma. Whatever the meaning of the word, its essence provides to readers the clarity of a higher spiritual plane in Theravada Buddhism. For anyone with attentive interest and the desire to grasp insightful reflection from Buddhism to live a calm life, this book of wisdom is comfort and bliss.

The book does not contain the exact words of the Buddha; instead, three months after his passing away, his teaching was compiled by the Arahants into poetic utterances which truly expounded on different occasions and were arranged and classified to illustrate the moral and philosophical essence of his teachings.

According to Narada Thera, the first two verses briefly address the ethico- philosophical systems of the Buddha's idea of nonviolence. It is understood that the importance in Buddhist practice is to develop mind control in order to improve moral and ethical conduct. Buddhist law stresses moral causation or kamma, the main problem of happiness and sorrow, joy and sadness, and so on.

The twin verses illustrate the expression of relevant stories from both sides, where

103 , . Radhaknshnan, Dhammapada. 104 Narada Thera, trans., The Dhammapada (Taipei, : Corporate Body of the Buddha Educational Foundation, 1993), viii.

109 each story gives clarity to the matter in its points of view. The verses deal with hatred and its appeasement and provide a significant and special solution to our troubled world: "Hatreds never cease through hatred, but through love alone they

,,105 cease.

The Path of Purification (Visuddhi-magga)

Buddhism in Theravada tradition as presented above appears to be grounded on prudential scholarly considerations, and the authenciticy of the Pali

Canon entails some disadvantages such as spiritual credibility and social differences among Theravada Buddhist countries. Nonetheless, the monk and commentator Buddhaghosa contributed to Theravada Buddhist literature in his extended commentaries appropriate to what was most needed in his time. Among them, his Path of Purification {Visuddhi-magga ) is recognized as unique in the litereature of Theravada Buddhism with its systematic summary and interpretation of the Pali Tipitaka.

The Path of Purification {Visuddhi-magga) is a great contribution of commentary to Theravada Buddhist literature. Buddhaghosa's work on the three collections of the Pali Canon was the starting point for Buddhist scholars to ponder the essence of Buddhist values. The following passage analyzes the development of consciousness and the need to establish virtue, and is drawn from

105 Radhakrishnan, Dhammapada, 59. 106 Bhandamacariya Buddhaghosa, : The Path oj Purification, trans. Bhikkhu Nanamoli (Taiwan: Corporate Body of the Buddha Educational Foundation, 2006).

110 the Visuddhi-magga, translated from Pali by Bhikkhu Nanamoli. The passage stresses Virtue (Sila), and the description of virtue reads:

[1] "When a wise man, established well in Virtue, develops Consciousness and understanding, then as a bhikkhu ardent and sagacious, he succeeds in disentangling this tangle." (S.i,13)

This was said. But why was it said? While the Blessed One was living at Savatthi, it seems, a certain deity came to him in the night and in order to do away with his doubts he asked this question:

"The inner tangle and the outer tangle—this generation is entangled in a tangle. And I asked of Gotoama this question: Who succeeds in disentangling this tangle?"

The word tangle here refers to the cycle of the network of craving and clinging which arises from the contact of the five sense organs (eye, ear, nose, tongue, and skin) with their respective sense objects (visible forms, sounds, smells, taste, and touch). Whosoever is capable of eliminating the craving and clinging has disentangled the tangle. Regarding the status of an arahcmt, which is the goal of human perfection in Theravada Buddhism, Buddhaghosa explained that in order to purify the mind for virtue or for high states of consciousness, one must know what is 'virtue,' or what is 'consciousness,' and what are their characteristics and benefits, how many kinds are there, what is the defiling of them, and what is the cleansing of them. When the mind is presented as impure, it can also be cleansed by stepping on the path of purification.

107 Ibid., 1-2.

Ill The Elders Verses (TherTgatha)

The Elders Verses (TherTgatha) is another dedicated work on Buddhist literature by Dhammapala who also wrote commentaries on this book, the ninth book of the Khuddaka Nikaya. His work was organized into verses within which single verses are supposed to have been uttered by the Buddha to various nuns.

Other verses are grouped into three, four, nine, twelve, sixteen, twenty, or forty, and the last one is called the Great Groups. The following are selected from the group of single verses, said to be the words of Buddha to those nuns.

A certain unknown bhikkhunT: 1. "Sleep happily, little then, clad in the garment (which you) have made; for your desire is stilled, like dried-up vegetables in a pot"; Mutta: 2. "Mutta, be freed from ties, as the moon (is freed) from the grasp of Rahu; with mind completely freed, without debt, enjoy your alms-food"; Punna: 3. "Punna, be filled with things sublime, as the moon of the 15th day (is full); with fulfilled wisdom tear asunder the mass of darkness (of ignorance)"; Mitta: 4. "Mitta, having gone forth in faith, be one who delights in friends (mitta); develop good mental states for the attainment • ,,'08 of rest-from-exertion.

The Theragatha and TherTgatha have been translated by different authors such as Mrs. Rhys Davids, followed by Pischel. In the commentary on the verses in the TherTgatha, the prefixes of the narratives usually included the life of the

TherTs as well as the accounts of the circumstances in which the utterances were

K. R. Norman, The Elders' Verses II: TherTgatha (London: Luzac, 1971), 1-2.

112 made. K. R. Norman stated in his The Elders' Verses II: Therlgalha that

Dhammapala began his commentary on the Therlgalha by giving a brief account of the circumstances in which the first bhikkhums left the world and obtained ordination into the Order. The following two passages belong to the pairs of verses expressing the statement of a woman named Mitta who had joined the

Order:

31. The 14th, the 15th, and the 8th (day) of the fortnight, and a special day (of the fortnight), I kept as a fast-day, (which is) well-connected with the eight-fold (precepts), longing for (rebirth in) a deva-group. 32. (That same) I today with a single meal (each day), with shaven head, clad in the outer robe, do not wish for (rebirth in) a deva-group, having removed the fear in my heart. The whole book reflects stories of the bhikkhunls written in verses and then grouped according to how the stories were composed. In other words, the more verses, the higher numbered they become. For example, the story of in the Group of Six verses reads as follows:

139. "You are young and beautiful; I also am young and in my prime. Come, Khema let us delight ourselves with the 5-fold music." 140.1 am afflicted by and ashamed of this foul body, diseased, perishable. Craving for sensual has been rooted out. 141. Sensual pleasures are like swords and stakes; the elements of existence are a chopping block for them; what you call "delight in sensual pleasure" is now "non-delight" for me. 142. Everywhere love of pleasure is defeated; the mass of darkness (of ignorance) is torn asunder; thus know, evil one, you are defeated, death. 143. Revering the lunar mansion, tending the fire in the wood, not knowing it as it really is, fools, you thought it was purity. 144. But I indeed, revering the enlightened one, best of men, am completely released from all pains, doing the teacher's teaching.

109 Ibid., 5. 110, Ibid., 17.

113 In all the groups of verses in the TherTgatha, Dhammapala pointed out

how women of those days pledged their will and commitment to follow the

teaching of Buddha. In the group of four verses, a woman named Bhadda

KapilanI expressed that she, too, could become a disciple of the Enlightened One just as did the Brahman Kassapa, one among Buddha's great disciples. Ananda's

mother, MahapajatT GotamT's statement is included in this group of six verses

exclaiming her reverence to Buddha allowing her to join the Order. Other stories

such as Ambapali, Rohinl, Capa, Sundarf, and Subha (the smith's daughter) each

have 20 verses, whereas the story of Subha JIvakambavanika has 30 verses. The

group of 40 verses addresses IsidasT, and the last one which called the Great

Group of verses is the story of a woman named . Selected stories of

these women can be used for recommendation as examples for change in

Cambodia and the process to empower women's status.

The Questions of King Milinda (MilindapanhaV

An encounter called The Questions of King Milinda (Milindapanha) took place in northwest India during the time of Alexander the Great; it became an

issue and one of the most sublime works within Theravada Buddhist literature.

Preserved in the Pali language, this encounter is believed to have recorded a series of discussions between the Buddhist sage Bhande and the Bactrian

Greek King Milinda who reigned in the Punjab. Their dialogues were eloquent, greatly inspired, and explored diverse problems of thought within Buddhist practice discovered by King Milinda. The Milindapanha is one of the most

114 popular and authoritative works of Pali Buddhist literature. Although the authenticity of the original event is still debated among scholars, the dialogues between the two intellects nonetheless contain a vast range of doctrinal topics

highlighting noteworthy themes and passages on issues. The modern edition of the book was edited by N. K. G. Mendis with an introduction by Bhikkhu

Bodhi^ „ •. HI

The Milmdapanha is divided into six parts, of which one particular

112 dialogue "No Person is Found" analyzes the topic from the Abhidhamma point of view toward 'identity' or a 'person.' In his explanation to the Greek King,

Venerable Nagasena gave a metaphor comparing a 'chariot' to the 'body.' What makes up a chariot is the ensemble of the pole, axle, wheels, flag-staff, yoke, and so on. Similarly, the body of a person is the ensemble of the hairs of the head, the urine, material forms, consciousness—all are mere designation. In the ultimate sense, there is no person to be found. Venerable Nagasena thus referred to what had been spoken by the nun Vajira in the presence of the Buddha, "Just as when the parts are rightly set, the word 'chariot' is spoken, so when there are the

113 aggregates, it is the convention to say 'a being.'"

N. K. G. Mendis, ed., The Questions ofKingMilinda: An Abridgement of the Milmdapanha (Khandy, Sri Lanka: Buddhist Publication Society, 1993).

112 Ibid., 29-32. 113 Ibid., 31.

115 The Abhidhamma Pitaka

The third collection of the Tipitaka is the Abhidhamma Pitaka, and there are three noteworthy authors: Maha Thera Narada's A Manual of

\ 14 Abhidhamma, attributed to the Venerable Thera, an Indian monk of Kanjeevaram (Kancipura); Venerable Nyanatiloka Maha Thera's Guide

Through the Abhidhamma Pitaka ; and Venerable Nyanaponika Thera's

Abhidhamma Studies: Buddhist Explorations of Consciousness and Time.

These three books on the Abhidhamma give the best summaries and provide a guide to understanding Theravada Buddhist psychology.

Regardless of minor difference in interpretation, the Abhidhamma is commonly described by these authors as a theoretical framework explaining the causal underpinning of the profound teaching of the Buddha. Its philosophical essence demonstrates the psychophysical reality of our phenomenal world including ourselves, which can be distilled to its most intricate interlocking and intertwining of the impersonal phenomena and the processes unveiling and unfolding—so inconceivable and yet intractable from and within each moment coming and going and defined precisely according to natural laws. Studying the

Abhidhamma can contribute to one's spiritual uplift, although such scholastic

114 Maha Thera Narada, trans., A Manual of Abhidhamma: Abhidhammattha Sangaha of Bhadanta Anuruddhacariya (: Buddhist Missionary Society, 1979).

Nyanatiloka Maha Thera, Guide Through The Abhidhamma Pitaka (Khandy, Ceylon: Buddhist Publication Society, 1971).

Nyanapoinika Thera, Abhidhamma Studies: Buddhist Explanations of Consciousness and Time, ed. Bhikkhu Bodhi (Boston: Wisdom, 1998).

116 endeavor is not necessary in order to be liberated from all suffering. By gradually understanding the teaching of this third Pali Collection, one can enrich the mind on the path to Buddhist insights leading to achieving perfect mental and physical health.

Venerable Nyanaponika expounds on the Abhidhamma in terms of three interwoven strands of thought: the first is the underlying framed in terms of bare ontological factors called dhammas; the second an "attribute-war/A-a," a methodical list of contrasting qualities, can be used as a grid for classifying the factors resulting from ontological analysis; and the third is the elaboration of a detailed typology of consciousness a way of mapping the dhamma in relation to the ultimate goal of the Dhamma, the attainment of Nibbana. The first two strands are shared by Theravada and systems, and are known to have codified the Theravada canon especially on the sermonic and narrative Suttas during the first five hundred years after the death of Gotama Buddha. The third strand, on the other hand, detached itself from the Theravada school around the time of King Asoka (273-232 BC) and stressed the abstract nature of the

Abhidhamma, holding the doctrine that everything—past, present, and future— exists because the cognizing agent at the moment of thinking of them could not have contact with them if they did not exist. This is true in the view oikamma because things that bind and things that are capable of being bound exist together; however, the individual or person (puggala) does not exist, only mind and matter.

A school based on this third strand branched out as the Mula-Sarvastivada and

Ibid., xv.

117 spread widely in India, Central Asia, Myanmar (Burma), Thailand, Cambodia, and Indonesia.

Despite this relative interpretation and elaboration of the Abhidhamma, it still stands as an essential pillar of moral and ethical Buddhist thought in the classical Theravada Buddhist tradition. Further study inquiring into different aspects of the Abhidhamma as practiced in different Theravavada Buddhist countries may be needed—its significance indeed varies considerably across regional and cultural boundaries. It might be useful to closely examine how the

Abhidhamma and the commentaries played a minor role in Thailand where spiritual values declined during King Mongkut's reign, in Cambodia during the

Pol Pot regime, in Myanmar during "Junta" military control, and during the conflicts between Sinhalese monks and the Taliban in Sri Lanka.

The Psycho-Ethical Aspects of Abhidhamma by Dr. Rina Sircar, a

Theravada Buddhist nun from Myanmar who teaches Theravada Buddhism in the

West and follows the spiritual guidance of the most revered forest monk the

Venerable Taungpulu Sayadaw, details how Buddha succeeded and overcame the issue of 'identity' or 'self.' She demonstrated the persistence it took him to reach the ultimate goal, nibbana, through meditative practice:

"Though only my skin, sinews, and bones remain, and my blood and flesh dry up and wither away, yet I will never stir from this seat until I have attained full enlightenment." So indefatigable in effort, so unflagging in his devotion was he, and so resolute to realize Truth and attain full enlightenment. Applying himself to the "Mindfulness on in-and-out Breathing," the meditation he had developed in his childhood, the

118 Buddhisatta entered upon and dwelt in the first meditative absorption.. .rebirth.

In its indispensible value, Abhidhamma philosophy defines the individual

to be understood as mind and body (nama-riipa), or psychophysical phenomena.

Contact with and responses to sensory impressions must be guarded by

mindfulness practice if a person desires to practice Buddhism attentively. The

Discourse on the Establishment of Mindfulness (Satipa.tthana Sutta) provides explanations by the Buddha to his disciples in various areas.

Ekdyano ayam bhikkhave maggo sattanam visuddhiyd sokapariddavdnam samaiikkhamdya dukkha-domanassdnam atthagamdya ndyassa adhigamdya nibbdnassa succhikiriyaya ya didam cattaro satipatthdnd.

This is the only way, O bhikkhus, for the purification of beings, for the overcoming of sorrow and lamentation, for the destruction of suffering and grief, for reaching the right path, for the attainment of Nibbana, namely, the Four Arousing of Mindfulness.

Katame cattaro? Idha bhikkhave bhikkhukdya kdyd-mipassi viharati dtdpi sampajdno satima vineyya loke abhijjhd domanassam - vedandsu vedandnupassi viharati dtdpi sampajdno satima vineyya loke abhijjhihd domanassan cite cittdnupassi viharati dtdpi sampajdno satima vineyya loke abhijjhd- domanassam - dhammesu dhammdnupassi viharati dtdpi sampajano satima vineyye loke abhijjha-domanassam.

What are the four? Here, bhikkhus, a bhikkhu lives contemplating the body in the body, ardent, clearly comprehending (it) and mindful (of it), having overcome, in this world, covetousness and grief; he lives contemplating the feelings in the feelings, ardent, clearly comprehending (them) and mindful (of them), having overcome, in this world, covetousness and grief; he lives contemplating consciousness in consciousness, ardent, clearly comprehending (it) and mindful (of it), having overcome in the world covetousness and grief; he lives contemplating mental objects in mental

Sircar, Psycho-Ethical Aspects of Abhidhamma, 12.

119 objects, ardent, clearly comprehending (them) and mindful (of them), 119 having overcome, in this world, covetousness and grief.

I would like to share what I learned from Buddhism when 1 visited the

Venerable Mahaghosananda several times at Vat Sampao Meas (Cambodia) during my political campaign in 1998. His most memorable advice was to meditate on wisdom and compassion, explaining from the perspective of the

Abhidhamma in a letter he wrote and personally addressed to me:

I. Depending on the eyes and material shape, visual consciousness springs up. The meeting of these three things is called visual contact, and feeling is conditioned by this visual contact. II. Depending on the ears and the sound, auditive consciousness springs up. The meeting of these three things is called auditive contact, and feeling is conditioned by this auditive contact. III. Depending on the nose and the smell, nostril consciousness springs up. The meeting of these three things is called nostril contact, and feeling is conditioned by this nostril contact. IV. Depending on the tongue and the taste, gustative consciousness springs up. The meeting of these three things is called gustative contact, and feeling is conditioned by this gustative contact. V. Depending on the body and physical contact, physical consciousness springs up. The meeting of these three things is called physical contact, and feeling is conditioned by this physical contact. VI. Depending on the mind and ideas, mental consciousness springs up. The meeting of these three things is called mental contact, and feeling is conditioned by this mental contact. All the are gathering together in feeling: pleasing feeling, unpleasing feeling, neutral feeling. 120 "Feeling is the Eater, the other aggregates are the cooks."

K. Sri Dhammananda, Satipatthana: The Foundation of Mindfulness, series 14 (Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia: Buddhist Missionary Society, 1982), 1. 120 Keith Dan and Joanna Sokhoeun Duong, Cambodian Cookbook from the Kitchen of Angkor Wat Restaurant, San Francisco (San Francisco: Authors, 1999).

120 This discussion has presented the Abhidhamma from three versions and perspectives. The Venerable Nyanaponika affirms that what we are referring to as

a 'person' or a 'man' is the most profound and hard-headed false belief in humans. Dr. Rina Sircar affirms that [he Abhidhamma is primarily a psychology that goes beyond times, beyond the intellectual and emotional boundaries drawn by Western psychology, and demands validation of its claims through the direct experience of meditation. It is not just to be studied, but to be applied to our daily

121 lives. And the Venerable stated that this higher teaching of the Buddha is extremely helpful to fully comprehend the word of the Buddha and to realize liberation (nibbdna), as its essence is the key to open the door of the truth, the reality in life and in the world.

That is to say, the Abhidhamma deals with realities and provides a practical way to lead a noble living, though it all depends on the experiences of those who truly understand and realize, and thus surrender to and accept, the real significance of Buddha's profound and insightful teachings. Although the

Abhidhamma presents a wealth of details about the mind, a person is not necessarily required to become an expert to gain deliverance, because each individual holds a different ability to understand and realize—it is purely personal

(sanditthika). The Four Noble Truths are sufficient for a person who seeks to live a calm and prosperous life, because the Buddha's teaching depends on the very sum of the 'mind and body' and the Dhamma is not apart from this so-called

'person.'

121 Sircar, Psycho-Ethical Aspects of Abhidhamma.

121 My Understanding of Spiritual Development in the West: Buddhism in the United

States

It is also important to examine spiritual development in the West, where

Buddhism began to establish itself in the nineteenth century. For the purpose of

this study, and to show that indeed Buddhism is for everyone everywhere, I have

selected U.S. Buddhist literature written by Westerners: Rick Fields' How the

122 Swan Came to the Lake: A Narrative History- oj Buddhism in America, which

revealed how Buddhism took root in California; Charles S. Prebish and Kenneth

K. Tanaka who edited numerous essays in The Faces of Buddhism in America

(1998); Charles S. Prebish's Luminous Passage: The Practice and Study of

12^ Buddhism in America ; in Living Dharma (1996); Robert Kiely,

124 editor of The Good Heart: A Buddhist Perspective on the Teachings of Jesus ;

125 Lekshe Tsomo, who edited Sakyadhita: Daughters of the Buddha;

Venerable 's Mindfulness in Plain English; Richard

122 Rick Fields, How The Swans Came to the Lake: A Narrative History of Buddhism in America, 3rd ed. (Boston: Sambala, 1992). 121 Charles S. Prebish, Luminous Passage: The Practice and Study of Buddhism in America (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1999). 124 Tenzin Gyatso (His Holiness the ), The Good Heart: A Buddhist Perspective on the Teaching of.Jesus, ed. Robert Kiely, trans. (Boston: Wisdom Publications, 1996). 125 Karma Lekshe Tsomo, ed., Sakyadhita: Daughters of the Buddha (Ithaca, NY: Snow Lion, 1988). i sys Henepola Gunaratana, Mindfulness in Plain English (Boston: Wisdom, 1992).

122 Berstein's Ultimate Journey: Retracing the Path of an Ancient Buddhist Monk 127 Wlio Crossed Asia in Search of Enlightenment; Antony Molino who edited

essays in The Couch and the Tree: Dialogues in Psychoanalysis and

128 Buddhism; and Thich Nhat Hanh and Daniel Berrigan in The Raft Is Not the

129 Shore: Conversations toward A Buddhist-Christian Awareness. All these

sources hold the common goal of demonstrating that the human race holds great potential when the teaching of Buddha is truly understood.

It is encouraging to know that present-day U.S. Buddhism seems to have a

deeper understanding than in the previous century. According to Prebish and

Tanaka, by 1970 the full extent of Asian Buddhist had established

themselves in growing numbers in U.S. Buddhist centers, thus gradually

increasing the number of U.S. students of Buddhism. In 1988, nearly 350 pages listed groups in Buddhist America: Centers, Retreats, Practices. The Buddhist

Directory: The Total Buddhist Resource Guide in 1997 provided access to even more Buddhist centers in the United States. Additionally, there are a number of

Theravada Buddhist monasteries from various South Asian and Southeast Asian cultures, and they become ever more visible and active. It appears that Buddhism

127 Richard Berstein, Ultimate Journey: Retracing the Path of an Ancient Buddhist Monk Who Crossed Asia in Search of Enlightenment (New York: Vintage Departures/Random House, 2002). 128 Anthony Molino, ed.. The Couch and the Tree: Dialogues in Psychoanalysis and Buddhism (New York: North Point Press, 1998). 129 Thich Nhat Hanh and Daniel Berrigan, The Raft Is Not the Shore: Conversations toward a Buddhist-Christian Awareness (MaryKnoll, NY: Orbis Books, 2001).

123 in North America became more active through different visits by global Buddhist leaders like the Dalai Lama and Thich Nhat Hanh, who engaged in exchanges of dialogues and publications.

The U.S. Buddhist spiritual movement is quite grounded, as demonstrated by this breadth of writing on the topic. 1 present two issues relating to the topic of the dissertation from essays in The Faces of Buddhism in America, ' namely:

(1) U.S. Buddhist traditions in transition, covering Buddhism within Chinese,

Japanese, Tibetan, and Korean communities, from Vietnamese Buddhism and

Theravada Buddhism in the United States; and (2) issues in U.S. Buddhism or

White Buddhism such as Americanizing the Buddha, Western Buddhist women and issues of authority in the late 1990, and the queer community.

In the late twentieth century, U.S. Buddhism seems to be more established and more extensive in terms of geographically organized organizations such as the Sangha Council of Southern California. U.S. Buddhist students in such associations follow the teaching of famous Buddhist masters, and subsequently community gatherings, organizations, and associations have become more commonplace in the U.S. Buddhist movement. In addition, more Buddhist literature has become available in the form of accurate primary and secondary translations published by university presses such as the State University of New

York Press, University of Hawaii Press, University of California Press, and

Princeton University Press. Reliable translations of the entire Pali Canon are also available worldwide, and as well as the translation of the entire Chinese Buddhist

130 Charles S. Prebish and Kenneth K. Tanaka, eds., The Faces ofBuddism in America (Berkeley, CA: University of California, 1998).

124 canon. The translation of these ancient religious texts is a significant step in the

U.S. Buddhist movement requiring extensive language training through university programs in Sanskrit, Pali, Chinese, Japanese, and Tibetan that involved nearly

HI 150 academic scholars of Buddhism on the North American continent.

Moreover, there are individuals whose keen interest in Buddhism has contributed to their extensive training in and travels to Asia, which in turn has sparked the establishment of Buddhist centers. The most successful is the Insight Meditation

Society in Massachusettts, initially guided by Joseph Goldstein, Jack Kornfield,

Sharon Salzberg, and Christina Feldman, who all received extensive vipassana ..... 132 training in Asia.

While the U.S. Buddhist movement is in progess, the dynamics of the

Dhamma movements within ethnic communities in the United States should be observed as well. Stuart Chandler examines in the United

States from "Identity and Practice," describing the two possible ways people identify themselves as Chinese Buddhists. Certain individuals consider themselves U.S. citizens, though they never forget that their ancestors are of

Chinese heritage, and therefore they express their heritage and fullfil their spiritual needs through participating in various religious ceremonies at home and in the community. On the other hand, others think and experience the world as

131 Prebish and Tanaka, Faces of Buddhism.

132 r. • , Ibid. 133 Stuart Chandler, "Chinese Buddhism in America: Identity and Practice," in The Faces of Buddhism in America, ed. Charles S. Prebish and Kenneth K. Tanaka, 14-30 (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1998).

125 Buddhists. According to Stuart Chandler, although the U.S. Chinese Buddhist community has a long history of temple-building, the present Chinese Buddhist organizations are quite limited and have less non-Chinese participants or masters.

On the other hand, Shin Buddhism of the Japanese tradition, despite its prominence in Japan and its history in the United States, remains relatively unknown and misunderstood. The reason has to do with historical conditions that

Shin Buddhists have encountered, their reluctance to address the larger society, and perhaps from a biased presentation in popular texts on Buddhism. In spite of this setback, there is also hope that Shin Buddhism will be better understood through comparative studies demonstrating the similarities and differences between this religious sect and . The position of Shin Buddhism among other world religions must also be clarified, though Shin teachers have to seriously interact with Western culture and their efforts to demonstrate how Shin

Buddhism can contribute spiritual vision and practice within modern society in

Western culture.

Regarding Japanese in the United States, G. Victor Sogen Hori's

135 Americanizing the Face in the Mirror describes Zen as a transplantation of

Buddhism to the West that cannot be rightly understood by standard metaphors, such as "old wine in a new bottle," an image which presupposes that the wine

134 Alfred Bloom, "Shin Buddhism in America: A Social Perspective," in The Faces oj Buddhism in America, ed. Charles S. Prebish and Kenneth K. Tanaka, 32-47 (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1998). 135 G. Victor Sogen Hori, " in America: Americanizing the Face in the Mirror," in The Faces of Buddhism in America, ed. Charles S. Prebish and Kenneth K. Tanaka, 50-78 (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1998).

126 stays the same and is unaffected by the bottle. Actually,

is like Valentine's Day in Japan—it is significantly changed by its new

environment. Similarly, Zen in the United States cannot be discussed or viewed as

to its authenticity except through the lens of U.S. culture. Hori, however, shares

his own view that,

This image has the advantages of implying that viewing can be distortion, but it also seems to imply the possibility of undistorted viewing, that we could remove the lens and see Buddhism as it is in iself, free from any . • r • 136 cultural point ol view.

Another Japanese Buddhist movement in the United States is

137 Shoshu and , which has been closely studied by Jane Hurst.

Unfortunately, the priesthood-laity split in Japan has become entrenched in the

United States as well. It is not likely that efforts to reconcile these two religious organizations will succeed, since there have been too many angry words spoken on both sides. However, there is hope that some members will step up and get

involved so that the remarkable Buddhist teaching of a thirteenth-century

Japanese prophet who held such a relevant view toward life can be sustained.

Nichiren Daishonin teaches the one True Buddha that is essentially a democratic and nonhierarchical system. By chanting the Lotus and Nam-myohorenge- kyo to the , one can become one with the Universal Law of cause and effect and change his or her kamma. Through devotion and practice, the believer's

136 Ibid., 77. 137 Jane Hurst, "Nichiren Shoshu and Soka Gakkai in America: The Pioneer Spirit," in The Faces of Buddhism in America, ed. Charles S. Prebish and Kenneth K. Tanaka, 79-97 (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1998).

127 life is transformed, and this is the American Dream—a success in life through

individual effort—with the achieving of the dream through , a

testament to the endurance of Nichiran Daishonin's teachings.

Amy Lavine's essay " in America: The Development of

IIS American " " highlights how the transmission of Tibetan Buddhism in

the United States was indebted to Tibetan . One such lama, a student of the

Dalai Lama, is the Mongolian Geshe Wangyal who studied at Drepung

Monastery, one of the important monasteries in Lhasa, and settled in New Jersey

in 1955. With the blessing and charter from the Dalai Lama, Wangyal opened the

first Tibetan monastery in the United States, the Lamaist Buddhist Monastery of

America. As a Gelugpa, a member of the order headed by the Dalai Lama,

Wangyal taught courses at Columbia University which then became an academic

stronghold for the foundation of American Vajrayana, and well-known students

like and Jeffrey Hopkins have continued to reinforce this religious establishment. The first ordained Tibetan monk in America was Robert

Thurman, who currently holds the Jey Tsong Khapa Chair of Indo-Tibetan

Buddhist studies at Columbia University; Jeffrey Hopkins is a professor of Indo-

Tibetan at the University of Virginia, a primary academic center

for learning Tibetan language and Gelugpa-style scholastic debate. In traditional

Tibetan society, authority was held by the theocratic institution of the monastery

and by the centrally governing aristocracy in Lhasa; as the religion moved to the

138 Amy Levine, "Tibetan Buddhism in America: The Development of American Vajrayana," in The Faces of Buddhism in America, ed. Charles S. Prebish and Kenneth K. Tanaka, 100-15 (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1998).

128 West, it became clear that the basis for such authority would be challenged by

U.S. followers who value individuality, self-reliance, and free expression per their democratic traditions. The U.S. power base for American Vajrayana became more visible through movies depicting recognizable topics such as the biography of the

Dalai Lama, popular songs about Tibetan Buddhism, fashion designs for clothing and jewelry, and the electronic frontier. The movement has even attracted political groups for more than a decade, who seek to free Tibet from Chinese control. The question is: What do dhamma, morality, and ethics have to do with all these religious movements recorded in the history of mankind?

As for every substratum of Buddhism that has come to the West, Korean

Buddhism in the United States also has its Western and ethnic aspects, similar to

139 those of other Asian Buddhist movements. Mu Soeng, a Korean Zen student for fifteen years and a monk for eleven, presents as it has been taught to Americans, and it seems very much different from Buddhism as a cultural, social, and historical phenomemon encountered in Korea itself. The first

Korean , Seung Sahn, lives and teaches in the West; although he plays a role as a missionary, he has made little effort to articulate the Sung-S'on

Buddhist worldview and its doctrinal foundations to his U.S. students. Mu Soeng observes that Seung Sahn seems to be inspired by the Japanese models, as he lived in Japan from 1966 to 1972 and had embraced whole-heartedly the tone and approach of Japan's new spirit of Buddhism. This model is aggressive,

139 Mu Soeng, "Buddhism in America: A New Style of Zen," in The Faces oj Buddhism in America, ed. Charles S. Prebish and Kenneth K. Tanaka, 118-28 (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1998).

129 confrontational, and missionary, though the nonseparation of Confucian societal

140 moves from the striving for liberation is Seung Sahn's legacy in the United

States. Although a wise and charismatic leader, Seung Sahn was lacking as a meditation teacher; his efforts share a similarity with Asian Buddhist teachers in the United States, in all the subtraditions of Mahayana, Zen, Vajrayana,

Theravada, and vipassana. As a contemporary Buddhist scholar pointed out:

Rapid growth [in North American Buddhist culture] has led many Dharma centers on this continent to focus so much attention on establishing a physical presence in the form of monasteries, churches and schools, and on financing all this physical expansion, that very little time has been left over for people to sit down and study the history, literature and culture of the religious tradition that they have adopted. As a consequence, too many North American Buddhists, despite an abundance of energy and zeal and inspiration, have remained virtually un-schooled in Buddhist culture and, as is always the case when ignorance is widespread, there has been much room for myth and fallacy to take root in the place of the true Dharma. In some respects this situation is particularly acute among North American Zen circles, where there has too often been a disdain for bookish activity 141 or indeed any activity aside from manual labour and .

Mu Soeng continues his observation by pointing out that when Master

Seung Sahn's health became an issue, his U.S. students began to conduct their own experimentation using Seung Sahn's experimentation with Korean Buddhism in the United States, though with a minimal affiliation with the Korean Kwan Urn

Zen School. With their own financial resources, Seung Sahn's students established monasteries in Kentucky, San Bernardino in California, and other places. The ironic twist is that these new monasteries are changing the countours

Ibid., 123.

Ibid., 126.

130 of the Kwan Urn Zen School's legacy in the United States by incorporating the

T'ang China's "thousand experiments on a thousand peaks." As a result, the legacy of Seung Sarin's teaching is in question. Another prominent Korean monk,

Samu , was born in Korea in 1941, arrived in Montreal in 1968, and moved to Toronto in 1972. He teaches a form of Zen that is aesthetically more elegant than Seung Sahn's. Sunim is very much devoted to spreading Buddhism throughout North America through press releases, free talks, tours, classes,

'interreligious' conferences, and especially his willingness to engage in cross- cultural exchanges by sponsoring artistic events highlighting traditional Korean

Buddhist arts and their relevance to contemporary arts in the West. His extreme effort is well respected, but the proliferation of Korean Buddhism in the United

States through the work of Seung Sahn and Samu Sunim has faced the same demographic challenges and issues as other Buddhist groups in the country.

Political events in Southeast Asia and the flow of the refugees to the

United States in 1975 brought another Buddhist establishment to the West, as

Vietnamese communities seem to have become more established and organized than Cambodian and Laotian communities. Cuong Tu Nhuyen and A. W.

142 Barber observe that services at Vietnamese Buddhist temples in North

America, however, do not seem to have much participation by Westerners.

Perhaps the community as a whole lacks a rigorous intellectual tradition and a well-articulated philosophy. But most importantly, Vietnamese culture does not

142 Cuong Tuy Nguyen and A. W. Barber, "Vietnamese Buddhism in North America: Tradition and Acculturation," in The Faces of Buddhism in America, ed. Charles S. Prebish and Kenneth K. Tanaka, 130-46 (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1998).

131 particularly emphasize meditation, which is the main force attracting Westerners

to Buddhism. Moreover, Vietnamese monks tend to be more comfortable with

their own followers rather than making extra effort recruiting curious Westerners

to Buddhism. Venerable Thich Tri Tue, abbot of Van Hanh Temple in

Centreville, Virginia, is not concerned about this issue; his philosophy about

spreading the dhamma is mainly to focus on Buddha's mission, and he believes

that it does not create favorable conditions to impose on anybody, saying "to proselytize aggressively is to create affliction."

Theravada Buddhism in the United States

On the other hand, it is quite noticeable how Theravada Buddhism has

144 expended in the United States. According to Paul David Numrich, in 1974 when the Venereble Walpola Rahula gave a talk on Buddhism at the London

Buddhist Vihara, there were only two Theravada temples in the United States: the

Sinhalese temple in Washington, D.C., and the Wat Thai temple in Los Angeles.

Today, about two hundred such temples have been established—Sinhalese, Thai,

Cambodian, Burmese, and Laotian. Within the U.S. religious landscape and context, the Venerable included in his talk the establishment of a Buddhist sangha, and particularly of Theravada expression, which requires careful explication. The Theravada Buddhist sangha needs to pay special attention to the

Ibid., 141.

144 Paul David Numrich, "Theravada Buddhism in America, Prospects for the Sangha," in The Faces of Buddhism in America, ed. Charles S. Prebish and Kenneth K. Tanaka, 148-61 (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1998).

132 problem of the prospects of its Sahgha in the West. That is to say, prospects for

the Theravada Monastic Sahgha in the United States depend to a great extent on how ethnic Asian and non-Asian converts continue to steadily maintain the bhikkhu-sahgha, which is the core of traditional Theravada Buddhism. Further,

the question of importing monks from their home countries always relates back to immigration policies. However, unless these imported monks can successfully reach out to their Asian and non-Asian laypeople in culturally and spiritually meaningful ways, the rise and expansion of Theravada will be rather in doubt.

Numrich also describes how one group of U.S. Theravada Buddhists seriously tried to establish a spiritual community seeking to create, develop, maintain, and promote Buddhism in a contemporary U.S. context for laypeople based on Theravada Buddhist principles. Unfortunately, this not-for-profit organization called the New American Monastic Order, Theravada Association for Sahgha (NAMO TASSA) only survived for three years, but continued to publish its newsletter with the new name of The Newsletter of The Insight

Meditation Network and Special Projects ofNamo Tassa, Inc.

Another issue relating to the prospects of the Theravada monastic community in the United States is the re-establishment of the bhikkhunl-sahgha, or the order of nuns. This movement has not achieved much partly because the

Theravada bhikkhunl-sahgha continues as subordinate to the bhikkhu-sahgha, and

Rita Gross concludes that the "Eight Important Rules (atttha garudhammd)"

Buddha's stipulation for bhikkhunl-sahgha, "are not worth fostering any

133 145 more." Therefore, the reestablishment of Theravada bhikkhum-sahgha in the

United States eventually took a different form—ecclesiastical authorities for

ordination. For example, the Sri Lankan monks of the Dharma Vijiya Buddhist

Viha of Los Angeles and the Society of Highview in West Virginia have

ordained several women novices {samaperis) since 1987.

A Thai woman who was ordained and later became Reverend

Dhammamitta wrote a letter addressed to Venerable Kurunegoda Piyatissas, the president of the Sri Lanka Sarigha Council of North America, and the abbot of

Dharma Vijaya Venerable Walpola Piyananda. Walpola replied, stressing that

firstly, "not only is gender discrimination illegal in America" but the "attitudes

146 toward women in this country are not and need not be the same as in Asia."

Secondly, "strong criticism is being made against the Theravada form of

147 Buddhism because of the denial of womenf's] entry into the [monastic] order."

The abbot further stressed that the rise in the number of U.S. women joining

Mahayana schools is jeopardizing the Theravada mission. "If we are going to continue the spread of Theravada Buddhism in this country, we need to reexamine

148 our position on the ordination of women." He also futher argued that with the atmosphere of ecumenical Buddhism, friendship and cooperation in the United

145 Gross' Buddhism After Patriarchy, as quoted by Numrich, "Theravada Buddhism in America," 153.

146 nIbid -, .

147 Ibid^-, .

148 Ibid., 154.

134 States are needed. Additionally, the time is right for the ordination of women in

Theravada tradition. As the result of such effort, 25 bhikklms from Singhalese and

Thai traditions, and 8 bhikkhunis from the Chinese, Korean, and Vietnamese

Mahayana tradition participated in samanerT ordination.

In all, prospects for the Theravada Monastic Sarigha in the United States

are not as well established as those of Mahayana, since the former is more

conservative. The issue of the ordination of Theravada bhikkhum turned

emotional at the Conference on World Buddhism in North America in 1987 when

Elenor Rosch appealed:

Make Theravada monasticism workable in this country. Please. We need it for the purity of the teachings. If you don't, the teachings will turn into something else. They will turn into Ram Dass. They will turn into therapy. 149 I'm seeing it happen.

This reference to Ram Dass (formerly Richard Alperet) reflects chargrin at the eclectic popularizing of Eastern religious traditions.

The teachings of the Buddha stress right understanding toward all phenomenal things, and the acceptance of what life conditions upon one, by avoiding the two extremes of self-mortification and indulgence. Since the strictness of Theravada monasticism is the key for spiritual attainment, how can this conservative Buddhism influence U.S. society, where the country's culture is shaped by materiality? How can the insightful teachings of the Buddha in the seven books of the Theravada Abhidhamma benefit mankind?

Eleanor Rosch (1987), as quoted by Numrich, "Theravada Buddhism in America," 161.

135 U.S. Theravada Buddhism has progessed—the 25 years of the U.S. have made it quite significant as a form of Buddhism and as an introduction to influence U.S. culture. Such movement and practice is visible, and organizations like the Insight Meditation Society (IMS) in Massachusetts and

Spirit Rock Meditation Center in Marin County, California offer semiannual vipassana journals as well as offering retreats scheduled year-round. U.S. vipassana teachers like Joseph Goldstein, Jack Kornfield, , James

Baraz, Sylvia Boorstein, and Anna Douglas have been the primary propagators of vipassana practice through their books, audio recordings, and retreats across the

United States. They represent the mainstream of the U.S. vipassana movement.

I studied and practiced meditation from the Theravada Buddhist tradition through Dr. Rina Sircar, a Theravada Buddhist nun and academic teacher. In this dissertation, I would like to present the true spiritual context of Theravada

Buddhism beyond the different ways and struggles, for the sake of practicing

Buddha's teaching as well as understanding Theravada Buddhism from the

Abhidhamma perspective in a plain and simple view. Robert A. F. Thurman explained how Dr. Sircar opens up the most important elements of the fundamental structure of the Dhamma, which in turn help spiritual seekers of

Theravada Buddhism to understand dhamma and make it usable for critical . That is to say, the Abhidhamma presents the inner structure of the process of Theravada Buddhist teaching, and is learned in the form of schemas that are memorized by practitioners and then used as a framework for profound

150 Robert A. F. Thurman, "Foreword," in The Psycho-Ethical Aspects of Abhidhamma (New York: University Press of America, 1998), viii.

136 contemplative practices toward life in a broad picture and in daily life. Following

the teaching of her beloved teacher, Taungpulu Sayadaw, Dr. Sircar also was

blessed to take her students to meet the Aggamahapandita Venerable U Thittila, a

scholar well versed in the Tipitaka and Pali language and who taught in Oxford

University and translated the Book of Analysis (the Vibhanga) along with Mrs.

Rhys Davids and I. B. Horner of the London . From two other

prominents monks, Dr. Sircar also received guidance: the Venerable U Narada,

also known as Patthana Sayadaw; and Venerable Taungpulu Kaba-Aye

Sayadaw. These monks passed on their vast knowledge to countless students, the

product of a still living oral tradition.

Dr. Sircar has tried her best to clearly and simply explain the Abhidhamma

to her Western students. Her book, The Psycho-Ethical Aspects of Abhidhamma

(1999), is worth exploring and would be of great benefit because it teaches

Buddhism from a psychology point of view that goes beyond the intellectual and

emotional bounderies, a contrast to Western psychology. Being a teacher of the

Abhidhamma in the West for the past twenty-five years, Dr. Sircar continues to

teach mindfulness meditation techniques: , sitting meditation,

in-and-out breathing meditation, and my personal favorite, 'the meditation on the

thirty parts of the body.' I also scheduled retreats with Dr. Sircar at two locations:

The Taungpulu Kaba-Aye Dhamma Center in San Francisco and the monastery

( Pagoda) in Boulder Creek, California. My favorite address by Dr.

Sircar before class began, "I would like to see that all of you are capable of

137 establishing meditative practice and being mindful in daily life, rather than writing pages and pages about Buddhism."

The landscape of Buddhist America also has its historical resonance. Jane

Nattier discussed the question 'Who is a Buddhist?' in the community life of

Buddhism in North America, and revealed a core issue, namely delineating the data pertaining to who ought to be included within the categogy of 'Buddhists.'

By studying Buddhist groups in North America and their ways of transmitting the teaching of Buddha, patterns can be identified within various Buddhist establishments in the United States, but it is not possible that these patterns could be normatively initiated within Buddhist spiritual grounding. This is because the initial periods of transmission from different Buddhist disciplines require further research and the formulation of practical ways to present Buddhism in a plain approach for life practice within U.S. culture, and yet an approach grounded toward preserving good moral and ethical principles. Hence, the prospects for future study that rely on elite Buddhists in North America could be more fruitful if compared with other spiritual elite movements such as the Hindu-based practice or U.S. Sufi groups. According to Jane Nattier, the study of ethnic

Buddhism in the United States is perhaps possible if the focus is to examine the experiences of other ethnic religious communities such as Italian Catholics in

New York, Iranian in California, or Korean Methodists in Chicago. She further added that comparing a wide range of these groups would allow more

Jane Nattier, "Who Is a Buddhist? Charting the Landscape of Buddhist America," in The Faces of Buddhism in America, ed. Charles S. Prebish and Kenneth K. Tanaka, 184— 95 (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1998).

138 refinement in the understanding of all relative issues pertaining to race, ethnicity, and other factors. Such understanding would prevent the communities practicing

Buddhism from separation and at the same time could foster the spiritual integration of immigrants over time.

152 By contrast, Rick Fields stressed the issue of divided dhamma, covering white Buddhists, ethnic Buddhists, and racism. The author addressed two landmark events in the development of U.S. Buddhism: (1) the construction of the United States' first in San Francisco's Chinatown in 1853 by a Chinese company, Sze Yap; and (2) the taking of the Three Refuges Vow by

Charles Strauss, a businessman in New York, from the Sinhalese Anagarika

Dharmapala in the aftermath of the World's Parliament of Religions held in

Chicago in 1893. More than a hundred years later, Buddhism in the United States had become widespread, and more than a million Americans identified themselves as Buddhists. White Buddhism, according to Fields, was first used in connection with Colonel and Madame Blavatsky who were

"Esoteric Buddhists" and the founders of the . Both became lay Buddhists in 1880 in Ceylon by taking the vow to practice the , and recited their vows in Pali as well as the Triple Refuge in Buddha, Dhamma, and Sahgha.

Even though the white Buddhist movement has been quite established, ethnic Buddhist communities continue to suffer, as racism has impacted the heart

152 Rick Fields, "Divides Dharma: White Buddhists, Ethnic Buddhists, and Racism," in The Faces of Buddhism in America, edited by Charles S. Prebish and Kenneth K. Tanaka, 196-206 (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1998).

139 of North American Buddhism. For instance, in 1854, Judge Charles T. Murray of

the California Supreme Court did not allow a Chinese eyewitness to testify in a

murder case involving two white men, saying, "the American Indian and the

Mongolian or Asiatic were regarded as the same type of species," referring to

ethnic people as less human and without the same rights as white people. Similar

racist events have continued for decades in the Chinese and Japanese

communities.

Buddhism and Science

As far as prayers and other forms of devotion are concerned, Americans

are reluctant to engage in such practices since they perceive conflicts with their

Judeo-Christian past. However, at a certain point the multifaceted aspects of

ethnic Buddhism should be more creative, flexible, and more open to express

'liberation' in its truest sense, grounded in multiculturalism and the intention to

strive for spiritual awareness and cultivation, without Americanizing the Buddha.

In his essay, Martin J. Verhoeven " discussed the role played by Paul Cams

in pioneering the Buddhist movement in the United States and gearing it toward a

more active, socially engaged line, rather than the figure of Jesus. Cams had

observed that the Buddha has been represented too passively, and for a robust

America, Buddhism should have the lively, progressive, handsome Greco-Roman

Martin J. Verhoeven, "Americanizing the Buddha: Paul Cams and the Transformation of Asian Thought," in The Faces of Buddhism in America, ed. Charles S. Prebish and Kenneth K. Tanaka, 207-27 (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1998). 154 Paul Cams, ed., The Open Court and Monist. He is an ardent promoter of Buddhism in the United States.

140 Buddha ideal. In his spiritual exploration. Cams considered an alternative bridge for the deep and widening gap between , along with Asian collaborators like D. T. Suzuki, rooted since the World Parliament of Religions in

1X93. Caais even wrote a three-act play on the Buddha and composed a collection of Buddhist hymns set to modern Victorian music. His devotion to Asian spiritual ideas was well recognized, and it indeed proved instrumental in convincing many that the East might well have an answer to much of what ailed the West spiritually, philosophically, and psychologically. Verhoeven wrote,

Cams believed Asian religious thought, especially Buddhism, held vital antidotes for this troubling "sickness of soul" afflicting Western civilization in the modern era—the splintering of matter and spirit.. .Americans could and should learn from, not simply about, the 155 East.

The two lines of Kipling's off-quoted verse seemed to personally affirm Cams' most deep understanding of Buddhism and science:

Oh, East is East, and West is West, and never the twain shall meet, Till Earth and Sky stand presently at God's great Judgment Seat; But there is neither East nor West, Border, nor Breed, nor Birth, When two strong men stand face to face, though they come from the ends , .156 of the earth!

To Cams, the Buddha was, "the first positivist, the first humanitarian, the first radical freethinker, the first iconoclast, and the first prophet of the Religion

Verhoeven, "Americanizing the Buddha," 208.

Ibid., 215.

141 157 of Science." On the other hand, the Venerable Walpola Rahula pointed out in a

1989 address at the University of Kelaniya that,

our daily life is permeated by science and.. .we have almost become slaves of science and technology, soon we shall be worshipping it... The Theravadin monk found early symptoms of this malaise in the growing trend to "seek support from changing scientific concepts to prove the validity of our perennial religious truths, to justify them and to make them modern, up-to-date, respectable and acceptable...While he found some intellectually exciting parallels and interesting similarities between Buddhism and modern science, they were peripheral and do not touch the 158 essential part, the center, the core, the heart of Buddhism.

Verhoeven continued to explain what Dr. W. Rahula pointed out, that the element used in Buddhism to discover such parallel truths as the nature of the atom, the relativity of time and space, or the quantum view of interdependence and interrelation, for example, was solely the insight developed and purified by meditation {bhavana), discovered without the help of any external instruments.

Additionally, scientific quest for such precise analysis of the material world lacked heart, and indeed did not appreciate the inner world of humankind. That is to say, science lacked knowing about love, compassion, righteousness, or the purity of mind. On the contrary, Buddha's teaching aims at the discovery, the diagnosis, and the study of the inner world of man, which stresses ethics, spirituality, and the psychological and intellectual world. In other words,

Buddhism, contrary to science, deals with humanity in its very true way of life.

157 Ibld.

158,, . Ibid., 226.

142 As insisted by the Buddha, Buddhism is

a path to follow and practice. It teaches man how to develop his moral and ethical character (sfla), and cultivate his mind (samadhi), and how to realize the ultimate truth, nirvana.

Buddhism as a religious tradition strongly stresses aspects of moral, ethical, and mind cultivation. These interrelated three spiritual aspects (sfla, samadhi, nibbana) for daily practice are expounded in the Noble Eightfold Path of the Four Noble Truths, an indication "that fundamental and qualitatively different views of what constitute knowledge and the acquisition of knowledge separate Buddhism and Science," said Verhoeven. He added, "their aims and methods, though tantalizingly parallel, on closer analysis diverge. To gloss over them runs the risk of repeating 's error." Furthermore, as Verhoeven explained,

The science Carus relied on for interpreting Buddhism to an American audience turned out to be constitutive of his reality, not simply descriptive. His received beliefs provided a ready idiom through which he could construct an "Americanized" Buddhism which then confirmed those same beliefs, in this case Carus's own Religion of Science. This tendency, as one recent scholar has pointed out, represents arrogance or "imperialism of idea."160

The generations of the new millennium ought to properly understand Buddhism, as it clearly teaches from an analytical point of view and indeed is far from the modern scientific spirit. In other words, Buddhism is a prescription to cure the

Ibid. 160 Henry Clarke Warran (1896), as quoted by Verhoeven, "Americanizing the Buddha,' 227.

143 sickness of the mind. As P. Kirthisinghe explained in Buddhism and

Science:

There is, of course, an opinion in the West that it is through the terrible intellectual and emotional crises which the West has passed through in moulding its civilization, including the warfare between science and religion, that man has attained a greater stature, has matured more, has been cleansed by the agony of it all and has redeemed himself. But has he, indeed? Has he attained a greater spirituality? Many question it even in the West. But be this as it may, Buddhism has never contributed to agony in the world, but has always tried to alleviate it even without the sacrifice of spirituality. Religion in the West has always assumed an authoritarian, if not dictatorial, attitude, and so has Western science. It was natural, therefore that the two should clash. Buddhism has never assumed the airs of authoritarianism and has not gone out of its way to avoid clashes with science. Not only this, it has not even recognized that there is a difference between it and science, which in itself would make rivalry nugatory and nonsensical. There is no reason why in this modern world these qualities of Buddhism cannot be maintained. There is even the possibility that Buddhism can contribute to modern life and society significantly by providing the ethical basis for our industrial and technological age, something which the Western religion has not been able to do because it still harbours suspicions in regard to the so-called materialistic aims of 161 science.

The fundamental differences between the tenets and practices of

Buddhism and Western scientific ambition are still far-reaching; hence, re­ examination and re-evaluation may render what can be benefited from these two sources and yet be safe for humanity and the environment. This is because the

Buddha never claimed that his teaching held secrets to help a person obtain salvation and be liberated from the web of world suffering, but instead prescribed remedies for curing our mental diseases of hatred, greed, revenge, and so on.

Buddhadasa P. Kirthisinghe, ed., Buddhism and Science (Delhi: Motolal Banarsidass, 1984), 6-7.

144 Therefore, from a Theravada Buddhist perspective, the insightfulness that can be gained from the seven books of the Abhidhamma is well analyzed from various perspectives pertaining to mentality and materiality.

The Buddha taught us the truth of the world, which in his word is called

Dhamma, or what really is. The that exists in the heart of mankind and the mind is the principle of righteousness. Hence, the Buddha appeals to mankind to be noble and charitable. The goal is to be true to the highest of oneself and not to please any entity. According to Aggamahapandita Ashin Thittila, the law of righteousness {Dhamma) exists not only in man's heart and mind, but also in the . It is the embodiment or revelation of this law. The law of nature that modern science has discovered is a revelation of Dhamma or law. If the moon rises and sets, it is because of Dhamma, for: Dhamma is that law within the universe which makes matter act in the ways studied in physics, chemistry, zoology, geology, botany, , and so on—in other words, what the

Buddha himself searched and discovered with direct insight, namely the nature of the cosmos, the cause of its arising and its passing away, and the real cause of suffering together with the way to end it or at least to control it for the sake of all living beings. His search revealed to him that the life process of the universe is governed by the natural law of cause and effect. The cause ever becomes the effect or vice versa, and so birth is followed by death from which there is another birth. Birth and death are thus two phases of the same life process, the circle of cause and effect known in Buddhism as samara, and it is stated in Samyutta

Nikaya II, "The origin of phenomena is not discoverable, and the beginning of

145 beings obstructed by ignorance and ensnared by craving is not to be found."

Therefore, what Buddha learned was how the universe evolved, though it did not evolve out of nothingness but out of the dispersed matter of a previous universe, and when it is dissolved, its dispersed matter or residual energy which is continuously renewing itself, in time gives rise to another universe in the same way. It thus, cyclic and continuous, in itself is composed of millions of world systems like the solar system in its various planes of existence.

The Nature of Personhood

I find important insight in the fourth book of the Pali Abhidhamma, the

Designation of Human Types (Puggala-pannatti). The content (Matika) lists designations on Aggregates, on Bases, on Elements, on Truth or Law (which indeed is of the Four Noble Truths), on Faculties, and on types of individuals.

This book truly exhibits what we call 'person' or 'individual.' In Pali, patthucunna or "general person" is defined in general terms, but the book also exhibits individuals who have developed and cultivated the mind to the higher spiritual level of arahatship. But what is stated in the Indriya-paMatti is a detailed explanation of what designation means in relation to aggregates, bases, elements, life, gender, happiness, dissatisfaction, harmony, conflict or irritation, equanimity, rights, intelligence, nobility, meditation, laws or designations, and so on.

What a person (or soul, or man) is composed of from an Abhidhamma point of view is mind and matter. Matter (rupa) is the visible form of invisible

Samyutta Nikaya II: 139, as quoted by Insight Meditation Center, 'The Perfection of Virtue: Quotes from the Theravada Tradition," n.d., retrieved on April 11, 2009 from http://www.audiodharma.org/documents/paramis/VirtueQuotes.html.

146 qualities and forces, consisting of 28 types of materal qualities. On the other hand, mind (noma) is the most important part of what we so-call a 'being,' and consists of the four mental aggregates, namely: (1) feeling (Vedana); (2) sense objects or reactions to the senses {Sanfia)\ (3) mental properties (Sankhara) of 50 types of mental formations, which also include wholesome and unwholesome tendencies, and as well as their faculties; and (4) consciousness (Vifindpa), the fundamental factor of the preceding three aggregates. So, what is identified as a 'being' is the combination of the five aggregates which may then assume many names as to its types, shape, and so on. Furthermore, the Venerable Thittila stressed that these different ways of describing a 'being' relate to the mode of physical and mental changes. Therefore, a 'being' holds both good and evil tendencies, qualities, and forces with unlimited powers, physical, mental, and moral. But precisely in the heart of every human being there is a spark of wisdom. Unfortunately, this priceless quality in man is being ignored or crippled by the dark side, the unenlightened forces of selfishness, hatred, and ignorance. The goal of Buddhism is to wake up man's consciousness, to honor man's life by stepping out of this realm of darkness, from carelessness to mindfulness.

Men, Women, and Values

I was raised in a traditional Buddhist way where codes of conduct and discipline were always the ground rule in my family tradition. When escaping to live in the United States, the new land of opportunity, I also learned the greatness of this country, Western cultural values from various aspects in life, and at the

A. Thittila, Essential Themes of Buddhist Lectures.

147 same time I also witnessed the loss of human integrity and nobility from both cultures and traditions. That is to say, from the Western side, society is defrauding itself, whereas from my native side society is geared toward extreme

Westernization. At this point, 1 hold no judgement against any culture, but express my own overall viewpoint in general. In addition, I recognize what Rita M. Gross demonstrates, that Western society is divided in terms of genres, race, and the struggles of minority people. For example, Gross' essay "Helping the Iron Bird

164 Fly: Western Buddhist Women and Issues of Authority in the Late 1990s" covers topics such as "Sexual Behaviors of Male Buddhist Teachers and Sexual

Misconduct," "What a Isn't," "Sexual Partners as Moral Agents, Not

Victims," "Natural Hierarchy - Buddhism - and Feminism," "Natural Hierachy as the Middle Way," and "Women and Authority in Buddhism," all of which demonstrate the loss of man's dignity, nobility, and honor. The Kula Sutta clearly describes the loss of values in the human realm.

The Buddha honored women into his spiritual order; if the Buddha were still alive today, how would he treat and heal homosexuality and the queer

Rita M. Gross, "Helping the Iron Bird Fly: Western Buddhist Women and Issues of Authority in the Late 1990s," in The Faces of Buddhism in America, ed. Charles S. Prebish and Kenneth K. Tanaka, 238-52 (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1998). 165 Bhikkhu Thanissaro, trans., "Kula Sutta: Families, (Samyutta Nikaya 42.9)," 2004, retrieved April 12, 2009 from http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/sn/sn42/ sn42.009.than.html.

148 community in U.S. Buddhism? Roger Corless discusses the open and vocal

presence of people who identify themselves as 'queer,' a modern U.S. usage for

homosexuality. First Corless points to the Buddhist disciplines (Vinayd) and the

five precepts that instruct one to abstain from killing, stealing, adultery, lying, and

drinking intoxicating beverages. These precepts are noticeably couched in more

general terms, as to the meaning and application. Moreover, there is no worldwide

Buddhist legislative organization or universally recognized individual who speaks

for Buddhists to proclaim the vinaya, or mandated code of conduct. Therefore,

homosexuality is left 'open' for interpretation from the third precept 'false

conduct in regard to sensuality (kamesu micchachara).'' Corless quoted the full precept as well as a commentary on the third precept by , explaining

that homosexuality is on the list of prohibitions. However, on the issue of queer

community and Buddhism, Corless presents several keys discussions. Regarding

the availability of Zen practice for the gay community, Aitken Roshi has said, "If you are not in touch with your sexuality, you are not practicing Zen" and "You can't do zazen in the closet." These remarks lent encouragement to the 'Coming

Out' of the closet of gays and lesbians and the establishment of the Gay Buddhist

Club (now known as Hartford Street ) in the Castro district in San

Francisco.

Roger Corless, "Coming Out in the Sangha: Queer Community in American Buddhism," in The Faces of Buddhism in America, ed. Charles S. Prebish and Kenneth K. Tanaka, 253-65 (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1998). 167 Ibid., 254.

149 I can only share my wisdom by projecting the essence of Buddhist teaching that is grounded in love, understanding, and healing. Corless wrote,

In a similar vein, the Dalai Lama, speaking on his own authority, has stated that homosexual conduct is not a fault as long as both patners agree to it, neither is it under vows of celibacy, and the activity does not harm 168 others.

When many people came out and homosexual activities became more visible, there also appeared the health issues of AIDS/HIV and spirituality. The AIDS crisis was something that affected people in general, regardless of sexual orientation; AIDS is a sexually transmitted disease that is painful and can cause protracted death at some time in the uncertain future—a clear 'wake-up call.'

Facing this oppression and a new deadly disease, Corless wrote,

It is no wonder that Gay men are in touch with the spiritual in this world... I believe that if I had not been gay and had not had to face this epidemic [of AIDS] that I would not have heard the dharma. The contrast between the decay and fear caused by the illness on the one hand and the vitality of the response of gay people on the other proves a powerful illustration of the Buddha's teachings. The dharma has come to me through the medium of gay life and the AIDS epidemic... In both Theravada and Mahayana texts, the Buddhas and are compared to mothers. As a mother automatically thinks first of her only child rather than herself, so the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas spontaneously put the welfare of other beings first. HIV and AIDS calls r, JJ, 169 out to, and arouses, our Buddha-nature.

As discussed earlier, U.S. Buddhism has been developed and established by groups of different practitioners, both white Buddhists and ethnic Buddhists

168 Ibid., 256. 169 Ibid., 259.

150 alike, who mostly belong to different lineages and groups with recognized

monastic teachers. However, there are also groups of laypeople who gather to

practice Buddhism as self-identifying gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered

persons. As Corless states,

The queer community takes on the role traditionally filled by cultural bonding (for example, as Cambodian or Thai Buddhists), lineage bonding (for example, as Gelugpa or Shin), or common devotion to a specific Dharma teacher (for example, or Venerable Master ).17°

It seems very clear that the motivation is to 'heal' by understanding the issues

whether psychologically and medically, by a mutual support for spiritual

nurturing, and by developing wisdom and compassion for those who are wounded

internally and medically threatened by the AIDS pandemic. In such understanding

and in comfort with the healing process,

This is a Buddhism that meets us, as queer Americans, where we live, and where we die, and leads us to liberation. As such, it is an authentic expression of the Dharma.

The Buddhist Movement in the United States

The review of these essays shows that the Buddhist movement in the

United States, although there have been some setbacks with certain ethnic

communities, is well organized, welcomed, and continues to receive support from people in general. This is because Buddhism teaches the practicalities and

170 Ibid., 264. 171,,., Ibid.

151 common sense associated with daily living. The defensive attitude in general is developed from mindfulness, loving-kindness, tolerance, forgiveness, and inner peace.

One of the Essential Themes of Buddhist Lectures given by Ashin Thittila

Aggamahapandita on the nature of man and his destiny describes how a being, he or she, seems to react according to his or her own particular nature, cultural background, and environmental setting. Therefore, by knowing and understanding how and why we all differ in thoughts and outlooks in life, and by having compassion, we are able to allow ourselves to live in harmony in family and with others. Throughout life, from youth to adulthood and toward old age, we all enjoy most the physical and emotional pleasure that appeals to us. That is to say, we are so spiritually young, and while we remain young in evolution we shall not grow out of this stage. But as we grow older, more mature in spirit, the grasping of literature and study for deeper knowledge appeal to us, and in return, we gain happiness through our intellectual pursuits and competence. At one point, when we grow older still, we suddenly realize that spiritual happiness is the highest kind of happiness, because it is "real and long lasting." So, what the Venerable points out is that by practicing what the Buddha taught, we can grow towards perfection,

intellectually through the attainment of perfect knowledge, emotionally through the control and use of the emotions, spiritually through the attainment of perfect realization, physically through the attainment of perfect health and control of the body. The lower our nature is, to the greater extent our pleasure is dependent upon outside sources; the higher 172 our nature is, the more influence we have over our happiness.

172 A. Thittila, Essential Themes of Buddhist Lectures, 175.

152 He further stated that one way or the other, we all end up in school, an independent school established by each individual, to aim for spiritual achievement. Some succeed and some fail, and those who fail must try the school again. But one thing must be kept in mind—each one of us is always busy, and it is with two kinds of work, reaping and sowing:

reaping the result of what we have sown in our past lives, and sowing seeds of joy and sorrow, pain and pleasure, for reaping in our lives to come. According to the Buddhist Teaching the main purpose of life should be to learn how to pass the final examination in spiritual , and thereby succeed in changing all that is base, common and bad in our nature into purity, goodness and love, and thus to reach our goal, the goal 17"? of perfect peace, happiness and enlightenment.

It is thus essential that any individual can pass this spiritual examination if he or she holds a good will and intention to do so. Being a Buddhist, according to the Venerable Ashin Thittila, the practitioner takes Buddhism as a practical method of life—how to live rightly thereby, happily and peacefully in spite of the unrest that is prevailing in the world. Furthermore, Buddhism is founded on reasons where the natural law of life can be explained from a scientific viewpoint.

The life of humanity and the whole universe of living beings are indeed governed by eternal laws, the unchanging designation as explained in the Abhidhamma

Pitaka, the law of cause and affect (Paticcasamuppada), and the law of psychology (Citta-), for example. To a Buddhist, the laws of nature, or the laws of righteousness governing the universe, are unchanging. Hence, our duty is not to destroy, break, or alter these rules of nature, but to make an effort to

173 Ibid., 176.

153 understand them, the unchanging natural laws or designations (Pafifiatti), and live with harmony with these laws. The Buddha taught men to rely upon themselves in order to achieve their own deliverance, and not to look for an outside savior. That

is to say, he only can show us the way, the difficulties and beauties of 'life,' which we all pursue as we tread the way—he only gives us direction.

The Future of Theravada and Cambodia

When Buddhism is examined throughout history in terms of royal patronage, it stands as one among the world's religions that to this day are indebted to the work of King Asoka. Up to this present day Thailand is known as one of the Theravada Buddhist study centers. But what is the future of Theravada

Buddhism in two countries, Thailand and Cambodia? Roger Kershaw's Monarchy 174 in South-East Asia: The Faces of Tradition in Transition addresses this topic;

Michael Leifer of the Lodon School of Economics and Political Science wrote in the "editor's preface":

It is a conventional wisdom that monarchy has become a political anomaly. In the case of South-East Asia, this axiom is valid only up to a point. Despite the institutional upheavals caused by colonialism and its dismantling, the region contains one ruling monarchy (in ), and three varieties of constitutional monarchy (in Cambodia, Malaysia and 175 Thailand) of some political import.

Roger Kershaw, Monarchy in South-East Asia: The Faces of Tradition in Transition (London: Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group, 2001). 175 Michael Leifer, series ed., "Preface," in Monarchy in South-East Asia: The Faces of Tradition in Transition (London: Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group, 2001), xi.

154 Even though Dr. Kershaw's work covers six countries in all, he emphasizes Brunei, Cambodia, Malaysia, and Thailand (which is rather unique), adding to the literature on the history and contemporary experience of those countries from the political and religious perspectives of Southeast Asian monarchy. His rich work gives relevance to ancient ideas about power as well as the utility of invented pasts for the legitimacy of modern government. The legacy of the past has served as 'manipulation,' modern versions and models of indirect rule which were indeed in the colonial interest.

I find Roger Kershaw's work quite significant in terms of highlighting the study of comparative politics from two surviving exceptional monarchic institutions, Cambodia and Thailand. He refers to the monarch of Cambodia as

'The King with nine lives' and of Thailand as 'A King for all seasons.' He also projects into the future by saying, "The Cambodian throne is 'a space to watch'— with the brooding expectation of a permanent vacancy before very long." As for

Thailand, he presents essays written by two Premiers-to-be who emphasize the

King's quality. Kershaw's own words describe this quality as a

vision of a 'self-reliant Buddhist republic,' meaning a self-reliant society dominated neither by military violence nor royal charisma but by law— even though the latent, personal transcendence derived from Buddhist disciplines is also described...

The world continues to observe how the Cambodian and Thai monarchies will survive the political, economic, and religious struggles.

Kershaw, Monarchy in South-East Asia, 153.

155 Richard H. Solomon discusses the world's engagement in resolving violent global conflicts and peace negotiations. The United States was drawn into two conflicts in the Cold War era: the Korean War (1950-1953) and the hot war of the Cold War years in Asia involving the conflict in Indochina (Vietnam,

Cambodia, and Laos), and the U.S. Vietnam War. Solomon is an expert with extensive experience negotiating with East Asian leaders and was an Assistant

Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs who negotiated the first UN

"Permanent Five" peacemaking agreement for Cambodia and led U.S. bilateral negotiations with Vietnam. Being an official of the U.S. government, his study on diplomacy brought an end to the great powers' involvement in Indochina as an outlet of the Cold War struggle among the United States and its allies, the Soviet

Union, and China. In his effort, Sololmon first participated with France and

Indonesia to develop a negotiated settlement of the hardheaded conflict in

Cambodia and the U.S.-catalysed effort (through the policies of the UN Security

Council and of several regional states like Indonesia, Thailand, Australia, and

Japan) to negotiate a peace process for Cambodian and a "road map" to normalizing United States-Vietnam relations.

In a series of secret bilateral meeting between senior leaders in Hanoi and Beijing that began in the fall of 1990 and ran through the summer 1991, the Chinese induced the Vietnamese to accept the UN peace plan for Cambodia.. .was now on its own to run its affairs largely independent of

Richard H. Solomon, Exiting Indochina: U S. Leadership of the Cambodia Settlement and Normalization with Vietnam (Washington, DC: United States Institute of Peace Press, 2000).

156 outside interference. ..for the first time in over a century, Indochina was unburdened of the interventions of the major world powers.

Realistically, the availability of Internet access reveals to the people of the

globe open sources of information from media and military intelligence, as well

as from the marketplace. The question is: How do people weigh the whole

situation between peace, world order and security, and their assets and bankbooks? As for Cambodia, which just recovered from civil war and is geared

toward extreme Westernization, what are the means to control this powerful drive? What should the young Cambodian generation know about their own country's history and the legacy of Angkor they claim and honor? How will they respond to Kershaw's words, "an invented past for the legitimacy of modern government"? How will Theravada Buddhism stand?

Gotama Buddha also encountered numerous conflicts and the effects caused by the wars of his time, as recorded in countless stories in the Sutta

Pitaka. That is to say, he had learned how mankind was drawn into countless conflicts because of great ambitions to control and to rule. It is from his life experiences that he preached a spiritual mission to extinguish all fires and encouraged people to establish spiritual cultivation grounded in moral and ethical values. His doctrine of truth is not a secret at all, and much of his teaching relates to that of the universal law, the laws of nature, as explained by the Venerable

157 Ashin Thittila. In the words of Charles Francois Dupuis in his Origine de tous

les cubes on Religion universale.

Tout home a, comme moi, le droit de ne voir que lui et la Nature, et de fixer les rapports, dans lesquels il croit devoir etre avec elle, sans opinion intermediate.. .la premiere Religion et la plus universelle se trouve etre celle, qui est la premiere dans 1'ordre de nos idees, et la plus naturelle a rhomme...nous sommes tous nes pour sentir l'impression de la verite; et l'education, qui nous degrade, nous livre tous a rimposture. Osons penser par nous-memes, et nous serons les vrais enfans de la Nature.

The French had invested much in the study of the origin of all the cults, or

the Universal Religion, as Dupuis's work reflects. He further wrote that through

historical witnessing by the people of the world, through the inscriptions of their

religious monuments and politics, through the divisions and distributions of

sacred orders and social orders, and finally through the authority of philosophers,

it is the Universe and its parts which are primitive and the most generalized, to

which mankind has attributed ideas of 'Divinity.' Additionally, he stressed that

gods are of nature themselves; thus, the history of gods is then of nature, and the

phenomenal adventures of what we call gods are thus of universal phenomena

where mother-nature herself put such allegories. Dupuis was well versed in the

ancient teachings of Egyptian, Hindu, and Buddhist knowledge. For example,

from a Buddhist source, the Buddha became enlightened while meditating under

the . He was then connected with the reality where nature reveals her

179 A. Thittila, Essential Themes of Buddhist Lectures. 180 Charles Francois Dupuis, Origine de tous les cultes ou Religion universelle, tome 1, partie 1, 1795, an unabridged facsimile of the edition published in 1795 by H. Agasse, Paris, Elibron Classics series (Adamant Media Corporation, 2005).

158 true work, from which the Buddha grasped this knowledge during the 'watches' through his meditative skills.

French scholars of religious monuments in Cambodia as presented earlier, such as Coedes, Aymonier, and Leclere, all performed their scholarly research in various fields of the country during the colonial period. This is because such understanding about nature or gods, about the teaching of all philosophers including the Buddha, is well perceived by those whose interest is to remind mankind to be vigilant, including Dupuis. For such commitment and interest,

Leclere wrote:

J'ai vecu vingt-cinq ans au Cambodge ; J'en ai successivement etudie les lois, et cette etude qui m'a demande quinze annees de travail a exige cinq volumes, done deux de texts legislatifs traduits sur les originaux et trois volumes de commentaires. Apres les lois, j'ai etudie les mceurs et coutumes du pays, celles que j'avais sous les yeax et celles des petits traits de morale courange qui ont ete ecrits pour le peuple, puis, en divers articles publies dans la Revue scienti/ique, dans le Bulletin de la Societe d 'Ethnographie de Para, dans la Revue de L 'histoire du droit francais et etranger, l'Anatomie, la medecine, la Sorcellerie, l'Education, 1'Astronomie, la Morale, l'Arithmetique et la Culture du riz, chez, les „ , , 181 Cambodgiens.

Modern Cambodian Writing on Buddhism

Lastly, I would like to present Buddhist writing by different Cambodian writers, monks and laity, some essays from Cambodian sources (which in most, cases are from monks who graduated from Pheah Sihanoukreach Buddhist

University in Phnom Penh) and Thyda Khlot's doctoral thesis on Buddhism. It is encouraging to see the various writings discussing what is needed for social and

Leclere, Histoire du Cambodge, iv.

159 religious development in Cambodia. Khlot's dissertation is titled Buddhism in

182 Khmer Life, and the other sources are mostly joint research by monks and laity students from Preah Sihanouk Raja Buddhist University. In 2005 there were five

183 topics: (1) The Significance of Buddhism in Khmer Society, ' (2) Khmer

184 Architecture in Brahmanist and Buddhist Belief, (3) The Re-Establishment of

185 Buddhist Sangha in Cambodia from 1992-2004, (4) The Potential of

186 187 Buddhism in Khmer Society, and (5) Buddhism and Social Morality. There were three topics in 2006, namely, (1) The Origin ofNaga and Khmer

182 Thyda Khlot, Buddhism in Khmer Life: Part One, Graduate thesis, University Phoumin Phnom-Penh, Cambodia, 1997. 183 Sukha Cheng, Chheung Bunna, and Laity Hem Badh, "The Significance of Buddhisn in Khmer Society," Undergraduate thesis, Preah Sihanouk Raja Buddhist University, Cambodia, 2005. 184 Pher Savorn, Prom Khet, and Phan Noeun, "Khmer Arthitecture in Brahmanist and Buddhist Belief," Undergraduate thesis, Preah Sihanouk Raja Buddhist University, Cambodia, 2005. 185 Soa Chant Phal, Long Kim Leang, Chhuon Chor, and San Saing, "The Re- Establishment of Buddhist Sangha in Cambodia from 1992-2004," Undergraduate thesis, Buddhist University Preah Sihanouk Raja, Cambodia, 2005. 18fi Tinn RiUiy, Chuon Savoeun, Chea Phon, and Laity Som Sarun, "The Potential of Buddhism in Khmer Society," Undergraduate thesis, Preah Sihanouk Raja Buddhist University, Cambodia, 2005. 187 Sok Soeun, Prom Sokheun, Pao Say, and Sun Kim Soeun, "The Buddhism and Social Morality," Undergraduate thesis, Preah Sihanouk Raja Buddhist University, Cambodia, 2005.

160 Ordination, (2) The Rebirth of Buddhism after January 7, 1979 to 2005,

190 and (3) Buddhism and Health. The topics of these writings show the effort

made by Cambodian Buddhist University to introduce Buddhism anew to society

at large. However, the question is, are they useful and effective in educating

Cambodians to refrain from an extreme shifting toward ?

Conclusion

This literature review chapter illuminates what Theravada Buddhism is all about, the difficulties and beauties in life, and the facts that happiness and

suffering are not far separated, that both are coming and going and not long- lasting, that one should not be drowned in happiness or suffering, that one should always be mindful and self-controlled. That is to say, life evidently goes through endless moment-to-moment changes with pleasant and unpleasant events mixed together, which are hardly long-lasting and do not hold back for long either; thus, one must be vigilant and mindful, and remain self-controlled.

Discourses in the Sutta Pitaka reflect how Buddha engaged his teaching with audiences of different social status; through the discourse on Atanatiya Sutta

188 Sim Sovanny, Phen Phirom, Chib Mony, Kong Ngeth, and Kann Si Chanto, "The Origin of Naga and Khmer Ordination," Undergraduate thesis, Buddhist University Preah Sihanouk Raja, 2006. 189 Khieuv Phen Suthearidh, Chem Thirak, Tes Sambor, and Laity Srey Chan Sothy, "The Rebirth of Buddhism after January 7, 1979-2005," Undergraduate thesis, Preah Sihanouk Raja Buddhist University, Cambodia, 2006. 190 Kao Buddhea, Hour Sarithy, Sim Sudhith, Kim Ny, and Laity Nop Sam Oeun "Buddhism and Health," Undergraduate thesis, Preah Sihanouk Raja Buddhist University, Cambodia, 2006.

161 of the DJgha Nikaya 32, the essence of Theravada Buddhism reveals a very realistic view of the world. The sutta is about one occasion at Vulture's Peak near

Rajagaha where the Buddha received greetings from the four great kings

(Dhatarattha, Virulha, Virupakkha, and Vessavana) who had placed a guard over the celestial regions with a large army of Yakkhas, Gandhabbas, , and

Nagas. Among the Yakkhas, whether of middle ranks or lower ranks, there were some who were pleased with the teaching of the Buddha and some who were not.

King Vassavana acknowledged the Buddha as the Blessed One who teaches the

Dhamma and establishes merits: abstention from killing, stealing, sexual misconduct, false speech, and intoxicating beverages. But to some prominent

Yakkhas, such teaching was unpleasant and unpalatable. The king further stated that disciples of the Blessed One frequent the remote recesses of forest and woodland wilderness where there is no sound, no tumult, and a void of human contact, which is the suitable place for man's seclusion for meditation, but there also were Yakkhas who haunted these forests and who had no faith in the word of the Blessed One. So this king acknowledged the Buddha of the Atanatiya Sutta's protection so that the displeased Yakkhas may be pleased, so that the monks and nuns, laymen and laywomen, may be at ease, guarded, protected and unharmed.

The Buddha consented and the Atanata protection was recited.

After the recitation, the four great kings asked permission from the

Buddha to leave, because they had many duties to attend to so that monks and nuns, laymen and laywomen might live at ease, guarded, protected, and

162 unharmed. Afterward, the Buddha related to his disciples what had been said by

the great king Vessavana. He thus said.

Learn by heart, monks, the Atanata protection, constantly make use of it, bear it in mind this Atanata protection, monks, pertains to your welfare, and by virtue of it, monks and nuns, laymen and laywomen may live at 191 ease, guaded, protected and unharmed.

There was nothing for the Buddha to learn afresh, but the four kings were seeking the Buddha's approval so they could recite the protection, which speaks of the

virtues of the seven Buddhas, namely: Vipassi, Sikhi, Vessabhu, Kakusanda,

Konagama, Kassapa, and Gotama (the Enlightened One himself)- The four kings always recited this protection when they assembled, and on that occasion it was to create the opportunity, so the Buddha listened to the discourse.

According to the recitation, the homage to the seven Buddhas represented the insightfulness of those who recited by knowing: Vipassi Buddha who possessed the eye of wisdom and splendor; Sikhi Buddha who was compassionate toward all beings; Vessabhu Buddha who was freed from all defilements and possessed of ascetic energy; Kakusanda Buddha who was the conqueror of the fivefold hosts of ; Konagamana Buddha who shed all defilements and had lived a holy life; who was fully freed from all defilements; and

Angirasa the Buddha Gotama, the son of the who was full of radiance and proclaimed the Dhamma that dispels all sufferings, Gotama the Buddha dear to

Piyadassi Thera, The Book of Protection (Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia: Buddhist Missionary Society, 1980), 106.

163 gods and men, endowed with knowledge and virtue, mighty and fearless. Such

insightfulness is a way of Theravada Buddhist meditative discipline {vipassana).

There are, indeed, other important writings from the study of Buddhism, a rich literature of Asia relating to the fundamental and practical teachings of the

Buddha. My goal for this research study was to focus on the writings of the old texts (whether in Sanskrit, Pali, or Chinese) relating to Theravada Buddhism and

Cambodian Buddhism that require further study in terms of the most spiritual, authentic, and influential practice of Theravada Buddhism. It is understood that

Theravada Buddhism as practiced in countries such as Sri Lanka, Myanmar,

Thailand, and Cambodia holds much diversity as to constitutions, politics, economics, and social structures. Therefore, the Pali texts, commentaries, and writings on the history of Cambodia in this research are for the purpose of this specific study. I also would like to acknowledge that for the most part. Buddhism is presented in its true essence of thought and practice throughout the review of literature in this dissertation.

164 CHAPTER THREE

THE HISTORICAL SETTING AND CONTRIBUTION OF GOTAMA

BUDDHA: AN OVERVIEW

The age of the Buddha was one of socio-philosophical renaissance in

India; in addition to the orthodox Vedic school, there were other teachers offering various interpretations of the world, of humanity, and of ethical values. The

Buddha initiated a peaceful revolution when he propounded his doctrine of impermanence {anicca), dissatisfactoriness (dukkha), non-entity or insubstantiality (anatta), and Dependent Origination (paticcasamuppada). His doctrines brought a new rational-realism, a new discipline to practice, and a revival of the inner spirit of freedom during a period of social and religious turmoil in India.

While the doctrines set forth in the found a place in the

Brahmanical system, there were other Buddhist teachings that could not be harmonized with many orthodox sects. From the earliest time in India, the have been the source of religious writing and inspiration, seen as divine and infallible revelation. Sympathetic scholars insist that the Buddha gave a nobler interpretation of Vedic theories and practices, while others hold the opinion that

Buddha's teachings overturned the ancient Vedas.

The historical Buddha did the work that was necessary for his time: he transformed Indian social and religious discrimination, corruption, and injustice, and solved the enigma of suffering. The Buddha, a social and spiritual reformer who was born in the sixth century BC, earned a dignified status: "He was a

165 contemporary of Thales, Anixa mender, Pythagoras and Loa Tse." He challenged all criticism of his achievements, and continued to express views that undermined the existing caste system, religious rites and rituals, , and blind faith that were the mainstay of Indian society. He was able to do so because he was born into an age of spiritual unrest, in which society was ready to move beyond its old religious patterns. Dr. T. W. Rhys Davids (in addition to his criticism on the repetition of the original text in Pali) wrote highly of the beauty of Asian expression in Buddhist texts and the teaching of Buddha:

Never in the history of the world had a scheme of salvation been put forth so simple in its nature, so free from any superhuman agency, so independent of, so even antagonistic to the belief in a soul, the belief in God, and the hope for a future life. And we must not allow our estimate of the importance of the events to be influenced by our disagreement from the opinions put forth. Whether these be right or wrong, it was a turning- point in the religious history of man when a reformer, full of the most earnest moral purpose, and trained in all the intellectual culture of his time, put forth deliberately, and with a knowledge of the opposing view, the doctrine of a salvation to be found here, in his life, in an inward change of heart, to be brought about by perseverance in a mere system of self-culture and of self-control.

The Buddha's revolutionary approach in social and religious reform is unique in the history of religious thought in India.

Any student who carefully reads through the books considered to be in the timeframe of '' is confronted with a dynamic personality. Gotama

Buddha's impetus to reform (though he never claimed to be a reformer) came

Schumann, Buddhism: Teachings and Schools, 17.

T. W. Davids, Buddhisl-Suttas, 142^3.

166 from his belief that it is a waste of time and energy worshipping too many gods and handing over to them the responsibility for solving the calamities of the world. In the Dhammctpada, Buddha thus states:

Get up (rouse yourself), do not be thoughtless. Follow the law of virtue. He who practices virtue lives happily in this world as well as in the world beyond.[168]

Verily, the niggardly do not go to the world of the gods. Fools, indeed, do not praise giving. But the wise man, rejoicing in charity, becomes 194 becomes on the (account) happy in the other world. [177]

In a respectful way, through questioning, preaching, and acting, Buddha tried to modify and even eliminate cruel practices such as animal sacrifice.

Deriving his philosophy from his life experience, he taught for forty-five years after his enlightenment. He founded an order of monks and nuns who were to free themselves by following his example, and who spread his teaching far and wide in the world. He eventually died of mortal causes like others, but unlike others, he 195 was "utterly extinguished (parinibbuto)" for he would never be reborn to suffer again.

There are good reasons to doubt even this very compressed account of

Buddhism's theory of life, but at least the outline of life must be true: birth, maturity, renunciation, search, awakening and liberation, and death. In one of the

Sulfas, Buddha said, "It is within this fathom-long carcass, with its mind and its

194 Radhaknshnan, Dhammapaaa, 117-118. 195 Carrithers (1983), as quoted by Paul Williams and Anthony Tribe, Buddhist Thought (New York: Routledge, 2000), 25.

167 emotions that 1 declare there is the world and the path leading to the cessation of

the world.

After the Buddha cast off his flesh (Parinibbana), the community continued to expand, and many different schools and subschools developed, each having a different philosophical interpretation of the Buddha's teaching. These schools and the disputes they engaged in are far too numerous to mention in this study, but suffice it to say that Buddhism has been a mighty stream of thought and a tremendous fountainhead of human culture in its homeland.

The Buddha was primarily an ethical teacher and a social reformer, not a metaphysicist. When anyone asked him metaphysical questions as to whether the soul was different from the body, whether it survived death, whether the world was finite or infinite, eternal or non-eternal, and so on, he avoided discussing these problems because he knew there was not sufficient evidence and discussions would only lead to different partial views and/or conflicting views. Hence, the

Buddha exhorted his followers first to establish themselves in virtues and proper conduct before entering on the path of meditation or mental culture (bhavana).

The tendency to split and diversify Buddha's teaching into schools and subschools appreared very early in the history of Buddhism: religiously,

Buddhism is divided into two important religious sects—HInayana ("the Small

Vehicle") and Mahayana ("the Greater Vehicle")- Theravada Buddhism belongs to the former, the Small Vehicle, and relies on the words of the Buddha, "Be a

Ibid, 62. (Samyutta Nikaya 1)

168 197 light unto thyself (alma dipa bhava)"1 to emphasize liberation for and by the

individual himself or herself. Theravada is a path of 'self-help,' and its goal is

arahatship. On the other hand, Mahayana, the Greater Vehicle, can accommodate

a much larger number of people because it was inspired by the second utterance

198 of the Buddha, "Be compassionate to others (karuna citta bhava)." According

to Mahayana, one is already a potential Bodhisatta; although the capacity of

individuals differs, the Bodhisatta sacrifices to liberate the others.

Historical Setting

The historical setting of Buddhism and its contribution to the world cannot

be discussed without mentioning the different phases of the establishment of

civilization in the area currently named India. The land of Bharat {Bharat Varsha

or Bharatavarsha) was a Hindi name for what is now India, a republic nation in

Southern Asia formed out of a union of states and territories. The Indian

subcontinent is a great South Asian landmass, the present-day Republic of India,

Pakistan, and Bangladesh. One of the world's oldest and most influential

civilizations, the country of India is often presented as the land of spirituality, but

reconstructions from archaeological evidence reveal problems within prehistoric

India's socioreligious framework: the strong caste system, the status of the untouchables, languages, manners, different ways of life and thoughts, poverty,

197 Dr. Rina Sircar, class lecture, "Essence and Development of Buddhism," CIIS, Fall 2003. 198„ ., Ibid.

169 and wealth. The aim of this chapter is to present the historical setting of

Buddhism and the contribution of Gotama Buddha to the world at large.

The spread of Buddhism can be gleaned from descriptions of states that comprised India at the time. The sixth century BC marks the beginning of

Buddhist writings referring to the period with a perspective on politics, economics, and the socioreligious phases of Indian history. The Buddhist canon represents the teaching of the Buddha, though additional works were added during the period of compilation; royal patronage like King Asoka's made possible the existence of the doctrine to this day. The earlier period of Vedic literature mentions a handful of existing states, plus additional states that were freshly created either from the decline of an older state or from the arising into importance of a new state. These states went through changes and sometimes lost their status for a number of reasons including the arrival of people bringing new cultures through the process of invasion, migration, or trade; therefore, the locations of these pre-Mauryan states support historical claims regarding

Buddha's movement. The political systems in these states were either monarchial or representative governments variously called republics or oligarchies, and a state itself often gradually changed from one system to another.

In order to properly present Buddha's contribution to Indian thought and culture, this chapter briefly describes specific historical facts outlining Indian religious developments from the ancient time to Buddha's time.

170 Social and Religious Problems in Ancient India during the Vedic Period

The dominant religion of ancient India was Brahmanism, the early form of today's Hinduism. According to Brahman teaching, escape from transmigration— salvation of the soul—can be attained by performing Vedic sacrifices such as religious rites, ceremonies, and offerings of gifts to the priests {).

Additionally, society was divided into four castes: the priests (brahmins), royalty and warriors (), merchants and cultivators (), and servants

(shitdras). Membership in one's caste was predetermined by birth, which subsequently determined one's social role and occupation, and this situation was fixed strictly for life.

The primary scriptures of Brahmanism were the Veda: collections of invocations to gods, goddesses, and local deities in the form of hymns and prayers recited at Vedic sacrificial ceremonies, rituals for defeating bad spirits or enemies, rituals for increasing wealth, and so on. The oldest Indian religious tradition, the

Vedic hymns and prayers are viewed by Hindus as the words of God, that the

Veda had given them their thoughts and feelings.

The word Veda means "knowledge," which is sacred religious knowledge and divine revelation. Status as brahmins was handed down to sons, and thus gradually became a tradition restricted to males. The priests or brahmins whose duty and function was to preserve this Vedic tradition possibly lost their credibility and status through their gross misconducts, manipulations, and misinterpretations over time of what was supposed to be sacred. There were also

171 numerous discredited or unsatisfactory brahmins who were incompetent in their knowledge of the Veda.

Very little historical records remain on the texts of the early Vedic period, except for the very important literary record of the , which consists of

1,028 hymns and with a total of 10,562 lines distributed in ten books. The

Rigveda has three phases: it begins with an exhortation prayer to the deities, followed by an earnest pledge for blessings and protections with frequent references to gods and goddesses, and then finishes with a specific request. The

Rigveda, however, is mainly concerned with the propitiation of divinities associated with the sky and atmosphere, and its main ritual activity refers to the soma sacrifice, an hallucinogenic beverage prepared from an unknown plant. The

Rigveda holds a well-developed religious system of ancient India, a culture considerably in advance of that depicted in earlier hymns; however, the Rigveda contains few clear references to animal sacrifice. Indian society was reluctant to accept the credibility of the Brahmins; that is to say, society was structured and organized in different classes, which was the cause leading to loosening class boundaries, making it possible for a man of nonpriestly parentage to become a priest. It was also noticeable that by the end of the period Indian societies were totally separated into class specialists as stated earlier, with the priests or brahmins claiming superiority over the other classes.

One of the latest hymns in the Rigveda collection is called the Hymn of the Person {Purushasuka) and clearly names the four classes () of Indian society. The class system is described as a human body: the head (Prajnapati)

172 bore the priests, the arms for the warriors, the body for the peasants, and the legs

for the servants. The Pvrushasukta represents the beginning of a new phase in which sacrifice became even more important and more elaborate, further glorifying the brahmins.

The chronology of the development of the texts and rituals in the later

Vedas (namely the and ) is quite vague. What is found credible is probably related to the Painted Grayware strata in the archaeological sites of the western Ganges {Gahga) Valley, dated from about 1000 to 500 BC; these objects reflect a culture still primitive but indicating considerable advances in civilization. Since little discovered from the sites of this period illuminates the religious record, historians and researchers still chiefly rely on the texts of the

Veda namely: Rigveda-Samhiia, Atharveda-, -Samhita,

_ 199 Yajiirveda-Samhita, Vedangas, Brahmanas, Upanishads, and .

These texts are briefly presented in order to show how ancient Indian religion developed and also to show how changes occurred over time.

This oldest Indian 'thought and feeling'—the word of the 'Veda'—is forever incomprehensible to those who superficially study its contents without understanding that this sacred knowledge constitutes the earliest documents of human thought. Despite its antiquity, some of the ideas and concepts enshrined in the Vedas have not been improved by any later thought; in other words, the term

'Veda' forms the very foundation ofdharma (Sanskrit word), the Perennial

Philosophy of India. There are three classes of Vedic literary works: Collections

199 Maurice Winternitz, A History of Indian Literature, Vol. 1, 2nd ed. (New Delhi: Oriental Books Reprint, 1972).

173 (), listed in the preceding paragraph; the Commentaries of the Four

Vedas (Brahma nas), which contain voluminous theological texts in prose specifically addressed to observations on sacrifice and the practical or mystical significance of the separate sacrificial rites and ceremonies; and the forest texts

(Aranyakas) and secret doctrines (Upanishads). The Aranyakas and Upanishads include the Brahmanas or are attached to them, though they are also partly known as independent works, and contain the meditative methods of forest ascetics and hermits on the 'Divine or God,' on nature and the world, and on all beings including mankind.

A publication by the Ministry of Education, Government of India explains the Vedas' sources, religion, theology, monotheism, pantheism and monis, ethics, and , eschatology, psychology, and logic.

From a religious perspective, the Vedic people put strong emphasis on worshipping the deities, which consisted mainly of offering hymns, obeisances, and oblations. Although these three offerings later appear only as parts of the sacrifices (), there is evidence to indicate that independent value was once attached to the hymns and obeisances, either separately or conjointly. Before the beginning of the use of fire ceremonies, devotees offered for sacrifice favorite articles like food, milk, honey, melted butter, grains, prepared edible items, flesh, and the stimulating beverage of the plant called soma with the utterance of sacrificial prayers (Yajuses), recital of verses (Res), and chanting (Samans) according to set rules and conventions. There were two kinds of sacrifices:

Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, ed., History of Philosophy Eastern and Western, Vol. 1 (London: Allen & Unwin, 1952).

174 conservative sacrificial rituals (shrauta-) required the specific services of

several priests, and the sacramental domestic rites (grhya-karman), which could

be performed by the householder and his wife with or without the assistance of

any officiating priests. The Vedic tradition was devoted to the fire-god , who

is asked to carry to the gods the oblations committed to his care. Sacrifice was

originally conceived to secure the goodwill of the gods, granting mundane

happiness and a delectable heavenly life after death; later, it became more

elaborate, developed endless varieties, and was clothed with ever-increasing

over time. Later Indian religious and philosophic thoughts mainly

stress the various devotion () cults and their particular emphasis on the

character of their favorite deity as an aspect of the Absolute.

In all, the Vedic sacrifice is viewed more as a demand and a strict conformity to what is said in the scriptures or the laws, than as the observance of

the spirit of worship; that is to say, obedience to the laws takes the place of devotion to the gods. This whole sacrificial cult became more and more complicated and costly, and the uncertainty of the results was often blamed on lapses during the performances of the rites; therefore, the practice of sacrifice became monopolized by those who could remember the various minor details of each type of sacrifice and recite the faultlessly. Thus the sacrificial cruelty continued unabated, and the rise of princely patrons possibly favoured the development of priestly greed to some extend.

175 The Life and Times of Buddha

The main events of Buddha's life are quite well known; although there is some disagreement about the exact year of Buddha' sparinibbana, all have agreed to consider the full-moon day of May 1956 to be the 2,500th anniversary of his physical departure (maha-parinibbana). In the seventh century BC, civilized India was divided into sixteen realms, of which eight were kingdoms and the rest were republics. The little republic of Sakya (in modern Nepal) was ruled by the king of

Kosala, and tributes were sent to his kingdom. The Sakyas, the royalty of solar race were ruled by their king, Suddhodana, who presided at his capital at

Kapilavastu, a town in what is now the Nepalise Terai. His queen, Mahamaya, gave birth to a son while traveling from Kapilavastu to Devadaha in her tent in the

Lumblni grove between two tall sal trees. This historical event, the birthplace of

Buddha, is marked by the monument erected by King Asoka around 250 years after the event took place. Siddhattha was the name given to the royal son, and unfortunately the queen passed away seven days after. The queen's sister,

Mahapajapati GomamI who is also Buddha's step-mother and aunt, took on the task of nursing and raising him. With full princely privilege, Siddhattha grew up without knowing the world's miseries. He married Yasodhara, and the royal couple had a son named Rahula. There were four signs Siddhattha encountered while on a promenade outside his palace: the first three were an old man, a sick man, and a corpse which made him think that no one could escape death, not even himself. The fourth sign was an ascetic in his peaceful meditation position seeking religious truth. These sights made Siddhattha ponder the suffering and

176 miseries of worldly existence and led him on a quest to find the way out. For

Siddhattha was not at ease until he found the strength to adopt the course of life as a wanderer in search of Truth. After midnight, while his wife was asleep with the baby, he walked away to the unknown. He discarded his royal belongings, cut his long hair, and began his ascetic life.

His first teacher was Adara Kalama, who could not assist him on his quest, so he went on to his second teacher, named Udraka Ramaputra. Still Siddhattha was not satisfied with what he learned, and the search for Truth of sufferings still remained unanswered. Finally, he reached a beautiful place, a land near modern

Bodh Gaya surrounded by woods and a gentle stream with sandy banks. There he practiced austerities, a self-torture which is a belief that the mind becomes elevated by emaciating the body. This method did not give him the answer, but in turn led him to realize that physical torture alone did not help elevate the mind.

Thereafter, he started to eat and sleep with moderation.

After years of strict mental and physical discipline, he felt that within the course of the day, he would become enlightened—the attainment ofbodhi or

"supreme knowledge." In a nearby village, a young woman, the daughter of a rich merchant named Sujata, offered him a bowl of milk pudding, and a grass-cutter gave him bundles of dry grass for his bed. Sitting firmly on the dried-grass cushion, Gotama affirmed:

177 Though only my skin, sinews and bones remain, and my blood and flesh dry up and wither away, yet will I never stir from this seat until I have attained full enlightenment.

He was determined to overcome all defilements. For Siddhattha Gotama to

be enabled to escape the realm of the material world, he indeed had to struggle

and challenge all barriers in order to succeed—the higher and the lower. Upon

retiring for the night, he realized how things arise and disappear, the process of all

things coming and going, the Law of Causation. He then well understood the

cycle of natural conditioning law which had not been thought of before. Gotama

discovered the Truth of his quest—a solution for safety, fearlessness, tranquility,

and liberation. Through this experience, Gotama found the answer to stop the

miseries in life, namely that all selfish craving can be extinguished with the ability

to control and to perfect the mind, leading to establishing inward peace, the way

leading to freedom. To this point, he concluded that spiritual realization is

something grows from within, and that no one can attain this stage by indulging in

the vanity of knowledge, in mere speculation about something that cannot be

expressed in words, and not even by beliefs in gods nor by using any means of

manipulative rites, magic, or sorcery. Gotama reached attainment as the

Enlightened One.

Further on, with an unmovable mission, the Buddha felt that there should be some clear-sighted men who would understand what he had experienced. With

a positive mind and an intention to impart his knowledge to the world, he set forth on his trip to Benares (Vanarasi), the center of learning at that time, so people

201 Sircar, Psycho-Ethical Aspects ofAbhidhamma, 12.

178 could hear his spiritual insight. He first preached the truth discovered from his meditative experience to the five ascetics with whom he had practiced austerity before, and also spoke to them about the path to enlightenment, the discourse known as "Set in Motion the Wheel of Truth {Dhammacakkappavaltana Siit/a)."

Buddha specifically stressed to the five ascetics the practice and result of the middle path, that one should choose to lead a spiritual life by avoiding the two extremes: the extreme of self-indulging in the pleasures of the senses, and the extreme of self-mortification. The five ascetics became Buddha's first disciples, and thus established the foundation, the order of the Buddha's community

(sangha).

The Buddha always taught that all phenomenal things that happen in life are constantly in the process of shifting and changing, and he never differentiated his teaching as exceptional. On the contrary, he reminded his disciples not to accept anything by hearsay or tradition; not to conclude that 'it must be so'; not to accept statements on the grounds that it is 'found in the book' nor to accept on the

202 supposition 'that this or that is acceptable' or 'it is the saying of the teacher.'

When conversing with Sariputta, the Buddha resonated from what he truly believed, his real life experience which was not hidden and not esoteric. Buddha always taught and advised his disciples to experience and test subject questions with logic, rationality, and common sense. He was the great philosopher, spiritual healer, and social advocate. He rendered his services to humanity for decades and finally departed this material world like any other being at the age of eighty. The

202 £ Anguttara Nikaya 3:65, to the Kalama 'Kalama Sutta.

179 203 Maha-parinibbana Sulfa describes much of the stories of his last journeys,

conversations, and his last words to Ananda (one of his disciples and also his

personal attendant and cousin). His physical strength was worn out, his traveling

was limited, death was near, and he thus told Ananda to go to the city of

Kusinara, and informed the assembly and the people of his last moment. Then the

Buddha addressed the assembly of his disciples, and said, 'Behold now, brethren,

1 exhort you, saying, "Decay is inherent in all component things! Work out your

204 salvation with diligence!" This was the last word of the Enlightened One.

Buddha as a Moral, Ethical Teacher, and Buddhist Influence toward

Spiritual and Social Change

The core teaching of Buddha stresses ethical value, equality in society,

and a correct understanding in religious practice. The Buddha was prudent and

very considerate of the social conditions of his time: as presented in the

discourses, immorality leads to poverty, social injustice and disorder, disrespect,

self-anxiety, and guilt; on the other hand, good moral behavior and high ethics

bring forth prosperity, happiness, social order, and good human relationships. The

Noble Eightfold Path provides a way to accomplish spiritual wealth at this present

time and in future, a prescription for this wealth, and a direction for how to apply

it toward life. With diligence one can successfully reach the goal, whether in

203 T. W. Davids, Buddhist Suttas. 204 Ibid., 114.

180 health, personal conduct, family relationships, material pleasures, or even leadership—but all these must be righteously acquired by one's own effort.

Buddha gave advice to countless people, from laypersons to kings. The

Buddha gave a discourse to Kasyapa of Uruvela, who was the fire-worshipping brahmana, explaining Buddhism reasonably and realistically by borrowing two points from the Vedic notion of fire (the power of 'Agni') to illustrate the preaching from a Buddhist perspective. This discourse was well received and understood, and Kasyapa and his followers joined Buddha's Community. With the company of Buddha, they headed to the hill of Gayasirsa where Buddha delivered the well known sermon of 'Burning,' which stressed how to extinguish the fires of passion, greed, anger, and so on.

The Buddha's Community was organized along democratic lines, accepting people from all strata of life. In Rajagrha, the capital of Magadha,

Buddha met King Bimbisara who later donated his bamboo grove to the

Community to be used as a monastery. At that time, there lived an ascetic named

Sanjaya and a group of pupils including Sariputta and Moggallana, who joined

Buddha's group of monks. They were inspired to join after hearing the words of

Assaji who led a group of wanderers, saying, "Of those things which spring from cause. The cause has been told by the Buddha, and their suppression likewise, the

205 great recluse has revealed." Sariputta and Moggalina became the first two chief disciples to Buddha.

Vinaya Pitaka, Mahavagga, 1:10, 23.

181 Buddha's noble sacrifice of stepping aside from royal life and living off of alms food, wandering around from place to place preaching what he strongly believed from life experience—this was a turning point for the Sakya clan. Within a year after Buddha's enlightenment, Suddhodana, the king of the Sakya clan, heard of the glory of his son and invited Buddha to his hometown in Kapilavastu.

On Buddha's return to his parental home, King Suddhodana did homage to his son, who was now the holy man. The following day Buddha made a round of the city with his alms bowl. His wife, Yasodhara, was overwhelmed by Buddha's look in his monk's robe, and threw herself at his feet and asked about her son's inheritance. The Buddha replied that a much higher inheritance should be given to his son Rahula—that he becomes a novice, a probationer for monkhood. After

Buddha's return visit to his hometown, hundreds of rajas put on yellow robes and joined the order.

This religious movement established by the Buddha expanded the functions of monks; Buddha's social movement, a revolt against social injustice and animal sacrifice and are-examining of the authority of the Vedas, required the monks' educational skills to help preach his Dhamma. Some of the monasteries even developed into centers of education. Buddha's teaching was well received, with strong support from royal families including the women, since the royal family tended to combine the new doctrine and the practices of royal and popular local cults. The merchants, landowners, and mercantile communities were also good supporters because trade and commerce did not involve killing and the concept of nonviolence could be observed in these activities. This social

182 campaign projected Buddhism as a noncaste movement, thus securing support

from low-caste groups as well.

The Pali Canon provides data on who joined Buddha's Community: two

categories of poems in the Theragatha and Therigaiha reveal the biographies of

ordained monks and nuns. Not only did they express their acknowledgments and joy in being ordained, but they also gave social status information on who they were and where they came from. In most cases, they came from four large towns:

Savatthi, Rajagaha, Vesali, and Kapilavastu. Additionally, the discourses essentially give people's origins, mainly from rich and powerful families, where the rendering Pali word gahapati or "merchants" occurs. When Buddha converted

Brahmans, on the other hand, they were not from traditional villages but from the urban upper class.

During the last period of Buddha's life, after age eighty, his main concern was to make sure that his disciples would not fail to make an ongoing effort to put into practice what he had taught them. Whether or not the Buddha foresaw how his teaching would last, the Maha-parinibbana Sutta recorded his questions and affirmations, especially to Ananda, his personal attendant. The whole text reflects

Ananda's responsibility to care for and attend the Master after the attack of dysentery, the main cause of Buddha's deterioriating health. On his last journey to

Magadha, Buddha assured all his disciples that he had taught them the dhamma, and further encouraged whoever held leadership skill to be the leader of the sangha after he was gone. He specifically affirmed to the monks that they had to

183 rely on themselves and continue teaching his dhamma and maintaining the vinaya

for the sangha, though discarding those of little importance.

The following discussion highlights some important places where Buddha

engaged in conversation and gave instructions to various individuals and

disciples. In Magadha, there were different places where Buddha spent his last

journey preaching his teaching along with the company of his disciples. At

Rajagaha, on the hill called Vultures' Peak, he dealt with the king of Magadha,

who wanted to attack the Vajji and sent his chief minister, a Brahman named

Vassakara, to inform the Buddha and bring back his reply; the king wanted the

Buddha's perspective because the Buddha was known to speak nothing but the

truth. In reply, the Blessed One expounded on the seven conditions of a nation's

welfare, advice and truths which are relevant to the current global situation:

1. The nation should grow and prosper, not decline;

2. The people of the nation should assemble and disperse peacefully and

orderly, and attend their affairs accordingly;

3. The nation should proceed in accordance with its ancient constitutions,

with the flexibility to re-examine the laws or decrees that are still in

effect;

4. The nation has to stay on good terms with the elders, whose wise

thinking is worthy of consideration;

5. The nation must refrain from abducting women and maidens of good

families, and from detaining them;

184 6. The nation must show respect, honor, esteem, and veneration toward

what constituted a community of people engaging in economic

activities, by not abusing its nature but appreciating such wealth

distribution with a well balanced system;

7. The nation has to protect and guard the arahants, whether they have

come to teach their wisdom or not, those who are arahants now and

those who may yet be, and those who already have should be left in

peace.

In contrast to the Buddha's view of the seven conditions for a nation's welfare, our current world faces countless problems in families, public places, schools, religious institutions, and work places, government and corporate alike. Buddha's words are as relevant today as the day he spoke them.

After imparting this list to the Brahman, Buddha asked Ananda to assemble the monks in the service hall, and said to his group of disciples that the sangha also needed to maintain the welfare of the Bhikkhus, using the guide of the seven good qualities, seven factors of enlightenment, seven perceptions, and six conditions to be remembered. He also gave counsel to the Bhikkhus explaining virtues, concentration, wisdom, and what benefit can come from the virtues, what can be gained by concentration, and what can be gained from wisdom. Buddha addressed this counsel a second time while he was staying at Ambalathika, before heading to .

When he arrived at Pataligama, the Buddha delivered counsel to the devotees of the town on the Fruits of an Immoral and a Moral Life. When men are

185 immoral or householders fall away from virtue, they tend to encounter five dangers: great loss of wealth through heedlessness; an evil reputation; timid and troubled behaviors in every society, be they nobles, Brahmans, householders, or ascetics; death in a disturbed mental state; and rebirth in the realm of hell. In contrast, righteous men receive five blessings through the practice of virtue: increased wealth through one's own intelligence; a well known and favorable reputation; self-confidence, good conduct, and lack of timidity in every society, be he noble, Brahman, householder, or ascetic; tranquil death; and rebirth in a heavenly world.

In all, the Maha-parinibbana gives much detail of different places visited by Buddha and his group of disciples, especially his sickness and exhausion from traveling. At one point, Ananda was quite happy to see the Buddha recovered from a minor illness and expressed his feeling of anxiety while Buddha was sick, and the Buddha said to him:

What, then Ananda? Does the order expect that of me? I have preached the truth without making any distinction between exoteric and esoteric doctrine: for in respect of the truths, Ananda, the Tathagata has no such thing as the closed fist of a teacher, who keeps some things back. Surely, Ananda, should there be any one who harbours the thought, "It is I who will lead the brotherhood," or, "The order is dependent upon me," it is he who should lay down instructions in any matter concerning the order. Now the Tathagata, Ananda, thinks that the order is dependent upon him. Why then should he leave instructions in any matter concerning the order? I too, O Ananda, am now grown old, and full of years, my journey is drawing to its close, I have reached my sum of days, I am turning eighty years of age; and just as a worn-out cart, Ananda, can only with much additional care be

186 made to move along, so, methinks, the body of the Tathagata can only be kept going with much additional care....

Even close to his dying day, the Buddha still reminded Ananda of the

doctrine of non-entity (Anatta), the concept he preached for 45 years in his

teaching career. He also explained to Ananda the eight causes of earthquakes, an

environmental awareness:

This great earth, Ananda, is established upon liquid, the liquid upon the atmosphere, and the atmosphere upon space. And when, Ananda, mighty atmospheric disturbances take place, the liquid is agitated. And with the agitation of the liquid, tremors of the earth arise. This is the first reason, 207 the first cause for the arising of mighty earthquakes.

Buddha further explained the crises that would be caused in the world after his

departure:

...and when the Tathagata becomes fully enlightened in unsurpassed, supreme Enlightenment; when the Tathagata sets rolling the excellent Wheel of the Dhamma; when the Tathagata renounces his will to live on; and when the Tathagata comes to pass away into the state of Nibbana in which no element of clingning remains—then, too, Ananda, this great earth trembles, quivers, and shakes.

Through the view of Buddhists, the Buddha himself was the primary

object for devotion, whereas deities mentioned in the suttas were only references

F. Max Muller, ed. "Mahaparinibbana sutta," in T. W. Davids, Buddhist Suttas, 36-39. 207 Insight Meditation Center, "Maha-parinibbana Sutta: Last Days of the Buddha (Digha Nikaya 16)," 1998, retrieved on April 11, 2009 from http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/dn/dn. 16.1 -6.vaji.html.

208 T, • , Ibid.

187 to the superhuman, which can only be propitiated at times of despair, and which can be needed for spiritual comfort and support but cannot help one progress in spiritual insight and the path for a calm life. It is to the Buddha, the Dhamma, and the Sangha that devotees pray for the connectedness and the understanding of the teaching that remains long lasting. Therefore, this faith and devotion is not referring to magical or miraculous help, but rather to psychological comfort and to maintain calm when chaotic moments impose in life.

Despite such belief and devotion in his teaching, the Buddha still stressed and clarified what he wanted his disciples to be very clear about regarding his teaching. The passage of "The Great Reference" is very important to mention here because the Buddha wanted his disciples to truly hold self-confidence in themselves and in their abilities to grasp his teaching without doubts and fears. He thus said:

In the first place, brethren, a brother may say thus: "From the mouth of the Blessed One, himself, have I heard, from his own mouth have I received it. This is the truth, this the law, this the teaching of the Master." The word spoken, brethren, by that brother should neither be received with praise nor treated with scorn. Without praise and without scorn every word and syllable should be carefully understood, and then put beside the scripture and compared with the rules of the order. If when so compared they do not harmonise with the scripture, and do not fit in with the rules of the order, then you may come to the conclusion, "Verily, this is not the word of the Blessed One, and has been wrongly grasped by that brother?" Therefore, brethren, you should reject it. But if they harmonise with the scripture and fit in with the rules of the order, then you may come to the conclusion, "Verily, this is the words of the Blessed One, and has been well grasped by that brother." This, brethren, you should receive as the first great Reference. Again, brethren, a brother may say thus: "In such and such a dwelling-place there is a company of the brethren with their elders and leaders. From the mouth of that company have I heard, face to face have I received it. This is the truth, this the law, this the teaching of the Master."

188 ...[if favorable in comparison to scripture and rules of the order] This, brethren, you should receive as the second Great Reference. Again, brethren, a brother may say thus: "In such and such a dwelling-place there are dwelling many elders of the order, deeply read, holding the faith as handed down by traditions of the order, versed in the summaries of the doctrines and the law. From the mouth of those elders have 1 heard, from their mouth have 1 received it. This is the truth, this the law, this the teaching of the Master."... [if favorable in comparison to scripture and rules of the order]This, brethren, you should receive as the third Great Reference. Again, brethren, a brother may say, "In such and such a dwelling- place there is there living a brother, deeply read, holding the faith as handed down by tradition, versed in the truths, versed in the regulations of the order, versed in the summaries of the doctrines and the law. From the mouth of that elder have 1 heard, from the mouth have I received it. This is the truth, this the law, this the teaching of the Master."... [if favorable in comparison to scripture and rules of the order] This, brethren you should 209 receive as the fourth Great Reference."

It is sad that the Buddha died from food offered by a metalworker named

Cunda; since Buddha could foretell that he would die by eating that food, again, the passage shows a notion of supernatural power, that Buddha himself has such power. Because of this foreseeing, Buddha asked that the food made of that meat be served to him only and not to the rest of the people. Is this story connected to the ideological base of a cult of that time, or is it a myth? What is the hidden message of the story? According to ,

Theravada tradition has co-existed with other systems of action and thoughts derived both from Indian and local cultures, which the outsider can call 'religion', inasmuch as they are 'patterns of interaction with supernatural beings.' But at a very early stage, before it expanded outside India and largely indeed before it split into sects or developed doctrinal diversity, Buddhist culture did provide somewhat more material for creative artists to elaborate and pious Buddhists to adore than the

T. W. Davids, Buddhist Suttas, 67-70.

189 personality and biography of Gotama Buddha. This material consisted of 210 the Buddha's former births and a multiplicity of Buddhas.

Theravada Buddhism was incorporated with local culture at the time that

Buddhism was established in Cambodia (discussed further below).

Such miraculous and supernatural powers recorded in the suttas appeared again when Buddha took a rest, asking for a drink of water. Ananda responded by telling the master that a great number of carts had just passed through the shallow water, muddying it, but close by was the Kakuttha River with water that was clear, pleasant, and cool for drinking. Buddha rejected Ananda's suggestion, so the attendant went to get water for the master from the muddy stream, but it cleared and settled, pure and pleasant. When he took the water to the Buddha,

Ananda informed the Master of the .

Further passages also give indications of such , such as the story

211 212 ofaPukkusaoftheMalla, and of the Kakuttha River —such stories are a reflection of the influence of other religious beliefs into Buddhism, romanticized by Buddhist authors. If the teaching of Buddha tends to eliminate and false beliefs in magic and miracle, then this notion should not be at all reflected in

Buddhist literature. However, the Discourses are an inevitable part of any discussion of Buddhist literature, and in the Discourses the sutta recorded what the Buddha said to Ananda about Cunda the metalworker, assuring and

Gombrich, Theravada Buddhism, 120.

211 T. W. Davids, Buddhist Suttas, 75-82. 212 Ibid., 82-84.

190 comforting him so that Cunda would be relieved from remorse and blame for making Buddha sick; this act of forgiveness could only be done by Buddha because of his exceptional and superhuman status. From this compassionate attitude Buddha breathed, then solemnly utterred:

Who gives, his virtus shall increase; Who is self-curbed, no hatred bears; Whoso is skilled in virtue, evil shuns; And by the rooting out of lust and 213 hate and all delusion, comes to be at peace.

I believe that every last word of the Buddha in the Maha-parinibbana is well remembered by all Buddhists, but 'life' in general rarely if ever plays by the rules of righteousness or follows high moral and ethical conduct, no matter what kind of religion one practices. We learn from history about all the killings that have taken place in different parts of the world, including the killing of millions of people in Cambodia during the Pol Pot regime, let alone the current religious crisis of the Islamic world. How can one explain current worldly affairs according to Buddha's dhatnma'?

Ananda was very concerned about the gain and benefit of the Master's

Community after his passing; in response, Buddha mentioned to Ananda the four places for pilgrimage to revere his name:

There are these four places, Ananda, which the believing man should visit with feelings of reverence and awe. Which are the four? The place, Ananda, at which the believing man can say, "Here the Tathagata was born!" is a spot to be visited with feelings of reverence and awe. The place, Ananda, at which the believing man can say, "Here the Tathagata attained to the supreme and perfect insight!" is a spot to be visited with feelings of reverence and awe. The place, Ananda..., "Here was the

213 Insight Meditation Center, "Maha parinibbana sutta."

191 kingdom of righteousness set on foot by the Tathagata!" is a spot.... The place, Ananda..., "Here the Tathagata passed finally away in that utter passing away which leaves nothing whatever to remain behind!" is a spot to be visited with feelings of reverence and awe. And there will come, Ananda, to such spots, believers, brethren and sisters of the order, or devout men and devout women, and will say, "Here was the Tathagata born!" or, "Here did the Tathagata attain to the supreme and perfect insight!" or, "Here was the kingdom of righteousness set foot on by the Tathagata!" or, "Here the Tathagata passed away in the utter passing away which leaves nothing whatever to remain behind!" And they, Ananda, who shall die while they, with believing heart, are journeying on such pilgrimage, shall be reborn after death, when the body shall dissolve, in 214 the happy realms of heaven.

Up to this present day, Buddha's birthplace at grove near Kapilavastu, his Enlightenment at , the first sermon at Saranath, and his passing away near Pava in , are still venerated by people from all over the world, though the most important among these sacred sites has always been Bodh Gaya.

Pilgrimage to these sites is a true devotional act performed by Buddhist pilgrims from all over the world in ancient times; today, more visitors than ever before come to the Bodh Gaya.

However, most Theravada Buddhist countries believe that Buddha's relics are far more important than pilgimage—a development associated with the spreading of Buddha's Dhamma. According to the Maha-parinibbana Sutta,

Buddha's relics were to be divided into eight parts and given to eight people.

Subsequently, eight mounds (Thupas) were made for the remains. However, later classifications defined three kinds of relics; the first two were venerated from early times, and the third was perhaps added later. The first kind is corporal relics, which are always bones, teeth, or hair, and the second is objects used by the

T. W. Davids, Buddhist Sulfas, 90-91.

192 Buddha, such as begging bowls and also the tree known as the 'Bo tree' and its leaves, under which the Buddha sat to attain Enlightenment. The third kind likely had as its prototype the stiipa, the place known to have held an object of worship that became a symbol or reminder of the Buddha's death. In particular, within

Theravadin countries the tradition is that the worship of the statue of Buddha is justified because it is classified as a substitute or reminder of the Enlightened

One—laypeople make offers of flowers, incense, and candles with traditional recitation of Pali verses as if in prayer. But this worship is an exercise and a religious practice to purify one's mind, to remind oneself to follow Buddha's teaching; such verses are in Pali as well as in secular languages, and the commonality of Pali prayer varies greatly among these countries.

The Spreading of Buddhism by King Asoka

In order to gain a clear understanding of the expansion and contribution of

Theravada Buddhism established by King Asoka, it is necessary to present a brief summary of the historical record connecting ancient India, the pre-Mauryan states, and Asoka's reign. In particular, certain locations are important for their political and economic locations and religious activities in their vicinity. First, I cover the Magadhan ascendancy and the invasion of Alexander the Great, and second, the Mauryan Empire covering the power of Candragupta Maurya, and

Asoka and his successors. As discussed earlier, Buddhist writings referring to the sixth and fifth centuries BC show that the Magadha ascendancy controlled the political focus in the area of the Ganges Valley. The states of Kasi, Kosala,

Magadha, and Vajjis had battled for control for a century until Magadha emerged

193 victorious; the success of the state of Magadha was due in part to the political

ambition of King Bimbisara, the father of King Ajatasattu, whose name is often

mentioned in the snttas.

In order to gain a clear understanding of Asoka's contribution and

expansion of Buddhism, it is important to also understand that Asoka pursued his policy to conquer with force in order to gain control of important territories for political and economic gains; he followed the footsteps of his predecessors to stay

in power for economic control. What made Asoka convert to Buddhism was the

devastation that occurred during this war campaign. Therefore, I begin with major events that took place in his reign.

The first major event in Asoka's reign was a campaign against Kaliriga

(modern Orissa) in 260 BC, described in one of his edicts. He witnessed much suffering from the bloody war that resulted, and the experience caused him to re­ evaluate the notion of conquest by violence. Hence, he was gradually drawn to the teaching of Buddha (dhammavijaya), and about twelve years after taking the throne, he began issuing edicts at regular intervals. His earliest edict read that he would first lead his life as a novice (upasaka), but his secular life did not allow him to observe such discipline so he became acquaintanted more with the sahgha, where he could exchange conversations and get to know more about Buddhism.

He grew to comprehend the essence of Buddhism, that is, to replace false rituals with ethical actions and follow what the Buddha recommended.

One among Asoka's large number of edicts referred to five prominent

Greek kings who were his neighbors: the kings of Syria, , Macedonia, and

194 Cyrene, as well as Alexander. He sent envoys to all these kingdoms, and local

sources indicate that he had contacts with Khotan and Nepal as well. Later on,

215 Asoka established a close relation with Tissa, the king of Ceylon.

Asoka is rightly seen as the first great royal patron of Buddhism, despite

his having killed all the other princes including his brother. Because of Asoka's

efforts, his son Mahinda became the first Buddhist missionary to the island

(Ceylon), which later came to occupy a prominent position in India and abroad.

Asoka became a devoted follower of the Buddha and carried out a policy of making the importance of the teaching of the Enlightened One known to the people.

Asoka's understanding of the dhamma led him to recognize the sanctity of

life and condemn the slaughter of animals, whether for sacrifices or other purposes. On one pillar, Asoka erected a carved wheel with many spokes representing the wheel of Dhamma—India recalls this righteous ruler with the symbol of the wheel of dhamma that appears on the flag of modern state of India.

Asoka also declared that people have to cultivate moral virtues, such as the observance of truth, and refrain from killing; the acts of kindness, charity, purity, gentleness, respect, obedience to one's elders and teacher, and liberality to friends and kinsmen are encouraged, and as well as acquaintance with servants and slaves as said in the Sigalovada sulfa of the Digha Nikaya. Asoka had wells dug and planted trees along the roads for use by people and animals, and had medicinal plants grown for both. Social and religious improvement resulted from his

215 P. V. Bapat, ed., 2,500 Years of Buddhism (New Delhi: Government of India Press and Photo-Litho Press, 1956), 59.

195 advocacy of tolerance, and he dedicated caves to the AjTvikas and encouraged

respect for all pious men such as the Sramanas, Brahmanas, and others. Towards the end of his reign, a pillar of Asoka reads that he was completely converted to the Buddhist idea of kindness to all living creatures. This emperor is a towering

figure in history, mainly because Buddhism became a world religion from his patronage.

Although many authors have written of Asoka, there are very few hard facts about the history of Buddhism in the century between the Buddha's death and Asoka's accession. Richard Gombrich proposes two Asokas: one, the

Asoka known to modern historians through inscriptions and described from the point of view of his personality change and new concept of ruling; and the other, the Asoka of Buddhist tradition, a man on a mission to carry the religious tradition outside India. Asoka served as a model for later Buddhist rulers, such as

U Nu of Burma, who modeled himself on Asoka and had innumerable small stiipa stiipas erected. The great Khmer ruler Jayavarman VII (AD 1181 -after 1215) held the same notion of being a ruler who followed the dhamma; his inscriptions expressed Asoka-like sentiments on the material and spiritual welfare of his subjects, and his charitable acts included building roads, digging wells, and

217 building resthouses and hospitals.

It is said that the origin of Asoka's conversion was the day he was impressed by a Buddhist novice walking down the street with tranquil deportment

216 Gombrich, Theravada Buddhism.

Ibid., 133.

196 and invited him to sit down, and the novice preached to the king about diligence.

From that point on Asoka was converted and often offered meals to monks,

leading to the ordination of his son Malinda and his daughter Sarighamitta. This

lavish royal patronage and conversion may have had unintentional consequences,

tempting non-Buddhists to join the Sarigha by dressing up as monks. The true

monks could not cooperate with such impostors, and Asoka's attempt to rectify

the situation was rather a disaster, since his minister had some real monks

beheaded. Asoka's meeting with the venerable elder Tissa Moggaliputta put the

king at ease, because the monk assured him that without evil intention there is no

bad kamma; they both went to the monastery in Pataliputta founded by the king,

and Asoka cross-examined the monks and expelled the non-Buddhists. After these

events, Tissa organized the Third Council, discussed further below.

Theravada Buddhism in Southeast Asia

To properly present the spread of Buddhism outside of India, it is necessary to give a brief introduction to how Buddhist communities were

organized as well as the events leading to the first , which gave rise to different schools. Theravada (Sthaviravada in Sanskrit) holds to the authoritative

Pali canon of ancient Indian Buddhism, and traces its lineage back to the Elders

(Sthaviras in Sanskrit, Theras in Pali) who followed in the tradition of the senior monks of the first Buddhist Sangha during the reign of the emperor Asoka. Even though Buddhism was expanding at that time, its activities were mainly confined to Magadha and to Kosala, where small communities of monks may have come

197 into existence in the west, in Mathura and Ujjayim. It is clear that Asoka made great charitable efforts to support Buddhist communities; his patronage paved the way for Buddhist missionaries to receive assistance and support from other kings, such as King Kaniska, and over time Buddhism spread to Central Asia, China,

Japan, and Tibet in the north; and Burma (Myanmar), Thailand, Cambodia, and other countries in the south.

The rapid expansion of Buddhism to various parts of India during Asoka's period was due to the rise of Buddhist sects; however, the origins of these sects were not so much due to differences in Buddhist doctrine as they were to geographical factors. Since the spread of Buddhism was not centrally organized,

Buddhist communities in different parts of the country developed their own hybrid mixtures of the new teaching with the preservation of their own tradition.

In some cases, the differences between the schools were significant, and some disappeared while others merged.

The Mahasaiighika are believed to be the earliest seceders and the forerunners of the Mahayana order, and may have been the start of the schism.

Their emphasis was on a more open community, a less strict version of the discipline, and a metaphysical view of the Buddha, all of which were developed by Mahayana. The Mahasaiighika branched out into eight different schools during the second century after Buddha's death, and among the offshoots, the

Ekavyavaharika, the Lokottaravada, the Aparasaila, and the Uttarasaila were prominent. Since it originated in Vaisaly, the Mahasaiighika was mostly confined to the east, from which it began to spread toward the south; the followers of this

198 school did not constitute a strong community in the north. The Mahasarighika

also developed a literature of its own, claiming to have preserved the most

authentic tradition of early Buddhism because it traced its lineage from

Mahakasyapa who called the first Buddhist Council, at which he was known as an

218 elder asked to recite the canon according to tradition.

The Sthaviravada started the first schism and gave rise to two schools, the

Sarvastivada and the Mula-staviravada. During the reign of the emperor Asoka

around the third century BC, Mula-stariravada first spread to Ceylon, and later

divided into three subgroups named for their monastics centers, the Mahaviharika,

the Abhayagirika, and the JetavanTya. According to the tradition preserved in the

Ceylonese Chronical, Asoka's son Mahinda and four other monks traveled to

Ceylon and preached the dhamma to King Devanampiyatissa. The gospel was well received, monasteries were erected, and thousands of men and women entered the Sarigha. The queen, Anula, and numerous women of the royal entourage wanted to join the community but it was not possible to hold an ordination for women, so Asoka sent his daughter Sarighamitta to perform the conversion. Two great events took place in Ceylon: the planting of the Bo tree that symbolized the attainment of the Buddha, and the bringing of the Buddha's tooth from India more than five hundred years later. There was also a Great Stupa built during the reign of DutthagamanT around 101-77 BC with a large assembly of monks from prominent monasteries in India; details of the events are recorded in the Mahavamsa. Ceylon also recorded an important landmark in the

218 Bapat, 2,500 Years of Buddhism, 109-15.

199 history of Buddhism under the reign of VattagamanI: the sacred Buddhist

scriptures recited by Mahindra were arranged into writing, and within a short

time, the island became a center for Theravada Buddhist study, which it remains 219 to this day.

Burma (present-day Myanmar) was the first and closest to have come into contact with the spread of Theravada Buddhism, because of its geographical proximity to India and Ceylon. The country shares its historical Buddhist record with the Ceylon Chronicles, and is home to a number of overlapping ethnic groups: Tibeto-Burman (Burman, Chin, Kachin, Rakhine, Naga, Lahu, Akha);

Mon-Khmer (Mon, Wa, Palaung); Burman and Mon-Khmer; Tai (Shan); Burman

220 and Shan; Karen (Pao, Kayan, Karenni); and Burman and Karen. The archeological remains at Hmawza (approximately five miles from modern Prome) along with additional Chinese accounts prove that Theravada Buddhism with Pali canonical texts was introduced to the region of Prome not later than AD fifth century, by Indian missionaries from the eastern coast of the Deccan and southern

India. The Ceylonese Chronicles state that two Buddhist monks, Sona and Uttara, were sent by King Asoka to the area of Suvarna-bhumi, generally indentified with

Burma; however, there is no reliable evidence to show that the two monks were actually sent on the mission, and the location of Suvarna-bhumi is vague and disputed, with other countries claiming to be such that region.

219 Bapat, 2,500 Years of Buddhism, 86. 220 Bruce Matthews, Ethnic and Religious Diversity: Myanmar's Unfolding Nemesis, Visiting Researchers Series 3 (Singapore: Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, 2001).

200 Regardless of this uncertainty, in Burma there was a side-by-side practice of Mula-sarvastivada and Mahayana Buddhism from eastern India. At the same time, in the vicinity of Burma, the Theravada form of Buddhism was also flourishing among the Hinduized Mons (linguistic scholars conclude they are related to the Khmer of Cambodia) or Talaing settled in Pegu,

(Sudhammapura), and other neighboring regions collectively known as Ramanna- desa. Much earlier than AD eleventh century, Thaton became a very important center of Theravada Buddhism despite a debased form of Tan trie Buddhism that flourished among the Mrammas, a Tibeto-Dravidian tribe who established a powerful kingdom with its capital at Pagan, and thus gave their name to the whole

221 country.

When King Anawratha (Aniruddha) ascended the throne of Pagan in 1044, he converted all practices to the Theravada form with the help of a Talaing monk of Thaton named Arhan (also known as Dharma-darsi) and a few other monks from Thaton. Working together with King Aniruddha, these monks began a crusade and finally established a pure practice of Theravada Buddhism. There was a great need for canonical texts, and therefore the king sent messengers to

Mahuna, the king of Thaton, asking for a complete set of the Tipitaka. The king of Thaton refused, so Aniruddha led an army and captured Thaton along with its king, all monks, Buddhist scripture, and relics of Buddha. With this victory, the

Burmese of Pagan adopted from the Mons of Thaton their language, literature, religion, and script. King Aniruddha and his successors continued to implement

221 Bapat, 2,500 Years of Buddhism, 86.

201 Theravada Buddhism; championed by this political authority, the Brahman religion gradually yielded, and the whole of Burma became a country with one religion, Theravada Buddhism.

King Aniruddha is known as a great champion of Theravada Buddhism; he followed King Asoka's model by building numerous and monasteries, and also received copies of the Tipitaka from Ceylon in addition to the help of

Arhan and the texts seized from Thaton. His son, King Kyanzittha, followed his father's footsteps and built the famous Ananda temple at Pagan. An important date in the history of Burma is AD 1181-1182 when Burma established a

Sinhalese order of monks founded by Capata, who received his ordination in

Ceylon; Capata believed that the Burmese monks were not properly ordained, which led to a religious rivalry that lasted for three centuries, though it ended with

222 triumph for the Burmese Sangha.

Buddhism also spread to Siam (now Thailand), with the Theravada form eventually becoming dominant. Buddhism flourished in Siam from an early period, around the first to second century AD; dated archaeological findings at

Pong Tuk and Phra Pathon from this time show the remains of a religious structure, the images of Buddha, inscribed terra cotta, and definite symbols of

Buddhism. A large number of ruined sanctuaries and some fine from a later date show strong influence from the Gupta period, and have been linked to the School, which was a kingdom that flourished at the time of Yuan

Chwang in the first half of the seventh century AD. In the eighth and ninth

222 Ibid., 88.

202 century AD, Siam and Laos were parts of the Khmer (Cambodia) territory, politically and religiously influenced by Khmer's cultural and economic lead; therefore, there was a side-by-side religious practice of both Brahmanism and

Buddhism in the two countries during this period. Siam went through its own internal crisis politically in the middle of the thirteenth century AD, as the Thai from the north established control of the country and made themselves the ruling body over Siam and Laos, overthrowing the Khmer. In this period, the flourishing

Theravada Buddhist schools and Pali language spread all over Siam and Laos.

The Thai king, Sri Suryavamsa Rama Maha Dharmikarajadhiraja, was not only a great patron of Buddhism but also adopted life as a religious monk and preached the doctrine of Buddhism in his kingdom. He was a learned Buddhist scholar, and around the middle of the fourteenth century (AD 1361), he sent some learned bhikkhus to Ceylon along with Thai scholars and invited the well known Ceylon monk named MahasamI Sarigharaja to come to Thailand. Under his kingship,

Thailand gained a firm footing in Buddhism, and Pali literature spread all over the small states within the region, as Brahmanism declined until it almost disappeared with the only remnants left in ceremonies and customs found in public practice.

According to the Chinese chronicles, archaeological findings prove that from the end of the fifth century AD, Buddhism flourished in Kambuja

(Cambodia) but it did not dominate as much as Brahmanism, the Hindu cult practice of Saivism. The great King Yasovarman, who ruled at the end of the ninth century AD, contributed an active effort to establish a monastic ashram

203 (Sangarasrama) which was especially meant to serve for Buddhist monks. The

king also set regulations and laid down rules of guidance for this hermitage.

Buddhism took hold in Cambodia around the eleventh and twelth century

AD, during the reign of King Jayavarman VII, a posthumous title for Maha

prarama-saugata, who was a devout Buddhist. This king expressed the peaceful

view of life, a typical Buddhist doctrine, and particularly feelings of charity and

compassion toward the whole universe. The inscription at Ta Prohm (Ancestor

Brahma) reveals the magnitude of the resources and depth of religious sentiments

of this king, and subsequently, many other monuments were built which indicated

his role in the founding of magnificent devotion toward Buddhism. In the

following century, Buddhism continued and flourished in Cambodia but it was not

a state religion nor even the dominant religious sect in the country; Thailand was

the stronghold and center of Buddhism because political and economic shifting

223 within the region is quite complex.

In what is now called the Malay Peninsula, a large number of inscriptions

have been discovered in different parts of the peninsula, written in Sanskrit and in

the Indian alphabets of the fourth and fifth century AD. Among them there were

at least a few referring to the Buddhist creed and thus proving the spread of

Buddhism in the region. The most important finding, at Nakhon Sri Tammarat

(Ligor), was a great stiipa which is still there today and indicates what was essentially a Buddhist colony. Remains surrounding the stiipa show fifty temples on that site, meaning that the construction could be from a very early period.

223 „ Ibid., 90.

204 Mahayana Buddhism seemed to flourish in the sixth century AD in the

Malay Peninsula region, as proven by an inscribed clay tablet found near Keddah

that can be assigned to this period on a palaeographical grounds. This tablet

contains three Sanskrit verses embodying philosophical aspects and doctrines of

the Mahayana school, and two of the three tablets at that site contain verses that

have been traced in the Chinese translations to a number of texts belonging to the

Madhyamika school. The Chinese translation also indicated that the three tablets

224 were found together and were of the Sagaramati-pariprccha. Mahayana

Buddhism continued to flourish on the peninsula until the eighth century AD and beyond. At Ligor, inscriptions found from the construction of the brick temples refer to Buddhist gods, as do the five stiipas by the king and priests, dated around

^ „„ 225 AAD 775r.

At this time, the inhibitants of the Southern region of Asia were not yet influenced by the spread of Buddhism, since Brahmanism still held dominance. In the region of Indonesia at the beginning of the fifth century AD, Buddhism had very little influence; Fa-hien, who visited this island around AD 414, commented that Buddhism in the region was not worth recording since Brahmanism dominated the island. However, after his visit, Buddhism began to spread through the missionary work of Gunavarman, an Indian monk who had belonged to a royal family of India before he entered religious life as Buddhist monk. On the island of Sumatra, Buddhism was introduced earlier in the kingdom of Sri-vijaya,

224 Ibid., 89. Sagaramatipariprccha (Nanjio 976), (JGIS, vol. 8, p. 2). 225 Bapat, 2,500 Years of Buddhism, 89.

205 which scholars usually identify as Palembang; inscriptions found in the region

mention that the king who ruled Sri-vijaya in AD 683 was a Buddhist. In addition,

the record of the famous Chinese traveler, I-Tsing, who visited India around the

last quarter of the seventh century AD, states that the king of this island favored

Buddhism, as did other rulers of nearby states, and that Sri-vijaya was an

important center of Buddhist learning in the islands of southern Asia.

I-Tsing noticed that thousand of Buddhist priests on the island studied the same

subjects as in Madhyadesa of India, and he took time to study Buddhist scriptures

and left a very interesting account of the popularity of Buddhism in the ten island-

states of the islands of the Southern Sea. I-Tsing's account named the Hinayana as

adopted in the islands, except in Malayu (Sri-vijaya) where there were a few

Mahayana Buddhists. Indonesian historicial records indicate that Mahayana

Buddhism grew in strength in the region from the seventh to the eleventh century

AD, under the Sailendra dynasty who ruled over the Malay Peninsula and a large part of Indonesia—subsequently, Mahayanism flourished in Java and Sumatra for a long period. However, a Tantric form of Buddhism from Bengal also took root in Java and Sumatra.

In Campa (the name given to present-day Vietnam during Hindu colonization), Buddhism seems to have been established before the third century

AD, as supported by the discovery of a fine bronze Buddha statue of the

AmaravatI school that may validate the period. In addition, the Chinese chronicals state that when the Chinese captured the capital city of Campa in AD 605, they

Bapat, 2,500 Years of Buddhism.

206 took away more than a thousand Buddhist works—one can infer from this

description that Buddhism must have been introduced in the country in a much

earlier period. The Chinese traveler 1-Tsing remarked that in Campa in the last

quarter of the seventh century AD, Buddhists generally belonged to the

Aryasammitiya school, and there were also a few followers of the Sarvastivada

school, while inscriptions of the eighth century AD recorded that the Mahayana sect of Buddhism was strong in Campa. Tantric forms of Buddhism were also practiced side by side in the country. In keeping with the tradition of royal support and royal patronage dating back to the time of the Buddha, Buddhism enjoyed participation and support from kings and high officials in Campa. The ruins of a great Buddhist establishment at Dong Duong described such patronage, including a temple and monastery built by King Jaya Indravarman in AD 875. Mahayana

Buddhism continued in Campa until the fifteenth century AD, when the country was overthrown by the Annamites from the north who were formerly from Tonkin with a culture derived from China. As a result, over time, Buddhism in new

Campa or present-day Vietnam gradually shifted to the Chinese form of

227 Buddhism along with .

What history reveals about the spread of Theravada Buddhism to countries in South and Southeast Asia concerns four main issues. The first has to do with regional politics, while the second rests on trade activities and Buddhist missionaries who traveled from place to place preaching Buddha's teaching. The third concerns the fact that Theravada Buddhism's expansion could not have been

207 as far-reaching if it were not for the patronage of King Asoka. And fourth,

Theravada Buddhism is a very well organized religious network, though in a

peaceful way.

The Compilation of the Pali Canon

According to both canonical and noncanonical literature of the Pali

tradition, different meetings of the Buddhist Councils were held to draft the

authentic canonical texts, the authority of which is strongly grounded in the

eleventh exposition {) of the Cullavagga and which has been accepted

in literature such as the Dipavamsa and the Mahavaima.

The First Buddhist Council

The Maha-parinibbana tells us that the Buddha converted Subhadda, his

last disciple; according to the Cullavagga, after Buddha'sparinibbana the sahgha faced a threat from Subhadda, whose views threatened the dissolution of the community:

"Do not grieve, do not lament," the words of Subhadda said to the believers. "It is well that we have been relieved of the Great Master's Presence. We were oppressed by him when he said, 'This is permitted to you, this is not permitted.' In future we can do as we like, and not do as 228 we do not like."

This threat alarmed Maha Kassapa and inspired him to call for a meeting of the sahgha—the First Buddhist Council—which was held at Rajagrha (today ).

228 T. W. Davids, Buddhist Suttas, xi.

208 The Pali tradition also recorded that Maha Kassapa presided over the assembly.

Both Upali and Ananda contributed important parts, reciting all the rules (Vinaya) and the sutias. According to other sources, some parts (matikd) of the 229 Abhidhamma were also included.

Subhadda may not be the only person who had doubts; perhaps there were others who felt the same or who worried that after the Master was gone, his

Dhamma would also fade. Accounts in the Tibetan Dulva and the record of Yuan

Chwang also referred to a similar general feeling of doubts, concluded to be the reason or motive for the call for the First Council. Professor P. V. Bapat's 2,500

Years of Buddhism provides several sources describing different locations for the meeting. It may have been at the town of Rajagrha near the Saptaparni Cave; the

Tibetan Dulva places it at the Nyagrobha Cave; and the authority of the

Cullavagga gives various accounts. The Lokottaravada account places the location on the northern side of Mount Vebhara Cave (or Vaibhara); the

Asvashosa placed it at the Indrasala Cave of Mount Vebhara where a panel was supposedly erected at the insistence of King Ajatasattu, but the site of the cave was never identified.

Despite these different accounts, the First Buddhist Council is understood to have occurred at Rajagrha (modern Rajgir, Bihar state, India), because the location was suitable for accommodation and supplies were plentiful; furthermore, the Tibetan Dulva suggested that the site was selected because

Ajatasattu was a strong Buddhist believer, who therefore provided the food supply

229 Bapat, 2,500 Years of Buddhism, 36.

209 and lodging, and accounts in the Mahavamsa and Samanta-pasadika support that

of the Dulva. The Mahavamsa and Samanta-pasadika also clarify that the meeting

took place in the second month of the rainy season, and the detailed descriptions

of the ceremonies recorded in the Samanta-pasadika stale that the meeting

occurred about six weeks before the actual opening of the conference.

Maha Kassapa chose four hundred and ninety-nine bhikkhus to form the

Council; the general agreement is that the actual number of monks was five hundred, although Yuan Chwang recorded the quite exaggerated figure of a thousand monks. The Cullavagga relates that Ananda faced some protest regarding his admission to recite the dhamma since he did not attain Arahatship, but due to his high moral standard and his close attendance with the Master, he was considered well learned in the Dhamma. Nonetheless, Ananda was placed on trial before the meeting on account of his not providing water to Buddha when needed, among other charges. Despite this challenge to Ananda, the Council's procedure was for Maha Kassapa to ask Upali questions on the Vinaya, and

Ananda questions on the Dhamma.

The First Buddhist Council produced four achievements: the supervision of the vinaya under Upali, the supervision of the Dhamma under Ananda, the trial of Ananda, and the punishment of . Regarding Ananda's trial, the

Cullavagga states that it took place after the conclusion of the meeting whereas the Dulva states that it preceded Ananda's admission to the Council.

The authenticity of the Pali Canon compilation is viewed differently through Professor Oldenberg's research, as he was skeptical of the historical

210 accuracy of the First Council because the Maha-parinibbana sulfa covers the revolt of Subhadda but does not mention the First Council meeting. According to

Dr. Rhys Davids,

The significant silence to which I refer occurs in the account of the death of Gotama at the end of the Maha-parinibbana-Sutta; and I cannot do better than quote Dr. Oldenberg's remarks upon it at p. xxvi of the able 230 Introduction to his edition of the text of the Maha-vagga.

Davids further references Professor Childers' work, which shows long passages that are word-for-word identical to the Cullavagga in describing the irreverence of Subhadda's conduct, the burning of the Buddha's corpse, the distribution of his relics, and the funeral festival to honor Buddha's relics—but make no mention of the content and transaction of the proposal by Kassapa calling for the conference of the bhikkhus. Dr. Rhys Davids suggests that the author of the Maha- parinibbana-sutta was not familiar with or did not know of the account of the

First Council in the Cullavagga. This doubt among Western scholars is treated by

P. V. Bapat as an 'argumentum ex silentio'—the unanimous tradition of all the schools of Buddhism cannot be simply brushed aside as a pious fabrication.

The Second Buddhist Council

About a century after the passing of the Buddha, a second conference was called to meet at Vaisali (in Bihar state), and the Cullavagga recorded that the meeting was necessary to settle a dispute regarding the less strict rules and disciplines practiced by the monks of Vaisali. According to Ceylonese Theravada

T. W. Davids, Buddhist Suttas, xi.

211 tradition, there were about seven hundred monks who attended the assembly to

contest the Vaisali practices, but their talks were rambling and nonproductive. To

avoid the waste of time, the issue was examined by a committee consisting of four

monks from the East and four from the West. Bapat gave a detailed description of

the ten main indulgences performed by the monks of Vaisali from the

Cullavaggcr.

(i) Sirigilonakappa, or the practice of carrying salt in a horn. This practice is contrary to pacittiya 38 which prohibits the storage of food; (ii) Dvarigulakapp, or the practice of taking meals when the shadow is two fingers broad. This is against pacittiya 37 which forbids the taking of food after midday; (iii) Gamantarakappa, or the practice of going to another village and taking a second meal there on the same day. This is opposed to pacittiya 35 which forbids over-eating; (iv) Avasakappa, or the observance of the ceremonies in various places in the same parish. This practice contravenes the Mahavagga rules of residence in a parish (slma); (v) Anumatikappa, or obtaining sanction for a deed after it is done. This also amounts to a breach of monastic discipline; (vi) Acinnakappa, or using customary practices as precedents. This also belongs to the above category; (vii) Amathitakappa, or the drinking of buttermilk after meals. This practice is in contravention of pacittiya 35 which prohibits over­ eating; (viii) Jalogim-patum, or the drinking of toddy. This practice is opposed to pacittiya 51 which forbids the drinking of intoxicants; (ix) Adasakam-nisidanam, or using a rug which has no fringe. This is contrary to pacittiya 89 which prohibits the use of borderless sheets; (x) Jataruparajatam, or the acceptance of gold and silver which is 231 forbidden by rule 18 of the Nissaggiya-pacittiya.

The account of the Vaisali monks is worthy of discussion, because it higlights how different communities of monks behaved after the Buddha

Bapat, 2500 Years of Buddhism, 41-42.

212 departed. On one side, the Venerable , the son of Kakandaka, pointed out

that the practices listed above are not permitted within the vinaya, and therefore

traveled to seek support from bhikkhns of the western states and Avanti, as well as

the southern states. He went for support to the Ahoganga hill where Sambhuta

Sanavasi dwelt, and also asked for support from the Venerable Revata Sahajati.

But meanwhile, the monks of Vaisali were also going about enlisting support

among all the communities of monks. When Venerable Revata visited, they

offered him gifts in exchange for support; after his refusal, they turned to his

disciples, and Uttara agreed to take up the cause, though unsuccessfully. In the

end, Venerable Revata proceeded with the monks to head for Vaisali, where the

dispute originated, in order to settle it, but nothing was settled. Then, after the

committee was set up, the 'Ten Points' of unlawful practice by Vaisali monks

were put forth one by one for examination and decision, with Venerable

SabbakamI elected as president and Bhikkhu Ajita as seat-regulator. The

unanimous verdict of the assembly declared the conduct of the Vaisali monks to

be unlawful—the defeated monks withdrew and formed the Mahasarighika

school. After the settlement of this dispute, the Theravadins stressed significantly 232 the doctrinal differences on the nature of the arhant.

Bapat provides accounts on the Second Council recorded from the

Mahavagga, the DJpavamsa, and the Samanta-pasadika. According to the last two, the Council was held in the reign of King Kalasoka, a descendent of

Ajatasattu. Although this king was in favor of the Vaisali monks, he gave support

232 Ibid., 43-44.

213 to the Council of the Theras (or elder Theravadan monks). The DTpavaima

mentions that another Council (the Great Council) was held by a thousand monks

of Vaisali, while the Mahavarnsa related that seven hundred Theras compiled the

Dhamma. In the Samanta-pasadika, it said that Buddhaghosa observed that after

the judgment, the seven hundred monks engaged in the recital of the Vinaya and

the Dhamma and drew up a new edition resulting in the Pitaka, Nikayas, Ahgas

233 and Dhammakhandhas.

Aside from a slight difference in the Chinese and Tibetan versions (which put the date of the Second Council 110 years after the Buddha's passing), there was quite a substantial agreement on the genesis of the Council covering the issues, discussion, and decisions. Dr. Oldenberg still holds doubt on the

authenticity of the Council based on the grounds that the Vinaya text did not note

the propositions to be discussed at Vaisali; however, despite Dr. Oldenberg's points, Bapat held that the story of the Second Council was genuine. This conference resulted in a schism in the Buddhist school and the secession of the

234 Mahasarighika, which Bapat discussed in detail.

The Third Buddhist Council

The Third Council was held at Pataliputra (modern-day Patna) about 247

BC, during the reign of King Asoka, and may have been an assembly of the

Theravada only, since after the Second Council the faithful had divided into

233 Ibid., 44. 234 Ibid„ •, .

214 schools and subschools holding different interpretations of monastic disciplines.

The purpose of the Third Council was primarily to establish the purity of the

Canon, which had been corrupted by the rise of additional schools; this Council was presided over by the Elder Moggaliputta Tissa and one thousand monks under the patronage of King Asoka.

When King Asoka was converted to Buddhism, monasteries increased dramatically in material prosperity, and thus monks lived easily with comforts, which also attracted people to enter the order—the effects of this situation created the need for the Third Council. It was difficult for monks from separate schools to 235 preside together over the fortnightly uposatha ceremony, which required confession by monks of any breaches of discipline. Those monks who failed to confess were turned out of the assembly, and the fact that those monks did not follow the discipline and the teaching of the Buddha causesd extreme distress to

Thera Moggalina, who was in charge of the meeting. Over time, the number of these false monks increased until there was no Uposatha or Pavarana ceremony held at the monasteries.

Upon learning of this situation, King Asoka sent his Minister to take care of the matter, but the Minister misunderstood the command and beheaded real monks. The King continued to seek a solution to the crisis, and asked the Elder

Tissa, from whom he then received instruction in the holy religion according to

A religious day according to Buddhist tradition, where monks recite the vinaya, precepts, and other religious texts.

One of the three main disciples of the Buddha, also called Mahamoggalina.

215 the teaching of the Buddha. Asoka interrogated the true believers among the monks about the doctrine taught by the Buddha, and heard their answer that it was

Vibhajjavada (analysts of the Doctrine of Distinctions). The Thera corroborated

the truth of this answer, and the king made the request that the community of monks should hold the Uposatha ceremony so that the whole community could purify itself of nonbelievers. Acting as the guardian of the Order, Thera Tissa elected a thousand monks—the Third Council—who were well versed in the three

Pitakas to make a compilation of the true doctrine. At this Council, Thera Tissa set forth the Kathavatihu-pakarana.

The spreading of Buddha's teaching within India and abroad begins from this time, a momentous result of the Third Council. The dispatch of missionaries to different countries was led by King Asoka's son Mahinda and his daughter

Sarighamitta, who took charge on the island of Ceylon and established the ordination of the bhikkhums.

The Fourth Buddhist Council

The Fourth Buddhist Council convened in about AD 100; Buddhism had long since split into different schools, but there are two different sources describing how the Buddhists of the north and the south recorded the Council.

Under the auspices of Kaniska, a powerful king of the Saka race who was as highly esteemed by the northern Buddhists as Asoka, the Council was held at

Jalandar.

One source of proof that the Council did occur is the Tibetan record, which states that one of the results of the Council was the settling of the

216 dissensions in the brotherhood of monks. According to Yuan Chwang, King

Kaniska learned of the doctrine of the Buddha and became very interested, so

Buddhist monks gave him instruction on Buddhist scripture and he consulted the

Venerable Parsva about the true doctrine. Upon receiving his advice, the king

decided to convene a Council in which the various sects would be represented— he was eager to solve the problem of the lack of harmony among Buddhist communities and to systematize the Sarvastivadin Abhidhamma texts into the classical language of Sanskrit (at that time, they were in a translated form of

237 earlier Prakrit vernacular languages such as Gandhari in Kharisthi script).

A monastery was built to accommodate the five hundred monks who were called upon to attend and to write commentaries on the Pitaka: 100,000 verses

(slokas) each on the Sutta-pitaka and Vinaya-vibhasa, and the Abhidhamma- vibhasa. The proceedings of this Council were focused on the composition of the commentaries; monks of the Sarvastivada schools predominated at the Council, and their work on the doctrine of the Buddha needed to be strongly stressed with 238 clear explanations.

The southern Buddhists did not recognize this Council, and therefore there is no reference to it in the Chronicles of Ceylon. In addition, Etienne Lamotte, an eminent Buddhologist, held that the Fourth Council in the reign of King Kaniska

Bapat, 2,500 Years of Buddhism, 48.

Ibid., 49.

217 should not be treated as valid, " and Buddhologist David Snellgrove thought the

Theravada accoiuit of the Third Council and the Sarvastivada account of the 240 Fourth Council "equally tendentious," indicating uncertain accuracy for these

historical accounts.

Buddhist Commentaries: Buddhaghosa and Dhammapala

There are several Pali authors whose works contributed to a deeper

understanding of the teaching of Buddha—significant among them for

presentation here are Buddhaghosa and Dhammapala. Their commentaries were

intended to harmonize for the "modern" readers of their time whatever may have

conflicted or contradicted the teaching of the master, to understand the essence of

Theravada Buddhist doctrine. The Mahavamsa, a reliable source for

Buddhaghosa's biography, stated that this Buddhist scholar was born near Bodh

Gaya, though another source claims that he came from the Tailaing country—

regardless of his exact birthplace, he is famous for his Way to Purity (Visuddhi-

magga), a summary of then-current Buddhist doctrine. With great interest in

Buddhism, Buddhaghosa travelled to Anuradhapura in Ceylon, where he

discovered that the largely unknown Sinhalese Buddhist Commentaries needed to be translated into Pali. He is unboubtedly the most prolific and important writer of the Pali language.

239 - Etienne Lamotte, History of Indian Buddhism, Publications de l'lnstitut Orientaliste de Louvain 36 (Louvain, France: Peeters Press, 1988), translator's name erroneously published as Sara Webb-Boin, translation from Etienne Lamotte, Histoire du bouddhisme indien, des origins a I'ere Saka, Bibliotheque du Museon 43 (Louvain, 1958). 240 David Snellgrove, Indo-Tibetan Buddhism (Boston: , 2003), 46.

218 Buddhaghosa's commentaries (atthakaiha)provide much information on the society, culture, and religious history of ancient India and Ceylon. Earlier commentaries written in Pali or other languages may have reached Ceylon around the third century BC, and subsequently been translated into Sinhalese.

Buddhaghosa reworked into Pali much of that earlier material in addition to the

Dravidian commentaries and the Sinhalese tradition. The ealier commentaries have not survived, so that the works of Buddhaghosa and his successors are a treasure of information on the development of life and thought in the Theravada

Buddhist community, as well as providing much secular and legendary material.

His commentaries seemed to offer the stylistic elegance of doctrinal Buddhist orthodoxy, highlighted with a philosophical and exegetical commentary, along with easily understood narratives and a critical comparison of various authorities.

Later commentaries were sourced from these previous works and also served as sources for the epic chronicles of Ceylon as they appeared in the Dipavapnsa and

Mahavamsa.

Buddhaghosa's first work, the famous Visuddhi-magga, is known as a compendium of the whole of the Tipitaka; unfortunately, although he contributed many writings to Pali Buddhist literature, there is no chronological order that can be established. In the Great Commentary (Maha-atthakatha), he provided comments on the Vinaya, the four principal nikayas, and much on the seven books of the Abhidhamma Pitaka. Additionally, he is credited with writing comments on the Dhammapada, Khuddaka-patha, Suttanipata, and Jataka—the four books

219 belong to the Khuddhaka-nikaya—though this is still in doubt since the stylistic 241 grounds are being debated by later scholars.

Buddhaghosa's Commentary on the Jataka (Jataka tthakatha) includes

many stories of Gotama Buddha's previous lives, stressing the moral quality of

the bodhisatta. In all cases, the bodhisatta or "Buddha-to-be," holds a leading role in the short narratives describing his unique personality in a dramatic and romantic Buddhist view of being compassionate; the themes have influenced

Buddhist arts and literature. In most of those stories, a bodhisatta is a being who cares for other fellow beings, with charitable acts and self-sacrifice.

As an example, one story in the Birth of Vessantara (Vessantara-jataka) described a prince who not only discarded his material possessions but also gave away his wife and two children to a begger. This piece of literature was in the books used as college-level reading material in Cambodia—I still recall the argument by one of my college classmates in a class discussion on Vessantara.

His argument stressed the role and responsibility of the individual prescribed in other Cambodian books such as Cbaps [Rules or law] and in a Cambodian proverb drawn from the Dhammapada, saying "the self is the lord of self (khlourn teepeung khlourn, atta hi attano natho)." The discussion showed the contradictions within a Buddhist perspective, one from the Jataka and the other from the Dhammapada. The Jataka then, clearly shows that Vessantara is quite selfish, said the student—he is only striving for his own meritorius accumulation to attain the stage of Buddha-hood, and neglects the well-being of his loved ones.

241 Bapat, 2,500 Years of Buddhism, 216.

220 Without directly addressing the student's argument, the professor only referred to the study of Vessantara as a case analysis of how one can lead a Buddhist life without falling into the two extremes as stated by the Buddha.

Another source on Buddhaghosa is the chronicles of Myanmar, which firmly claim that the great commentator was of Mon origin and a native of

Thaton. According to the chronicles, his return from Sri Lanka with the Pali scriptures, commentaries, and grammatical works, gave a fresh start to . Most scholars acknowledge this claim as patriotic, fanciful admiration, since Buddhaghosa dedicated his life to working in Sri Lanka on Pali commentaries. However, the proximity of Sri Lanka and Myanmar may have allowed Buddhaghosa to travel to Myanmar while he was living in Sri Lanka translating, and thus he still may have been a means of the spread of Theravada

Buddhism to Myanmar.

The Theravada Buddhist author Dhammapala lived after Buddhaghosa and came from Badaratittha, on the southeastern coast of India. He wrote commentaries on the works left untreated by Buddhaghosa, such as the

Khuddaka-nikaya, the Udana, the Itivuttaka, the Vimana-vatthu, the Peta-vattha, the Thera-gatha, the TherJ-gatha, and the Caciya-pitaka. All of these are compiled into one commentary called the Elucidation of the True Meaning

242 (Paramattha dipariT).

Dhammapala also worked to write commentaries on post-canonical text, called the Netti or "Guide." His commentaries were quite helpful in the

242 Bapat, 2,500 Years of Buddhism.

221 understanding of contemporary religious conditions in South India and Ceylon.

His work provides valuable information about intellectual activities within the traditional circles of Theravada Buddhism, like Vasudhamma of the

Mahasarighikas or the Abhyagiri school. Thus, Dhammapala's commentaries help to illuminate religious conditions of the time in southern India and Ceylon because his work is based on the original Sinhalese language, which often projected social conditions.

It is seen, the works by these two Asian scholars, both of whom have been recognized by Western academia, have contributed much to explaining the essence of Buddhism within the Theravada tradition. The Path to Purification by

Buddhaghosa is most well known for the author's freely quoting from almost the entire Pali Canon as well as post-canonical literature—the Mahavama refers to his work as the summary of the Tipitaka. Dhammapala is well remembered for his work on the Thera-gatha and the Theri-gatha, collections of poems depicting the life stories of those who decided to join the Sangha.

222 CHAPTER FOUR

BUDDHIST DEVELOPMENT, INSTITUTIONS, AND PHILOSOPHY IN THE

CONTEXT OF CAMBODIAN HISTORY

Although Cambodia's prehistory has not been much studied as to the origins of early inhabitants or the dates they lived in the area, three settlements have been located. The first settlement, at Loang Spean in province, evidences human occupation over 6,000 years ago in caves, already with the knowledge and techniques for polishing stone and decorating pottery with cord- marked, combed, and carved designs. The second settlement, at the Bas-Plateau in

Kompong Cham province, is radiocarbon dated from the second century BC, and indications are that the inhibitants of this site were similar to the people of Loang

Spean. The third settlement is at Samrong Sen in central Cambodia, giving prehistoric evidence of occupation at about 1500 BC. This prehistoric period is characterized by the development of basic skills like rice cultivation, the domestication of the water buffalo and ox, the use of metals, and the practice of . Opinions differ as to the end of the prehistoric period, though it is generally agreed to be somewhere between 500 BC and AD 100.

Prominent scholars such as George Coedes, Adhemard Leclere, Etienne

Aymonier, G. Maspero, and B. R. Chatterji, just to name a few, contributed to the history of Southeast Asian studies and have been revered by Western researchers.

Even R. C. Majumdar, in his 1942-1943 lectures series on the results of his nearly

243 ™ Rooney, Angkor.

223 twenty years of research covering Champa (Annam in present-day Vietnam),

SuvarnadvTpa (Malaysia), Kambuja (Cambodia), Burmar (Myanmar), and Siam

(Thailand), credited these prominent scholars in his Kambuja-Desa or An Ancient

244 Hindu Colony in Cambodia.

Among these deans of scholarly research, three writers are selected here who illuminated the religions of Cambodia. The first is G. Coedes, who has been recognized through his translations of various materials including inscriptions and annals in Pali, Sanskrit, Cambodian, and Thai—an approximate two hundred scholarly articles. Both the editor and the translator of Coedes's Indianized States of Southeast Asia specify that Coedes synthesized his work and that of his colleagues by writing integrated, readable accounts for specialists and the general public. Coedes's primary interest has been in the history of the Khmer Empire, and he contributed a reliable historical chronology and incisive delineation of the nature of Khmer kingship and other traditional Khmer institutions. This selected book gives clarity to how Indian kingdoms began to be established, and the roles religion and culture played in the new kingdoms of Southeast Asia.

245 The second selected writer is Adhemard Leclere, whose work on the history of Cambodia is thorough and provides additional highlights on neighboring countries and their relations with Cambodia. He presents the history in different phases, each of which describes historical events in the countries within the region, showing their political, economic, and religious relations with

244 Majumdar, Kambuja-Desa. 245 Leclere, Histoire du Cambodge.

224 Cambodia. For example, the first phase presents a comparative chronology of

Cambodia from the beginning of Christian era (AD 0-667) with Cambodian kings

and dates of their reigns in addition to the events of other countries such as

Champa, Laos, Mon or Pegu, Siam or Thay, Annam or Tonkin, Marammas or

Burma, Shan, and China. In the second phase, he continues the history and

relations of Champa, Annam-Tonkin, the Strait of Malacca, the Strait of

Malaysia, Siam, India and China, from AD 667-908. In other words, Leclere

provides ongoing aspects arid developments of political and religious change for

the countries involved around Cambodia.

The third book is M. K. Sharan's Studies in Sanskrit Inscriptions of

Ancient Cambodia, in which he recorded and interpreted Sanskrit and Khmer

inscriptions; this book provides additional verification for the discussion in this

dissertation, particularly my responses to findings by Western authors such as

A. Thompson, Marston, and others. For example, I believe that Thompson must have confused the names of two ancient Khmer kings, Chant Reachea of the

sixteenth century and Aug Chan of the late eighteenth century.

The Foundation of Early Cambodia

Coedes used the designation "Farther India" for the geographic area comprised of Indonesia and the Indochinese Peninsula, which includes the Malay

Peninsula though it excludes Assam, Bengal, and the northern part of present-day

Vietnam. Because of its geographic position and natural riches, this region was known as the "Land of Gold," and was of primary importance to the Indian navigators who sailed toward it in seach of new commodities around the

225 beginning of the Christian Era. For example, Indonesia is the land of spices, camphor, and aromatic woods for Arabs and Europeans, and subsequently the country became one of the most important producers of rubber, tin, and oil. The

Malay Peninsula and the Sunda Islands were necessary maritime ports for commerce for seamen going from the West to India and China, or vice versa. This trade activity marked the expansion of Indian civilization to the countries and islands of Asia, and Coedes' observations identified the importance of Indian civilization and its influences on these nations.

Cambodia is one of the countries of the Farther India expansion, and has had many names from ancient to present times: Funan, Chenla, Kambuja,

Kingdom of Angkor, Kampuchea, Nokor Khmer, Cambodge, Cambodia, Khmer

Republic, , People's Republic of Kampuchea, State of

Cambodia, and finally the Kingdom of Cambodia. Each of these official names holds unique characteristics and historical events, but they share a common geographical setting. The Kingdom of Cambodia is the country's current name, arrived at after the country reached a resolution of its political conflicts among different factions, and experienced its first democratic general election in 1993 under the supervision of the United Nation Transitional Authority for Cambodia

(UNTAC)—in other words, the country has a king, but the king does not govern.

This land with an area of 69,898 square miles has changed its boundaries throughout the centuries, and absorbed the invasion of its aggressive neighbors, the Thai and the Vietnamese. Cambodia is surrounded to the west-northwest by

226 Thailand, the northeast by Laos, the southeast by Vietnam, and the southwest by

the Gulf of Thailand.

The Empire ofFunan

Although the land occupied by Cambodia has been populated for millennia, the area's history was left unrecorded until the Chinese chronicles of the early Christian Era. Historians summarized that in the first century AD, there were already a small number of Khmer states that existed on the fringes of the earliest recorded state in the region—the empire ofFunan. The first information about Funan is from an account left by the mission of a Chinese envoy named

K'ang T'ai, who visited this country in the middle of the third century AD. The original of this narrative from the Chinese texts and epigraphs, along with a

Sanskrit inscription from the third century, constitute the basic documentation of the first two centuries of the history of the kingdom.

In the fewer than two thousand years of its imperfectly documented experience, the Cambodian state has evolved along the line of ascension, dominance, and retrogression inherent in all civilizations. Located between India and China, the first and most important state in Southeast Asia in historic times was known as Funan, and was centered on the delta of the Mekong River and the

Basin of (the Great Lake). As a naval power and port, this place straddles the main trading route connecting the Isthmian Harbors with the ports of

South China, and was a dominating power in trade from AD 100-550. Of the early kingdoms dating from that era, Funan was the earliest on the Indo-Chinese peninsula, and Indianization of the country occurred through successive waves of

227 migration from India starting in the first century AD. The name Funan is derived from the Mandarin pronunciation of the old Khmer word Phnom (Bnam), which means "mountain." The capital was about two hundred kilometers from the South

China Sea and from the maritime port of Oc Eo (southern part of Vietnam), which stretched toward the Gulf of Thailand. Through the main and active maritime traffic between India and China, the energetic Funanese conducted commerce widely and developed a high economic level with a masterful irrigation system and extensive transportation infrastructure. Among the ancient treasures discovered at the Funanese port of Oc Eo were statues of the Hindu gods Vishnu and , a seal ring written in Sanskrit, and Funanese coins dated on both sides

246 from AD 152 portraying the Empeor Antonius Pius of the Roman Empire, which together indicate sea commerce links between India, China, and Rome.

The Sanskrit inscriptions in AD 357 provide a well documented period, and the dates pinpoint the fact that the Indian rulers of Funan were of Scythian origin from the line of . This link explains the tradition and popularity of the worship of the Sun God (Surya), and the frequency of this iconic statue in 247 Funanese art. Coedes referred to the Chinese annals which state:

The king of Funan in 357 AD had sent one of his relatives from an embassy of China to the sovereign Murunda, who reigned on the Gangas. The Murunda was the dynastic title of the Kushans or Indo-Scythians in 248 the line of Kanishka. Buddhism also flourished very early there.

246 Coedes, Indianized States. 247 Ibid., 47. 248 Ibid., 56.

228 In addition, two Funanese monks who were well versed in Sanskrit were sent to

China to translate Buddhist texts into Chinese during that period.

Theravada Buddhism used the Sanskrit language and flourished in Funan from the third through the sixth century, the measurement of the country's cultural and religious achievement. While Funan prospered, a new Indianized state was taking shape which reached the Mekong and along the Se Mun from

Bassak to Roi Et of Thailand. The making of Southeast Asian countries reflected the emancipation of former vassals states of Funan situated in the northern

Malaya and to the west of the Menam River.

The Empire ofChenla

Chenla, another ancient name for Cambodia given by Chinese historians, was certainly in existence by the end of the sixth century AD. The first inscription in the , which dates to the beginning of the seventh century AD, proves that the majority of the inhibitants were Khmer. A later record from

Khmer legend about the origin of Funan names the city ofChenla as the cradle of the country's geopolitical strategy, perhaps to secure stability for economic domination of the region. Coedes cleverly presents Funan and its

249 dismemberment; the rise of Snvijaya, a Buddhist kingdom that had just conquered the hinterland of Jambi and the island of Bangka and was preparing to launch a military expedition against Java (AD 683-686); the division of

Cambodia; and the appearance of the Sailendras in Java by a brief introduction:

Ibid., 65-96.

229 The development of navigation, which was due in great part to Arab merchants and is documented by the voyages of Buddhist pilgrims and the increasingly frequent exchanges of embassies between China and the countries to the south, inevitably gave a special importance to the southeast coast of Sumatra, whose outlines then differed appreciably from those of today. Since this coast was situated at equal distance from the Sunda Strait and the Strait of Malacca, the two great breaks in the natural barrier formed by the Malay Peninsula and Indonesia, it was the normal point of landfall for boats coming from China on the northeast monsoon. Moreover, the fall in the early seventh century of Funan, a state that had been the dominant power in the southern seas for five centuries, left the field open for the inhabitants around Sumatran estuaries and harbors to develop control of commerce between India and China. It was thanks to these circumstances that the rapid rise of the kingdom of SrTvijaya took . , . , , 250 place in the eighth century.

Naturally, the riches of Funan and Chenla were founded by the cooperative achievement of two royal Khmer brothers who took the Sivaite reign names of Bhavavarman (AD 550-600) and Mahandravarman (AD 600-611). As

Groslier describes:

Funan and Chenla did have one trait in common, the need for a centralized society under a single strong power to create and maintain such systems. In that respect Chenla was the direct successor of Funan, and used the same methods to maintain a similar political authority. The two empires also shared an initial grounding in Indian civilization, and the victorious Chenla carried on the brilliant civilization of conquered Funan without , . . . .251 barbaric interruption.

The period of Indian Colonization as recorded in Khmer history indicates that toward the end of the eighth century, the Empire of Chenla began to break up into two states, Upper Chenla (or Land Chenla) and Lower Chenla (or Water

Chenla). This division took place after the death of the Khmer king, Jayavarman,

250 Ibid., 81. 251 Grosher, Angkor, 69.

230 in AD 514. Upper Chenla was politically more united than Lower Chenla and more vigorous in leadership, and sent repeated missions to China; its government functioned along Indian lines, with divine rule from the Khmer court, backed by the full pretension of the practice of the imperial Devaraja cult of Funan tradition.

Eventually, the Khmer king who attained power in AD 795 and took the reign name of Jayavarman II in AD 802 led a military campaign to liberate Cambodia from the suzerainty of Java, which marked the partial reunification of Cambodia and began the Angkor period.

The Effects of Indianization on Culture, Civilization, and Religion

Historical records reveal that China and India contributed to Indochina, not only through developing the sovereignity of its individual states but also their culture, civilization, and religions. The Indianization of Southeast Asian countries should be understood essentially as the expansion of an organized culture, and the appearance in Indochina of nations known to history is a result of the direct intervention of China and India and their influence.

Chinese and Indian influence was predominant in the early period, and was initially apprehended only through literature and arts; for example, archaeological analysis of inscriptions carved by various artists of the peninsula after they had adopted Chinese and Sanskrit as languages of civilization, showed that China and India had taken over the scripts used by these artists to write their own languages. According to linguistic research, the Mon-Khmer language has more than one hundred dialects spoken throughout much of Southeast Asia, mainly in Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam but also including Thailand, Myanmar,

231 and the Malay Peninsula. Mon-Khmer languages are Astroasiatic languages that include the Munda language of India, and evolved from Pallava, a variant of the Devanagari script used to write Sanskrit, Hindi, and other Indian languages such as Kannada, Telugu, and Malayalam.

The area receiving Chinese influence was directly colonized, and the exact dates discovered indicate Chinese colonization mostly of the Annamite countries, known as present-day Vietnamese states. Groslier wrote:

The Chinese conquest in 221 BC began to extend south of the Yangtse into new territory, which was the area for long imported exotic products. The Annamite countries remained Chinese territories until 907 AD. In practice the infinitely superior Chinese civilization gained complete control of the superstructure of society, with its system of ideographs, its literary traditions, and its administration based on the moral principles of Confucianism. Thus the Vietnamese perforce became part of the Chinese 252 world.

Even though China did not directly colonize Cambodia, Chinese cultural influence penetrated Cambodian culture through vassalage to Vietnam. The

Indian expansion into Southeast Asia, which was not limited to Indochina, had the same effect on Indonesia. The causes and effects of the colonization were very similar to the expansion of China toward the Annamite region, though the means and scale were different.

Essentially it was to find new sources of supply of the exotic products, gold, precious stones, and spices—which they then supplied to the Mediterranean world that the Indians sailed eastward. The pattern imposed by monsoon, which made it necessary to spend at least one season on the westward shores, and the need to build up economic cargoes of rare

232 products from people who were ill-organized and not always easy to trade with compelled merchants to establish trading posts.

Furthermore within these areas, the natives were apparently and rapidly

convinced of the superiority of the new civilization and thus were easily won

over, and consolidated their own development with all the resources of the new

social, cultural, and religious orders. Intermarriage was another result of Indian influence, such as the Cambodian legend of the marriage of the Hindu Kaundinya and the Naga princess of the Khmer race. These common interests led to the growth of an Indianized elite which was able to fashion the great natural units of the peninsula into a number of separate kingdoms. These historical records and legends are confirmed by numerous passages recorded in the Buddhist scriptures

(e.g., the Niddesa) that refer to "the expeditions across the sea."

Presenting the foundations of the ancient Cambodian kingdoms through their geopolitical setting contributes much to the understanding of religious development in the country. The information about Funan appeared first in the popularity of the worship of the god Surya; then, Theravada Buddhism was established as early as the first or second century AD. The Chinese missionary

K'ang T'ai wrote:

There are walled villages, palaces, and dwellings...They devote themselves to agriculture. They sow one year and harvest for three. Moreover, they like to engrave ornaments and to chisel. Many of their eating utensils are silver. Taxes are paid in gold, silver, pearls, and perfumes. There are books and depositories of archives and other things.

Ibid., 36.

233 Their characters of writing resemble those of the Hu (a people of Central 254 Asia using a script of Indian origin).

The choronicle of the Southern Ch'i around AD 480 is the first record of

King Jayavarman of Funan, the descendent of the Brahman Kaundinya. This chronicle also describes Sivaism as dominant in Funan but mentions that

Buddhism was practiced at the same time. On the other hand, Pelliot observed that:

The [missionary] petition is in great part Buddhist. An Indian monk, 255 Nagasena who had residence in Funan had delivered the petition...

their custom is to worship the sky spirits. They make bronze images of these sky spirits, those that have two faces have four arms, and those that have four faces have eight arms.

Pursuant to this discussion of the development of Buddhism in Cambodia,

I turn now to a brief discussion of Nagasena, who is credited with writing the non- canonical book called the Questions ofMalinda (Malindapanha), a great literary achievement in the field of Indian prose writing. Malinda (Menander in Greek) was a Bactrian Indo-Greek king of 140-110 BC who was quite skeptical of the doctrine of Buddhism and was enlightened by the teaching of the monk Nagasena.

However, not much was written about Nagasena, and only the first chapter of the

254 Coedes, Indianized States, 42. 255 Paul Pelliot, "Le Fou-Nan," BEFEO 3 (1903): 294, retrieved April 16,2009,from http://aefek.free.fr/bibliothequeDocuments00010562.html. 256 Ibid., 269.

234 Questions of Malinda covered historical and personnal topics—the rest of the chapters were doctrinal.

P. V. Bapat's 2,500 Years of Buddhism tells us that the birthplace of

Nagasena was Kajarigala, a well-known town near the on the eastern border of the Middle Country (present-day Nepal), and that his father was a brahmana named Sonuttara. When Nagasena was well versed in the study of the three Vedas, history, and other subjects, he studied the Buddha's doctrine under the Elder Rohana and entered the Order. Later, he studied under the Elder

Assagutta of Vattaniya, and was then sent to Pataliputra (Patna) where he made a special study of the Buddha's doctrine. In the end, Nagasena proceeded to the

Saiikheyya Monastery of Sagala where he met King Malinda.

As a result of all his studies, Nagasena was well professed in the doctrine of both Hindu and Buddhist traditions. Based on his birthplace (if what is given by Bapat is legitimate), it can be said that Nagasena was familiar with the practices of Brahmanism and Tannic Buddhism. However, it is unclear whether

Tantric is Hindu or Tibetan; this issue requires additional research re-examining the different writing styles of the Malindapahha.

If Nagasena who wrote the Malindapanha was the same monk who lived in Funan and was sent to China to translate Buddhist texts, then Theravada

Buddhism must have been founded in the country before the Christian Era.

Furthermore, the Questions of Malinda was written either at the time of Menander

(150 BC) or shortly after, but definitely before the time of Buddhaghosa (AD

400), because the book was translated into Chinese (the version known as

235 Nagasena-siitra) between AD 317 and 420. If Nagasena met King Malinda in 150

BC, and the fourth period of the Pali text compilation described by B. C. Law

occurred between 230 BC and 80 BC, then Nagasena wrote the book a while after

this meeting. This analysis provides about a seventy-year period in which

Nagasena could have started his writing, depending on how old he was when he

met the king. Nonetheless, the timeframe could not exceed the fifth period of

80-20 BC according to Law's calculation. In addition, it is indicated that the book

went through several redactions; only chapters one to three seem to be essential, based on the different writing styles contained in the book. Further research is

required to confirm that the Nagasena who lived in Funan was indeed the same

Nagasena who traveled to China as a translator of Buddhist texts.

The reign of Jayavarman Kaundinya marked a period of grandeur for

Funan, according to the Chinese chronicles, and in the annals of AD 503, an imperial order described the political and economic status of the country:

The king of Funan, Kaudinya Jayavarman, lives at the limits of the ocean. From generation to generation, the king and his people have governed the distant lands of the south. Their sincerity manifests itself afar; through their many interpreters they offer presents in homage; it is fitting to reciprocate and show them savor and accord them a glorious title, General 257 of the Pacified South, King of Funan.

The last king of Funan was Rudravarman, who sent various embassies to

China in AD 517 and 539, and the Sanskrit inscription found in Bad of Takeo province (Cambodia) recorded that Buddhist monuments were erected during his reign. Additionally, the History of the Liang describes a Chinese embassy sent to

257 Coedes, Indianized States, 59.

236 Funan between AD 535 and 545, to ask the Funanese king to collect Buddhist

texts and send Buddhist teachers to China. As Coedes decribes, the king of Funan

chose for this mission an Indian Paramartha or Gunaratna of Ujjayini, who was

258 then living in Funan.

The name Chenla, consistently used by the Chinese to refer to Cambodia after the Funan period, is a name that remains unexplained to this present day.

The oldest text mentioning Chenla is the History of the Siti, describing a vassal kingdom to Funan. Scholars and linguists have not been able to identify any link between Sanskrit and Khmer words that might correspond to the pronunciation of the name Chenla, but only its geographical setting located in the middle of the

Mekong in the region of Bassac (Laos), where Coedes noted:

The mountain of Vat Ph'u which dominates the site of Basse bears on its summit a great stone block similar to that which earned Varella the Chinese name Ling (Lingaparvaa) and its modern European name which, in Portuguese document, is used to designate pagoda. As for P'o-to-li, we can recognize here the first two syllables of Bhadresvara, which was the 259 very name of the god venerated at Vat Ph'u.

The transition from Funan to Chenla can be identified as politically motivated, and religious records surrounding the transfer of sovereignty can be presented. Sanskrit inscriptions found in two locations indicate that Bhavavarman

I, the king of Chenla, took over power with energy; the inscription in

Mongkolborei (Phnom Banteay Neang, Cambodia) commemorates the erection of lingas, and another inscription in Si Thep (Thailand) describes the erection of

Ibid., 66.

237 steles by the king on his accession of power. Furthermore, during Bhavavarman

I's reign other lingas were erected along the Mekong River, in the region of

Kratie and Stung Treng, northern provinces of Cambodia, and to the west of

Bunram between the Mun River (Thailand) and the Dangrek Mountains (at the

Thailand/Cambodia border)—indicating that sought a vast

territorial domain extending west to the valley of Nam Sak (Thailand), though he

assigned his brother Chitrasena control over it. Bhavavarman took the coronation

name of in AD 600, and established "lingas of the Mountain—

Shiva (Girishiva) and the erection of the bull Nandi," which were erected on

the occasion of the conquest of the whole country. The king strictly followed the

expansionist policies of his predecessors—numerous archaeological remains,

monuments, sculptures, and inscriptions from the period indicate the progressive

strengthening of power of the Khmer kings found in the valley of the lower

Mekong and the Basin of the Great Lake (Tonle Sap). In all, the cult of Siva in the

form of the linga was privileged with royal favor and was almost the state

religion, with a little trace of Buddhism practiced (aside from the Buddha of

Gupta style mentioned in connection with the Funan period).

Monuments erected prior to the twelfth century AD were mostly dedicated to . Dawn Rooney's chronology of Khmer monuments explains how these monuments reflect religious practices by ancient Khmer kings. In the

the ninth century AD, three monuments were built by King : Preah

260 Ibid., 69. 261 Rooney, Angkor, 284.

238 Ko or the 'Sacred bull' dedicated to Shiva, which was a funerary temple for the

king's parents, maternal grandparents, and a previous King Jayavarman 11 and his

wife; , dedicated to Shiva; and , also dedicated to Shiva in the

memory of the king's father. The tenth-century monuments were all dedicated to

Hindu religious tradition, the Trinity of Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva, though mostly to the god Shiva. Approaching the eleventh century, Khmer monuments began to shift to the god Vishnu, and then slowly into Mahayana Buddhist modes

all the way to the thirteenth century (emphasized by David Chandler as a time of religious change in Cambodia, especially during the reign of King Jayavarman

VII).

Cambodian Buddhism contained in the inscriptions of the late sixth or seventh centuries AD recorded the donation of slaves to the three Bodhisattas, and

M. K. Sharan identifies that the Khmer referred to the Bodhisattas in the general term used for Brahma na divinity as Vrah Kamrata Ah or "the ."

Sharan also gathered more evidence showing that the statue of Lokesvara became prominent toward the end of the twelfth century and was then the leading deity of the period. King Jayavarman VII and the people favored this deity, which explains the statues of Lokesvara and the monasteries dedicated to the king that

Sharan, Studies in Sanskrit Inscriptions, 278.

Jnan Bahadur Sakya, Short Description of Gods, Goddesses and Ritual objects of in Nepal (, Nepal: Handicraft Association of Nepal, 1989). The compiler describes Lokesvara as lord of the world form of Avalokitesvara. A form is assumed when Buddhist pantheon incorporated on Shiva.

239 were installed and constructed. As an example, in Thma Puok, a few kilometers south of Bantay Chmar, Finot described the deity as:

It is standing, in short sampot; the torso and legs bare. It wears a high coiffure, in five stages; without the figure of Amitabha. It has a single head and four arms holding the lotus, the rosary, the flacon and the book.

Inscriptions found in two other monuments, and Bayou, state that the monuments were constructed to install the other Buddhist gods to complete the accommodation of the trinity. Sharan, relying on L. P. Briggs, concluded:

The Bayou was originally dedicated to Lokesvara. The figure found on the fronton and in other prominent places concealed by later constructions until brought to light by Parmentier in 1923 is the figure of Lokesvara and the four faces of the tower of Bayon and its walls are the faces of Lokesvara in the image of Jayavarman VII with whom he is considered to have been united. But it is just certain that the Bayon was finally dedicated to the Buddharaja under the lineaments of Jayavarman VII.

It is also important to consider Sharan's study of Sanskrit inscriptions of

Cambodia with extended citations from previous scholarly work. He noted that in their propagation and adoption of Rajadharma, and construction of shrines and monuments, the Khmer kings almost assumed the role of supreme guardian of all the religious foundations of their realms. For example, King whose

264 Sharan, Studies in Sanskrit Inscriptions, 279. 265 „ ., Ibid.

240 posthumous name is Paramasivaloka built monuments at Lolei,

Bakheng, , and , was declared the Guru of

the entire world {svaloka guru samrata in Sanskrit), and founded nonsectarian hermitages.

I strongly believe that messages for humanity can be found in the interpretations of the bas-reliefs, sculptures, and inscriptions on monuments erected by King Jayavarman VII (AD 1181-1122). Fourteen of them reflect

Buddhist motifs: Ta Prohm or "Ancestor Brahma," or "Fort of

Appeals," Neak Poan or "Coiled Serpents," or "Elder Som," or "Royal Pool," Angkor Thorn or "Big City," Bayon, ,

Terrace of the Leper King, Krol Ko, Pheah Palilay, , Preah

271 Khan or "Sacred Sword," and Chapel of the Hospital. These works hold the

King's wisdom learned from his life experiences, compiled as messages for humanity.

These monuments also express King Jayavarman VIFs enlightenment in terms of his various religious understandings, such as integrated spiritual

266 Rooney, Angkor, 285. 267 Ibid., 250.

268 Ibid., 234.

269 Ibid., 255. 270 Ibid., 206. 271 Ibid., 286.

241 perspectives that required specialized study based on historical analysis. Two

among these monuments were for his family: Ta Prohm is in honor of his parents,

and PrajMparamita was apparently for his mother. There was also a portrait

statue of the king's Buddhist teacher, surrounded in the temple by statues of more

than six hundered dependent gods and bodhisattas; these statues indicate the

syncretism of Cambodian religion, showing that Saivism and Vaisnavism were

practiced together along with Mahayana Buddhism. Another temple, Preah Khan,

was dedicated in 1191 and housed a portrait statue of the king's father

characteristic of Lokesvara. As Chandler indicated, these temples form the triad

of: (wisdom), the Buddha (enlightenment), and Lokesvara

(compassion), all of which were central to Jayavarman VII's religious

272 thinking. Furthermore, a policy of nonrestricted religious preference and practice was established during his reign, and has been described by Chandler and

Mahesh Kumar Sharan.

Cambodian Buddhism differed from its Indian counterpart. The religion had its advent in India by contradicting and opposing Brahmanism and the prevalent Vedic traditions where the Brahmanas monopolized all religious activities and performed most superfluous Yajnas. The Cambodian Buddhism, on the other hand, had no such rivalries or ideological disputes as Buddha advocated the middle path and avoided conflicts with the power of the state. The followers of Buddhism earned the respect of kings since they did not have any political bias. Besides Buddhist kings, other kings professed in different religious also respected the religion with the result that Funan became an important center of this religion. The Buddhists who flourished at the time of Funan belonged to the Hinayana

D. Chandler, History of Cambodia, 63.

242 sect and had their canons in Sanskrit for which their love increased with the introduction of Mahayana.

The stone carvings at Angkor Wat temple were built in the first half of the twelfth century by King Suryavarman II and were dedicated to the god Vishnu.

Counting clockwise from the West gallery one can see: the battle of Kurukshetra and the Battle of Lanka, a scene from the Ramayana and the life of on the southwest corner pavilion; an army of Khmer King Suryavarman II and the judgement by /Heaven and Hell in the south gallery; the Churning of the

Ocean of Milk (KsTrabdhi-mathanam) Inscription and the Victory of God Vishnu over the Demons in the east gallery; the Victory of Krishna over Bana and the

Battle between the Gods and the Demons in the north gallery; and last is a scene 274 from the Ramayana also in the corner pavilion.

On the other hand, and its vicinity reflect mostly Buddhist epics. Built by King Jayavannan VII around the end of the twelfth century to the beginning of the thirteenth century, at these sites also, each cardinal direction has its own distinguished monuments and symbolism. Among them, Bayon evokes many Buddhist symbols of Avalokiteshvara with its more than two hundred large faces carved on 54 towers; this monument remains one of the most enigmatic as well as majestic temples of the Angkor group.

Sharan: Studies in Sanskrit Inscriptions, 276. Rooney, A nkgor, 139^6.

243 Highlights of Cambodia from the Thirteenth Century to the Present Day

According to Chandler, the role played by King Jayavarman VII in is difficult to judge because the history of his reign indicates the imposition of one individual's will on the people, the politital and economic landscape, and that part of Asia—from a Mahayana Buddhist perspective, seemingly an ideal service to the people and nation. The establishment of

Theravada Buddhism in the later period in Cambodia was viewed differently by various scholars. For example, Chandler wrote:

Some writers have connected Cambodia's conversion to Theravada Buddhism to the upheaval that affected Southeast Asia in the wake of the Mongol invasions of China; others have seen it as evidence of the growing influence of Mon- and Thai-speaking peoples, who were already Theravada Buddhists, on the people of Angkor. We know that wandering missionaries from the Mon-language parts of Siam, from Burma, and from Ceylon played an important part in the process and that Cambodian pilgrims visited Ceylon to learn about Theravada Buddhism and to obtain clerical credentials. We also know some of the agents of the change, but it 275 is difficult to say why conversion was so rapid and so widespread.

The various scholarly analyses on Cambodia's conversion to Theravada

Buddhism described by Chandler above could be reexamined based on

Coedes, who discusses of the Mongol conquest in the thirteenth century and the decline of the Indian kingdoms. Coedes concludes convincingly that the

Mongol conquests of the thirteenth century and the attempts of Kublai Khan, the successor of the Sung emperors, to establish hegemony over the countries of the

D. Chandler, History of Cambodia, 69.

Coedes, lndianized States, 189-217.

244 Southern Seas starting from AD 1260 on held tremendous repercussions for the

countries of Southeast Asia. Furthermore, and according to Coedes,

The campaigns of the Mongol military chiefs in Champa, Burma, and Java, and the policy of the court of Peking favoring the splitting-up of the old Indian states into small principalities, led in the first half of the thirteenth century to the liberation of the Thai of the middle Menams, who previously had been under the Khmers, and to the foundation of the Thai 277 kingdoms of Sukhothai.

Within the thirteenth century, the kingdom of Pagan was destroyed in

1287 by the Mongols and the Thai expanded into Burma and the valleys of the

Menams' upper triburaries at the expense of the Mons, and into the lower basin of this river and on the Mekong at the expense of the Khmer. Also, the Mongol conquest in Champa (present-day Vietnam) led to the abandonment of provinces north of the Col des Nuages to the Annamites (Vietnamese). On the other hand, the Javanese kingdoms of founded in 1292 began to put pressure on the

Sumatran kingdoms in combination with the expansion of the Thai of Sokhuthai into the Malay Peninsua, leading to the dismemberment of the old empire of the maharajas. At the same time, Muslim invasions into India proper and the spreading of Islam in Indonesia brought an end to Indian culture in Farther India.

Seizing the opportunity, Singhalese Buddhism began to spread from Burma to

Siam.

Ibid., 251.

245 The Period of French Colonization

During the sixteenth century, the French mandated and adopted a number of Southeast Asian countries—Indonesia; Malaysia; Singapore; Myanmar; and the three peninsula lands of Cambodian, Laos, and Vietnam—as colonies called

French Indochina. Cambodia had gone through a period of religious split within the monastic order, and the fall of Angkor marked a decline in the country's religious strength caused by its two stronger rivals, Thailand and Vietnam; as a result, Cambodian internal affairs tended to stay under the domination of foreigners. Furthermore, the Cambodian royal family also divided into pro-Thai and pro-Vietnamese camps; under these political circumstances, the country was geared toward the Thai rather than the Vietnamese in terms of religious outlook.

The establishment of the French Protectorate of Cambodia in 1863 marked the beginning of a 99-year period of peace, prosperity, and stability that has been

278 characterized as "colonialism without clashes"; during this time, the country's political and social changes occurred without the wars, chaos, and cultural shifts characteristic of earlier periods. However, according to Marston and Guthrie, there were two ruptures during the period of French control over Cambodia. The first was the relatively bloodless Rebellion of Sivutha (one of King Ang Duang's sons) from 1884 to 1885; Sivutha was opposed to French rule and particularly the fiscal draining of the Khmer monarchy, but his rebellion was crushed by colonial troops from Annam (Vietnam), which led to fear and hatred between the two countries. The period of Sivutha's rebellion also marked a critical shift within the 278 Forest (1980), as quoted by Marston and Guthrie, History, Buddhism, 63.

246 French Protectorate's stance toward Cambodia—from 1885 onward, Cambodian society experienced enforced reforms which gradually strengthened and expanded.

The second rupture of peace during the French colonial era was the

'Umbrella War' of 1942, the conflict between the sangha and the colonial state in

Phnom Penh that took its name from a peaceful protest by more than one thousand monks of various groups, inspired to unite in protest by the French arrest of a fellow monk. Unfortunately, the protest was brutally dispersed by the colonial police; monks were arrested, defrocked, and jailed, and a highly revered teacher named Hem Chieu from the Ecole Superieure de Pali was accused of being an anti-French leader. Two extraordinary well educated monks, Chuon

Nath and Huot Tat, led about five hundred of the monks participating in this event. The protest was recognized as the will of Cambodians against the violation represented by the conduct by the French administration in its engagement with the Khmer sangha.

Marshal Petain's Vichy regime especially affected people with non-

Catholic religious faith, Jewish racial origin, or anti-Protectorate political beliefs; among them was a woman named Suzanne Karpeles who worked for the colonial administration until she was expelled because of her Jewish background. After her two decades of work with the Ecole Francaise d'Extreme Orient and the administration, she found a way to re-establish Cambodia's indigenous Buddhist reform movement. In Edwards's words, "Karpeles carved out a critical intellectual and institutional space for the growth of Cambodia's indigenous

247 Buddhist reform movement, which the Protectorate referred to as the 'renovation'

279 of Khmer Buddhism."

The distinction within the Cambodian sangha (between the Dhammayut and Mahanikay) described by Edwards resulted in the separation of the two groups, and the critical colonial development of the French effort to reform

Cambodian Buddhism, because King Norodom favored the Dhammayut. One group continues to hold religious institutionalization as the orthodox Buddhism involved in the realm of politics; the other leans toward the movement for reforms, and is known as the new Mahanikay {Mahanikay thmf). The new vision and quest of this group is to validate Buddhist doctrine aligned with modernist perceptions for a return to scriptural purity and a revalorization of the past with the spatial and temporal framework of the nation, making room for the emergence of a new category in Cambodia, that of national religion (sasanajati).

The history of Cambodian Buddhism and the conflicts inside the sangha are too vast a topic to be contained here; instead, I present the most essential issues and religious figures who are connected to the discussion in this section—

Ven. Chuon Nat, Ven. Lvi Em, Ven. Huot Tat, and Ven. Oum Som.

The Role of Kings as Main Supporters of Religion

As mentioned earlier, the Khmer royal family and the elites are the main patrons for Cambodian Buddhism, and the last two kings, Norodom (1860-1904)

279 Penny Edwards, "Making a Religion of the Nation and Its Language: The French Protectorate (1863-1954) and the Dhammakay," in History, Buddhism, and New Religions Movements in Cambodia, ed. John Marson and Elizabeth Guthrie, 63-89 (Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 2004), 64.

248 and Sisowat (1904-1927), each played their own roles in supporting the sangha.

King Norodom, who cooperated with the French colonizers, seemed to follow the

model of King Asoka and Jayavarman VII—the construction of rest houses along

the principle roads of the kingdom. Additionally, he ordered a statue cast to the

measure of his body, a golden Buddha image in a gesture of protection

(abhyyamudra). In this , the arm is elevated and slightly bent, and the hand

is lifted to shoulder level with the palm turned outward and all the fingers extended upward—characteristic of Dhyani Buddha Amogghsiddhi of the north direction. Named The King of the Moon Energy {Preah Chinreangsei Reached),

this statue represents the king in the form of , the Buddha of the future,

the belief that he that he will be reborn as a savior figure in the five thousandth

280 year of the Buddhist era. Sisowath, King Norodom's more religiously observant half-brother, came to the throne at the age of 64 and was displeased with the expenditure of funds on these projects. Unlike his predecessor, Sisowath was antagonistic to the French, which led him to recruit Cambodian men into newly forced local militias.

Ven. Maha Vimaladhamma Thong (1862-1927) was a modernist who was popularly and generally regarded as the founder of the first organized modernist grouping within the Mahanikay. His expanding movement worked closely with the Buddhist Institute, but after Thong passed away in 1927, Venerable Preah

Sirisammadivansa Lvi Em (a senior monk at Wat Langka) was appointed Thong's successor as well as director of the Ecole Superieur de Pali. Because of Em's

280 Jeldres and Chaijitvanit (1999), as discussed by Harris, Cambodian Buddhism, 113.

249 political ambitions, various legislation was passed to bring the sangha under the jurisdiction of the secular courts; this change led to complaints by monks about

bad treatment by their superiors, mostly revolving around the ongoing hostilities

between the two parties. In 1914, an elaborate ceremony was offered for the

cremation of the monk Tieng, who also took a stand against the suppression by

the Protectorate and against internal conflict among the Cambodian community of

monks. Unfortunately, poor relations between the two sangha dragged on to

1960.

King Sisowat appointed Dhammalikhit Ker Ouk to the title of

sahghareach, an unpopular decision that upset many. Ker Ouk died in 1936,

leaving the post to Lvi Em who ought to have been the second in the Mahanikay hierarchy; however, the French and the royal family opposed this decision, and

the post remained vacant until 1948. Modernist reformer Venerable Chuon Nath

was the most qualified candidate, because he had become a novice in 1898,

studied Pali and gained full ordination in 1904, and received the name Bhikkhu

Jotannano. Nath was known to be a monk of keen intellect who had shown his readiness to work with the French agenda for the development of Buddhism in

Cambodia. With rapid progress, he became a professor at the Ecole Superieur de

Pali, and by 1930 he was joint director with the more traditional Lvi Em. In 1942,

Venerable Hem Chieu, another popular activist monk, was arrested, and Lvi Em was made to resign, leaving Ven. Chuon Nath to become the only director of the

281 schoolu .i

281 Edwards, "Making a Religion," 66.

250 282 Penny Edwards' rendering of French colonial regimes, monastic

refoms, and the discipline inside the scthgha gives transparency to how

Cambodian people lived under the Protectorate (besides the more well known

military occupation, colonial prison, and other violent institutions). There were

two other suppressed institutionalized issues for Cambodia and its people: the

subordination of indigenous interpretations of the world to European perceptions,

and new historicist narratives and secular public arenas such as schools and

museums that reflected a new form of public messages through print media. The

goal of the historicist narratives introduced by the French Protectorate was to

deliver

visions of descent from a glorious Angkorean past and prospects of ascent to a thoroughly modern future, which deviated from indigenous readings of time as at once cyclical and, in its accommodation of spirits and living beings in the same temporal space, multilayered.

Edwards further points out that colonialism's inscription of this disenchanted

vision onto the world of religion provoked significant displays of anxiety and

controversy. Efforts were taken by colonial administrators to compile the material

body of Cambodian religious culture, but to benefit French institutions: the

French naval lieutenant Doudart de Lagree who received support from the Khmer king searched across the nation for Khmer literature and religion in 1863; the

French engineer Felix-Gaspard Faraut collected about one hundred manuscripts, mostly poems of Indian origin and Buddhist myths, from 1846 to 1911; and in the

282 Ibid., 63-83. 283 Ibid., 66. 251 late nineteenth century (AD 1853-1917), Adhemard Leclere produced the first

European study of Buddhism in Cambodia.

The French attempted to purify and reform Southeast Asian Theravada

Buddhism. Edwards stresses that these

movements are usually assiociated with the establishment of the royally sponsored Dhammayut sect in Siam in the 1830s. The Siamese Dhammuyut promoted the rigorous study of the Pali canon, which aimed to "cleanse" Buddhist practice of "false" accretions and superstition and emphasized reflection rather than rote learning.

The reform movement faced strong challenge from the Mahanikay, although there were monks from that group who found that the teaching of the Dhammayut was also useful. It was the governor of Cochinchina, Charles Thomson, who ordered the establishment of a Khmer printing press for the production of Khmer- language tracts, but only to promote and benefit the French rules—the targeted audiences were the students who attended schools at the pagodas (wat schools).

Moreover, Thomson designed the mode of inscription: printing on flat sheets of paper to be posted on walls, with the content in vernacular language designed to be understood by ordinary people—a sharp contrast to traditional monastic ways of producing, circulating, and phrasing the authenticity of Pali scripture.

As Edwards explains, Europeans sought Buddhist scriptures as historicial documents for Southeast Asian countries, so that the emphasis of the reform movements differed from long-standing ways of seeing Theravada religious texts.

In Cambodia, as in other precolonial Southeast Asian countries, written texts were

284 Ibid., 67.

252 also part of a performative tradition, a practice according to Buddhist words and

an art of listening, where both the mode of literacy and the means offer the

possibility of accumulating merits. Leclere clarified the role of colonial

scholarship in the transition of this reform from aural to textual bias, specifically

addressing the performative life of the story of the Buddha's enlightenment in the

Stories of Buddha's Enlightenment (Pa.thamasambodhi-katha). At a recital at a

Cambodian wat, Leclere stressed "the 'live' function of this text as a vehicle for generating merit... it really was the life of the Master, the Teacher—that they were

285 hearing." Edwards, however, criticized Leclere's statement for missing what was beyond the delivery of this recital, something that should have taken life beyond the authenticity of the teaching. In turn, Edwards made a serious statement that the written texts "from Siam and Burma, whose transcriptions of 286 Buddhist texts were more 'adaptations' than 'translation.'"

The Protectorate's attitude toward Buddhism during the first decades of the twentieth century differed from those of earlier years, and the driving force behind this change resulted in parliament's passage of the 1905 act decreeing the separation of church and state, which had two paradoxical effects. The first concerned the literal application of the act through educational reforms, with the result that by the 1920s, all religious subjects had been cut from school curricula; the second allowed the creation of secular institutions for higher learning for monks to pursue religious study as an academic subject.

285 Ibid., 68. 286 Ibid., 69.

253 At this time, Cambodia still had to challenge French rule over the

Cambodian educational system. Paul Beau, governor-general of Indochina, launched a broad program to reform indigenous education in Indochina, which sparked the establishment of the Commission to Study the Reorganization of

Education in Cambodia. The Commission was comprised of a prince, a palace

287 official, a Mahanikay designate, and seven French members, and the lack of official representation from the Dhammayut created a prolonged resistence against colonial intrusion in monastic education. Nevertheless, the Commission recommended French-language instruction and practical education, as well as

Khmer manuals in areas of study such as morality and the , plus teacher training courses for monks.

The educational reform program faced meaningful challenges. The

Protectorate established in 1907 controlled and monitored the traffic of monks traveling from Thailand through Battambang, Sisophon, and . The intention was to maintain a cultural boundary around Cambodia in the hope of recruiting the best and brightest novices and monks from the provinces and capital. This resulted in the inauguration of the School of Pali at Angkor in 1910

(according to the Royal Ordinance of 1909) and the subsequent banning of Khmer monks from traveling to Siam to study, but the school closed its doors the same year due to lack of support, funding, and students.

Cambodia's relationship with Thailand is also reflected in the decisions of

King Norodom, who reigned from 1864 to 1904. Norodom resided in Bangkok as

254 a hostage, a similar situation to that of King Ang Duang, because he had taken the

historic step of signing a secret treaty with French officials to gain Cambodia's

security from Thai control. Although he was not very fond of the French, the need

to escape from Thailand's interference in his country's affairs was vital, and the

signing took place in August 1863 before his coronation. Despite this decision,

Norodom expressed his sentiment for the king of Thailand:

It is the king of Siam (i.e., Mongkut) in Bangkok who put the monastic robe on me; he is my religious preceptor, and there is a powerful bond 288 between the two countries.

The implication of the newly established religious practice of

289 Dhammayulika Nikaya or Thommayiit did not stop Norodom from his love for

the kingdom of the Khmer and its people. He successfully fought to retake the

northwest provinces of Battambang, Sisophon, and Siem Reap, including Angkor,

which were surrendered in the Franco-Thai convention of 1867—an agreement

that ended Thailand's claim to suzerainty over the whole of Cambodia. This

significant event marked the end of Thai influence on Cambodia, and also

coincided with the death of King Mongkut. But Thai administrative and religious

influences in these three provinces became

288 Fillieux 1962, as quoted by Harris, Cambodian Buddhism, 105. 289 A tradition of Theravada Buddhism introduced to Cambodia from Thailand by King Norodom.

255 part of Cambodia to come under rationalist and reforminst influence like the local ecclesiastical hierarchy was integrated into a national pattern and 290 monastery-based schools were absorbed into a national curriculum.

Norodom's brother, King Sisowat, who acceded to the Cambodian throne in 1904 was more of a reform-minded person.

The History of Buddhism in Cambodia

Much has been presented on Cambodian Buddhism with its active roles in the 's life from the time of the Christian Era, with a variety of research used to pinpoint Buddhist movements in the country throughout the two millennias. Although the religious and social manifestation of the changes has taken different forms, and while the drive for change has declined and ascended, the historical record shows that members of the royal families and Khmer elites were of importance and played significant roles in the politics of religion in

Cambodia for nearly two thousand years. Now, it is time for the people to get involved, become more educated, and ensure that the future of Cambodia stands within the power of the people of the country.

It is important to view Cambodia's religious changes over a long period of time. Scholars have argued that Cambodian religious conversion: (1) was oriented toward ordinary people, and (2) was a rejection of the personalized god-like status of Jayavarman VII. But L. P. Briggs's logical explanation prompted Chandler to describe Cambodian conversion as the increasing interaction between Khmer- and

Mon-speaking people who lived in the central plain of Thailand and who were

290 Yang Sam (1998), as quoted by Harris, Cambodian Buddhism, 106.

256 devotees to Theravada Buddhism. Through decades of penetration toward the

east, the conversion took hold, though nothing could distinguish one religious sect

from another, and definitely by no means was any one sect totally converted. The

Chinese envoy Zhou Da-guan at the end of thirteenth century noted:

Brahmanism and , as well as Theravada Buddhism, still enjoyed 291 the status of approved religions at Angkor

the brahmans, often attained high positions as officials... I do not know what models they follow, and they have nothing which one could call a school or a place of teaching. It is difficult, also, to know what books they ,292 read

The Theravada monks, Zhou recorded, "they shave their heads, and wear yellow robes, leaving the right shoulder bare. For the lower half of the body, they wear a yellow skirt. They are barefoot." Zhou further described Theravada Buddhist monasteries, "the simplicity of the Theravada Buddhist , noting that (unlike Mahayana temples in China) they contained "no bells, cymbals, flags, or platforms," housing only an image of the Buddha made of gilded plaster.

Early Cambodian religious faiths have been examined by historians versed

in the study of Cambodia, who conclude that Saivism, Vaisnavism, and

Buddhism attained a privileged position among the kings as well as the general people. In the period of Funan (AD 200-500), the intellectual level was very much elevated by the joint efforts of all teachers of all the religions, such that

Funan became a center of religious learning that attracted neighboring countries—

even China—to send monks for the translation of Buddhist texts written in

291 D. Chandler, History of Cambodia, 69. 292 Ibid., 72. 293 „ ., Ibid.

257 Sanskrit. By the ninth century, Mahayana Buddhism seemed to receive strong patronage from kings like and Jayavarman VII, while the royal families also shared devotion to Saivism (though King Suryavarman II was a follower of Vaisnavism).

In the later period, during the reign of Kings Rajendravarman II (AD 944-

968) and (968-1001), Mahayana Buddhism took its place as an equal of Saivism, such that the statue of Buddha was in Saivaic forms and ritual performance was done in the same way as Saivism. The inscription ofSrei

Santhor stated that a priest (purohita in Sanskrit) should be versed in Buddhist doctrine and that on religious observances and festival days, the images of the

Buddha should be bathed and Buddhist prayers recited. Sharan's research provides more light in terms of Khmer inscriptions, such as those in the Baku temple that contain proof of ancestor worship, both paternal and maternal, and worship of God combined together:

1. They were centers of learning. 2. They functioned also as centers for fine arts. Singers, dancers, instrumentalists, actors and reciters, all received encouragement and training in temple. 3. There are instances when hospitals were founded actually within the precincts of the temple. The Prah Khan temple hospital can be quoted as an example. 4. Temples were also associated with public utility work such as 294 excavation of tanks, ditches and foundation of Dharmasalas.

There was also a noticeable change during the reign of King Jayavarman

VII (AD 1181-1201) when Mahayana Buddhism was at its peak, and the royal

Sharan, Studies in Sanskrit Inscriptions, 227-28.

258 attitude and royal cults changed to Buddharaja, seen in name changes such as

Paramarudraloka to Mahdparamasaugata and Paramavisnuloka to

Nirvanapada. Sharan's scholarly work helps to validate the timeframe for the establishment of Buddhism (Mahayana) in ancient Cambodia, and both Sharan and Chandler have contributed much toward the topic of Cambodian religion.

Sharan pursued a field of study in numismatics and paleography with a focus on

Cambodia among Southeast Asian countries, exploring the possibility of constructing a judicious and well informed history of ancient India's relations with these countries through inscriptions written in Sanskrit, gathered from numerous monuments within ancient Cambodia. As Chandler stated in his preface, through his academic study of the history of Cambodia over many years, he contracted a multitude of intellectual debts, which it was a pleasure to 295 acknowledge in his third edition of A History of Cambodia.

296 Bapat showed an approximate date of the end of the fifth century AD when Mahayana Buddhism began to flourish in the country, while Sharan stated that Theravada Buddhism started in Cambodia much earlier than the Christian

Era. According to Sharan, in ancient Cambodia (Funan), Theravada Buddhism was practiced together with Sivaism and Vaisnavism, but the Buddhist texts were in Sanskrit. Coedes highlights Cambodian's Theravada Buddhism by presenting how Panthagu, the successor of and head of the Buddhist clergy in

Burma, left Pagan in 1167 on his way to Ceylon, and his successor (a Mon named

295 D. Chandler, History of Cambodia. 296 Bapat, 2,500 Years of Buddhism.

259 Uttarajlva) also embarked for Ceylon in 1180 with a group of monks. One of those monks, a young Mon novice of twenty named Chapata, stayed and studied

Buddhism in Ceylon for ten years, then returned to Burma in 1190 with four other monks, all of whom received proper ordination according to the rites of the

Mahavihara. One of the four monks, Tamalinda, was the son of King Jayavarman

VII, but Coedes did not provide further records on Tamalinda as to whether he remained in Burma or returned to Cambodia. Coedes states that it is important to bear in mind that the Mon state or Lower Burma had practiced Theravada

Buddhism as its religion.

In the twelfth and thirteenth centuries the common people received a new contribution from India in the form of Singhalese Buddhism. The penetration of this new faith to the masses cannot be doubted: in Cambodia, Siam, Laos, and Burma, Buddhist cosmogony and cosmology and the doctrines of retribution for one's acts and of transmigration have been deeply implanted in the humblest classes by the teaching of the 297 Buddhist monks.

On the other hand, Ian Harris pointed out,

We know with rather more certainty that a number of Funan-based monks helped promote certain texts, idea, and practices in China during a crucial moment in its early engagement with Buddhism, but it is difficult to be certain about the precise sectarian affiliations of these early interpreters of 298 the teaching of the Buddha.

Even though Harris appeared to say that under the patronage of

Jayavarman VII, tantric Mahayana concepts permeated ritual life in general, the

Coedes, Indianized States, 253.

Harris, Cambodian Buddhism, 225.

260 notion of ancient Indian appeared to give shape to some

aspects of the policy the king used to govern his empire. But because of changes in the politics, economics, and environmental circumstances of the region, the king could not hold on to the legacy of his mighty monumental structure.

According to Harris, the influence of Theravada traditions—perhaps imported

from neighboring countries—began to increase, and by the post-Angkorian period, these traditions achieved dominance, a religious situation that has lasted to the present. In addition, the Buddhism of post-Angkorian Cambodia continued to preserve the Theravada tradition, "sometimes at odds with the 'purified' or reformed Theravada represented today in many regions of South and Southeast

299 Asia." In turn, this unorthodox form and its esoteric elements were studied by

Francois Bizot and sometimes identified by the term "tantric Theravada.""

However, the origin of the tradition is still the subject of debate.

Cambodian Buddhism in the Middle Period is the main focus for Western scholars' efforts to reconstruct the religion by bringing in various sources such as inscriptions, archeological findings, linguistics, and replicas of Buddha's statues,

301 , temples, and so on—Ashley Thompson especially discusses

Cambodian religious meaning in the Middle Period. The following discussion shares my viewpoint and findings. First and foremost, it is important to bring the silent period of Cambodian Buddhism to the attention of academic writing by

299 Ibid., 226. 300 „Ibid • J.

301 Thompson, "Future of Cambodia's Past.'

261 bringing in the "big picture" as Coedes and Leclere did—Buddhism in Southeast

Asian countries according to a wider scope of understanding of the politics of religions orchestrated by leaders, kings and emperors alike.

302 Coedes wrote about the repercussions of the Mongol conquests which affected many countries: Thailand (AD 1215-1281), Cambodia (AD 1282),

Champa (AD 1283-1285), Burma (AD 1287), Sumatra (AD 1286), and Java

(AD 1293). He also presented Sumatra and its dependencies at the time of Marco

Polo and the beginning of Islam, and proceeded to relate events of the Thai

Kingdom of Sukhothai at the end of the thirteenth century AD (Rama

Khamhaeng); the Thai kingdom of Lan Na (the foundation of ChiangMai, AD

1296); the Thai in Burma at the end of the thirteenth century AD; Cambodia at the end of the thirteenth century AD (an account of Chou Ta-Kuan, AD 1296); and

Champa at the end of thirteenth century.

These dates reflect the reason such rushed reforms took place in these countries, proving that the change in religious practice in Cambodia around that time was not particularly internal but was part of a series of regional changes in politics and economics that thus affected religious status. The following statement by Coedes concerning the decline of Indian kingdoms reinforces my analysis.

We have seen in the preceding chapter the political repercussions of the coming to power of the Mongols in China. These political changes were accompanied by great changes in the spiritual realm. At the beginning of the 14th century, Sanskrit culture was in full decline; the last Sanskrit inscriptions dated from 1253 in Champa, from around 1330 in Cambodia, from 1378 in Sumatra. In the Menam and Mekong basins, what remained of Hinduism and Mahayana Buddhism gave way to the orthodoxy of

302 Coedes, Indianized States, 189-217.

262 Singhalese Buddhism, which had been introduced on the Indochinese Peninsula by Mons of Burma and was disseminated further by the Thai. In Sumatra, Islam began to make its appearance. In Java and Bali, Indian Tantrism was strongly influenced by the native Indonesian substratum, at least in its literary and artistic expression. The Indian period in the history of Farther India was beginning to close following the decrease in cultural exchanges with India proper that resulted from the Muslim invasions that , , , 303 took place there.

Coedes also describes the end of the Indian kingdoms and the seizure of

Malacca by the Portuguese in 1511, providing a level of detail that helps to clarify the sequence of the main events and the relationship between them. Furthermore, the evolution of Indian civilization corresponds roughly to many epochs, each set off by critical dates that are inextricably related to the developments of the two main countries: India, and even more closely, China. Many questions arise, such as: how could the Mongols defeat big countries such as Russia, China, Poland, and other countries of the Southern Seas? What were the consequences brought to

Mongolia at its decline? How did China use a reverse political strategy to expand the migration of people in the Yunnan area toward the southern region, especially the rise of different kingdoms of Thailand?

Leclere's Hisloire du Cambodge offers a very organized and informative chronology of the Khmer kings that allows me to present my argument, or 304 perhaps I should say, to rectify Thompson's essay. I previously discussed

Cambodian Buddhism as being under the patronage of the Khmer kings,

Norodom and Sisowat, who followed in the footsteps of their father, King Ang

303 Ibid., 218.

263 Duang. In other words, Ang Duang (who was from the Thai court) was much

involved in Cambodian Theravada Buddhism, and religious culture after his

coronation in 1847 marked a kind of Theravada renaissance best represented by

the importation of the reformist Thommayut from Bangkok. In the following

reign, King Norodom also went through many political reforms such as the

relocation of the court from Oudong to Phnom Penh. However, the French were

always suspicious that Cambodian Buddhist reform and the Pali-oriented outlook

of Mongkut of Thailand might shift toward political aspects of the monastic order

founded on the insights of Thai Theravada Buddhism. As a result of this pressure

from the French against Thai-influenced Theravada Buddhism, the Cambodian

Buddhist sahgha split: The Mahanikay follow the modern view of Buddhist

teaching {thor ihmei) and aim to rediscover a pure form of Cambodian Buddhism

free from the accretions of the past, because of their concern that the Thai influence on the Dhammayut group modified the original meaning of the teaching of the Buddha. The Dhammayut or Thommayut adhere to the old teachings {thor cah), and are seen as stricter. However, this popular assessment fails to recognize

that Vietnam has influenced the Mahanikay in a similar fashion, such that the politics of the region have affected the development of both groups. The

Venerable Chuon Nath, a Mahanikay modernist monk, has been particularly credited for most of the Buddhist reforms; the Thommayut was more traditional and survived until 1970.

According to Ian Harris, Cambodian Buddhism not only confronted the

Thai Dhammayut but also had to challenge the emergence of a Vietnamese new

264 religion, Cao Dai or "holy see."' The Cao Dai movement was founded by Ngo

Van Chieu (AD 1872-1932), a Vietnamese official working within the

administration of French Cochinchina, when he first entered into communication

with the spirit world while serving on the island of Phu Quoc in the early

1920s." He took leave from his government position due to health problems and

went to Tien-Son-Tu pogoda at Ha-Tien, a Buddhist sanctuary within a large cave

called Thach-Dong on the Cambodian border, and then went to Mount Bokor in

Cambodia. He was of an ascetic disposition, and as the movement developed and

grew ever larger, he became quite uneasy, retiring to Can Tho with a small group of followers (called Chieu Minh) toward the end of his life. Hence, Ngo Van

Chieu had little to do with the establishment of a Cao Dai at Tay Ninh, a re- establishment of the group located close to the Cambodian border on November

307 18, 1926. Viewing the Cao Dai movement as a threat to Cambodian religion, the Cambodian government took action:

At the end of June the patriarchs of both Buddhist orders were prevailed upon to rule that Cao Dai was contrary to the teachings and discipline of Buddhism. Finallly, on December 26,1927, a royal proclamation was issued that underlined the movement's heretical nature from the Buddhist

305 Harris, Cambodian Buddhism, 135. 306 Paul (1984) and Pachow (1958), as discussed by Harris, Cambodian Buddhism, 135. 307 R. Smith (1970), as discussed by Harris, Cambodian Buddhism, 135.

265 perspective. The document also characterized Cao Dai as a Vietnamese 308 plot to destabilize the Cambodian throne.

On February 8, 1928, another royal ordinance declared that involvement in ceremonies contrary to either Buddhism or Catholicism would be punished

(Catholicism had received official recognition in 1863). In September 1930, there was a meeting among Cao Dai members in Phnom Penh which was infiltrated by the French police, and people were arrested including Le Van Bay, the director of the movement in Cambodia. There was also a wide recognition that the French were manipulating both courts and ecclesiastical hierarchies, an awareness that in turn strengthened an emerging nationalist sentiment, not least within the sangha,

Harris also presents King Sihanouk's and the king's role as the righteous king, the protector of the Buddhist monastic order per the

Constitution of May 1947 praising him as "great righteous king {dhammika 309 mahareach)." But Sihanouk considered himself as the king-monk, and made no claim to the concept of a god-king or Buddha—king; Sihanouk's coronation as king after the death of King Monivong in April 1941 under the close tutelage of the French is something the French wanted from the young king. The campaign for Cambodian independence led by the king and many nationalists forced the

French to set Cambodia free from its Protectorate. Afterward, Sihanouk abdicated the throne, and founded and led a movement called the People's Socialist

Khy Phanra (1975), as quoted by Harris, Cambodian Buddhism, 136. Harris, Cambodian Buddhism, 144.

266 Community {Sangkum Reastr Niyum), a movement of Buddhist socialism that has since been criticized as an exercise in political narcissism.

Sihanouk is viewed by scholars as a prince who quite explicitly manipulated Buddhism for his own political control—1 recommend a close study of the role played by this monarch to futher understand how the king applied the essence of Theravada Buddhism to challenge foreign policies by modern powerful nations such as the United States, China, French, the British, Russia, the Dutch, and all their allies. Such an investigation will shed light on the global system and its relations to other systems which also have their own systems and functions, but it is also very important to learn from the mistakes committed by individuals, ideologies, or policies in order to stay atop of current decision-making, for our own security and interest. With more than eight decades serving his country and the people of Cambodia, the king still writes and produces historical documents

V10 posted through his website, directs short documentary films, composes songs, establishes meditation centers at Oudong, and supports the school of Buddhist study in Phnom Penh.

When examining Cambodian Buddhism, it is necessary to examine the period of the extreme nationalistic communism of Pol Pot in 1975, during which the outside world was devastated by the horror of the Democratic Kampuchea regime, which subsequently carried out a notorious killing of innocent

Cambodians. However, Harris wrote:

His messages are posted through his website under norodomsihanouk.info.

267 What is perhaps less widely appreciated is that the Buddhist-inspired nationalist movement of earlier decades had been a fertile seedbed for the germination of Khmer communism. Only once the movement had grown and developed did some of its leading members seek to break their links with the past by shedding all prior connections. It is against this background that we should seek to understand the communists' vehement anticlericalism, which led inexorably to the elimination of institutional Buddhism. Yet even at the height of the Democratic Kampuchea period, subliminal Buddhist influences remained and affected Khmer Rouge behavior and ideology.

Again, another attentive research study is required to educate the world as to how a country with such a rich civilization and culture was drawn into such hatred and revenge. What events in world politics and the politics of religion led to Cambodia being chosen as the place to dismantle the practice of Theravada

Buddhism?

Buddhism in Present-Day Cambodia and Abroad

Scholars pursuing the study of South and Southeast Asian states tend to find a shared general belief system identifying the countries' cultural and religious foundations, but in Cambodia, the various ways of worshipping included animism, which is the worship of trees, mountains, lakes and rivers, rain and storms, and so on. Ancient Cambodia or pre-Cambodia, however, was not different from its neighborings countries in that religions and ideas were incorporated into indigeneous beliefs—the diverse images of the common cultural base underlying the Hindu, Buddhist, Muslim, Christian, and animist societies of

Southeast Asia.

Harris, Cambodian Buddhism, 229.

268 The latest academic study on the religion of Cambodia by Western

scholars is credited to the work of David Chandler, Ashley Thompson, John

Marston, and Elizabeth Guthrie, as published in Marston and Guthrie's edited

312 book. History, Buddhism, and New Religious Movements in Cambodia.

Unfortunately, Thompson seems to have made an error with the name of the

Khmer king Ang Chan she discussed in her essay, a mistake that Marston and

Guthrie also overlooked in their editing, as reflected in their introduction of

Thompson's work:

Chapter 1 [Thompson] is particularly unusual and revealing, since so little has been written about the Cambodian Middle period. Using the evidence of inscriptions and the art and architecture of the Middle period, Thompson argues that the reign of Ang Chan in the sixteenth century.. .if the cult of Maitreya gave unity and direction to the Cambodian kingdom 313 under Ang Chan, the "modernizations" of French colonization....

In Thompson's actual essay, she wrote,

Khmer historical legend recounts that after having returned from exile. Ang Chan, the legitimate successor, established...Founding his new capital at Lovek, Ang Chan then marked the political consolidation by making religious foundations across the country.

To bring light to this confusion of names, the name of the king Thompson was referring to should be Chant Reachea (AD 1516-1555) and not Ang Chan; here I

follow the Romanised spelling of the name Chant Reacea by Leclere. The Khmer

312 Marston and Guthrie, History, Buddhism. 313 Ibid., 11. 314 Ibid., 18.

269 king named Ang Chan reigned from AD 1806-1834—he was the elder son of

Ang Eng, and the events of rns reign were totally different from Chant Reachea's.

Thompson's argument is based on the iconography of Maitreya Buddha

appearing on stiipas and other relics. According to Leclere, after Jayavarman VII who reigned from AD 1090 to 1109, there were additional Angkorean kings,

although the exact dates are in doubt. In chronological order, those kings were:

Dharanindravarman I (AD 1109-1120), Suryavarman II (1112-1162),

Dharanindravarman II (1162-1163), and Jayavarman VIII (AD 1162-1201). At that point, dates become less certain, with Indravarman II (1201-?) followed by

Crindravarman, Jayavarmadiparameshvara, and an unknown king (AD 1250-

1300?). This tentative date for the reign of this unknown king who may have taken the name Jayavarman-parameshvara, is based on an inscription stating that the last three kings reigned the whole of the thirteenth century AD; in other words, each one of them ruled a minimum of 31 years. During the reign of the successor of this unknown king, a Chinese ambassador named Tcheou-ta-Kouan visited Cambodia in 1296, and wrote and recorded the period of his stay.

Leclere also discussed the revolution of Cambodia's fourteenth

315 century, in which the Thai attacked and sacked Angkor in 1431, as a turning point in the Cambodian monarchy." The king himself assigned Ta-Chay, the chief gardener of the sweet cucumber field, to mete out necessary punishment or even to kill whoever might violate or trespass the garden, but then the king

315 Leclere, Histoire du Cambodge, 129—144. 316 Ibid., 140.

270 himself entered the garden and was killed by the gardener. Ta-Chay became king, and thus founder of the Cambodian new monarchy to this present day. From the first quarter of the fourteenth century onwards, the kings of Cambodia were of ordinary people by origin—some scholars have referred to this origin as samre,

"uncivilized or uneducated (but not barbaric)."

Leclere's chronology and presentation of other historical documents pertaining to Cambodia with the names of kings and the years of their reigns are helpful and to better clarify Thompson's essay, because it is important to know what happened during the reigns of the many kings before Chant Reachea took the throne, as well as the reasons he was revered as a great king. Cambodian politics and religion began to change gradually starting from the Thai conquest of

Angkor, and the incident of Ta-Chay the gardener was equally important to the history of Cambodia because the legend dates the gardener-king of Cambodia to the year 1340. However, this legend requires further research because a similar

317 legend is told in Burmese tradition, dated around the ninth century.

Prior to Chant Reachea, four Khmer kings reigned from AD 1340 to 1353, followed by inter-reigns by three Thai kings from 1353 to 1357, after which the throne went back to nine Khmer kings from 1357 to 1498. One great challenge that Chant Reachea had to face was a rebel usurper named Sdach Kan (1498-

1505) who controled the eastern region of Cambodia.

To better examine and rectify the error made by Thompson, I discuss what has been recorded by Leclere in regard to King Chant Reachea (AD 1516-1555)

317 Coedes, Indianized States, 132-3.

271 and how he and his chief religious leaders cared for and practiced Buddhism.

Chant Reachea, brother to the previous legitimate king, was invited by officials and a member of the Khmer royal family to take title as king during a time when the rebel Kan (brother-in-law of the previous legitimate king) had gained control of the eastern region of Cambodia through military support from Vietnam and had overshadowed the power of the legitimate king. Chant Reachea was living in

Thailand at the time as part of Thai control of Cambodia, so he petitioned the Thai king for permission to return to Cambodia to drive Kan out. When Thai permission was not forthcoming, Chant Reachea returned anyway, and accepted the position of king under the condition that he would not hold his coronation until the rebel Kan was captured. As king, he first nominated ministers, other government officials, and religious chiefs for the seven Buddhist temples

(including two as Head of the royal family), and nominated Preah Eseyphat as chief of the eight brahmanas in charge of all the sacred items for the throne and ceremonial items for certain Brahmanic ceremonies. He ordered a Buddhist temple that was built at the place of his coronation, the province of Amaratu-

Ronnabaur (present-day Baribaur). In 1522, he ordered that those who served in religious departments must pass exams on their knowledge of Pali and translation of the Buddhist texts; those who passed the examination would be nominated for and assigned to posts in keeping with their merits.

The family relationships of the two kings add evidence to this discussion.

Chant Reachea was the father of Barom Intho Reachea (1556-1569) and grandfather of Preah Sotha (1567-1576), whereas Ang Chan (1806-1834) was

272 one of 's sons (1779-] 796) and brother to three princes (Ang Sgnoun;

Ang Em; and Ang Duang 1841—] 859). Ang Chan had no son, as the one who was

born at Oudong died right after his birth, but he had a daughter Ang Mey who

became Queen (1834-1841). After Queen Ang May came King Ang Duang

(1841-1859) and then King Norodom (1860-1904) and King Sisowat (1904-?),

and so on.

Despite this name confusion, Thompson's research does provide an

important analysis of Cambodia's Middle period and present-day Buddhist movement. I see a similarity of religious pattern, of iconographic interpretation,

which perhaps can be regarded as a 'repeating history' in Cambodia's political

and religious struggling, if the control of Vietnam over Cambodia to this present day is brought into the discussion, though this theory requires thorough study.

As for the statue of Buddha at Traleng-keng (Lovek), the replica from the early twentieth century is modified from the original structure from Chant

Reachea's reign, because, as Leclere explains, the four statues of the Buddha have all disappeared, though the eight feet are still remaining. So Thompson's point about the symbol of Maitreya as one of the ensemble of five buddhas is based on this modified present-day statue of the four Buddhas; in this sense, its iconography indeed represents today's modernization of Cambodian Theravada

Buddhism echoing the model of the Middle period, modeling the role and the manifestation of Maitreya. Her main focus is on the image of Maitreya and other

273 statues of Buddha, and specifically, on the image of Maitreya in the center of four buddhas, where each faces one of the the four cardinal directions.

To better help readers understand the reasoning behind Thompson's essay,

I discuss M. K. Sharan's work on Cambodian religions, his listing of inscriptions 3] 9 in Sanskrit, Pali, and Cambodian, and his explaination of how Cambodian

Tantric Budddhism was practiced through Tantric literature. Among the 148 inscriptions listed by Sharan, I am particularly interested in number 110, the

Kok Svay Cek Inscription, which is engraved on a stele at Vat Kok Khpos. The local monks specified that it was brought from Kok Svay Cek, which is two kilometers southwest of this temple in the region southwest of Baray. The writing was in Pali, Khmer, and Sanskrit, and the Sanskrit portion mentions the setting up of images of the Buddha in the year 1230 or 1231 as Sri Srldra . The inscription (edited by Coedes) is significant to the development of Cambodian religion because it gives earlier epigraphic evidence of the introduction of

Ceylonese HInayana Buddhist in the country.

Prevalence of Mahayana Buddhism with its canons in Sanskrit is proved by the inscription of Jayavarman VII till the end of the 12th century but

Thompson, "Future of Cambodia's Past," 20.

Sharan, Studies in Sanskrit Inscriptions, 81-141.

Ibid., 127.

274 from the report of Chou Ta Kuan it is established that Ceylonese 321 Buddhism was prevalent at the close of 13th century A.D.

This inscription confirms the date for the establishment of Ceylonese Theravada

Buddhism at Angkor. I recommend Sharan's text to any who wish to research

Cambodia and its people on any topic, from religion to the human sciences.

Concerning Tantrism, Shanran wrote,

Tantrism in its general sense of systematised ritualism of a particular character is applicable to other two major cults like Shaivism and . In India the word Taritra is first met with in a somewhat fragmentary inscription dated in the Malava year 480 (A.D. 423-24) found 322 at Garidhara in Malwa.

The Tahtras can be broadly divided into two classes: orthodox are mainly represented by the Manuals of Divine Worship (Agamas) and the

Coupling Ritual (Yamala) and their supplements; and heterodox Tantras are both

Buddhist and Brahmanical and are represented by the texts of a number of

Taritric school such as Kulachara, Vamachara, Sahajayana, and Vajrayana.

Sharan added, "in the 8th century A.D. Tantric literature had become more extensive in Cambodia. During the 8th century and even prior to it the following

323 Tantras had become authoritative." He noted that B. R. Chatterji was the first scholar to make some identification of the Regulation of Scriptures (Sastras) that prescribe the Devaraja (Sivalinga) cult in Kambuja. Further, the four Tantric texts

321 Ibid., 128. 322 Banerjea (1966), as quoted by Sharan, Studies in Sanskrit, 266. 323 Ibid., 268.

275 Shirachheda, Vinashikha, Sammoha, and Nayottara were authentic

being studied in the seventh to eighth century AD (if not earlier). What is most important here is that the same four texts are mentioned in the Sdok Kak Thorn stele inscription of Kambuja (Cambodia). To be precise, the four Tan trie texts constituted the Four Aspects {Vaktracatushkam) of the god Tumburu and were introduced in Kambuja to establish the mystic rites known as Devaraja.

Therefore, there is no doubt that Cambodian Buddhism has Tantric influence; moreover, this finding supports what Thompson describes as both the stupa and prasad, or theprasad-stupa;

the pavilion harbors a curious object of worship: at its center is a stone stupa surrounded by four stone Buddhas, each seated at one of the four cardinal points with its back to the stupa... What is worshipped at Vihar Yay Bau is not any one of the individual Buddha or the stupa, bu the ensemble."

By tradition, in Buddhist sanctuaries the main icon is often accompanied by a number of smaller ones, along with objects for rituals and so on, but Thompson notices that the ensemble at Yay Bau's Vihar is more of a fixed unit. Whether this new iconography of the assemblage of a group of the five Buddhas Thompson

325 describes is exhibited in the stupa of the central statue worshipped at Traleng

Keng at Lovek, or the stupa with four Buddhas of Vihar Yay Peou, or the stupa of

Wat Nokor—all are Panca Buddhas, the series of five Buddhas called Dhyani

Buddha per Mahayana Buddhist tradition.

324 Thompson, "Future of Cambodia's Past," 21. 325 Ibid., Fig. 1.1, 20.

276 According to Tantric interpretation, Dhyani Buddhas represent the abstract

aspects of Buddhahood and can be found in every stupa and chaityas in the

courtyards of Nepal. These five Buddhas are always shown seated in a meditative

position. The Buddha placed at the center is Vairochana and is regarded as the

first Dhyani Buddha by Nepalese Buddhists—he is at the sanctum of the stupa

where he is the master of the whole temple and its contents as well as representing

the cosmic element of form (riipa). Facing the east direction is , next

important among the five of them, and he represents the primordial cosmic

element of consciousness {vinnana). In a seated position, his left hand rests on the

lap while his right hand rests on his right knee with the tip of the middle finger

touching the ground and palm drawn inwardly, a mudra which means calling the

earth for witness. Ratna Sambhav is the south direction; regarded as the third

among them in order, he represents the cosmic element of sensastion {vedana),

with his left hand resting on his lap and with his open right palm exhibiting a

bestowing mudra. Amitabha is for the west and is the most ancient Buddha

among the five of them, worshipped with thoughts of attaining salvation. He

represents the cosmic element of conscience sahjna {noma) and is shown in

Samadhi mudra, with his two palms folded face up, one on top of the other, lying

on his lap. To the north is Amoghshiddhi, the fifth in order; with his left hand

laying open on his lap and his right exhibiting a protection mudra, he also represents the cosmic element of conformation (sahkha).

Comparing the above description of the Dhyani Buddhas and the ensemble of the five Buddhas Thompson discusses, except for Maitreya in the center

277 instead of Vairochana, ihey do indeed represent the call for awareness and enlightenment, similar to the religious iconography of the Middle period of

Cambodia. But Thompson's mistaking of the names may lead her readers to miss

Chant Reachea's important accomplishment, namely the campaign against the power of the rebel Kan who controlled the eastern part of the country, along with his resistance to threats from the Thai king. I hope that my clarification helps readers understand Thompson's attempt to compare political and religious reasons and movements in the Cambodian Middle period and the present-day religious icons Thompson presents in her essay.

Moreover, the political and religious conditions Cambodia is facing now may echo the historical call for unification among Cambodians and definitely the unity of the royal family. Even King Sihanouk often addressed royal family members, asking them to stop getting involved in politics and restrain their behaviors." There are countless new statues and stupas being erected across the country, and they all hold meanings, messages for Cambodian people to be vigilant and mindful. Regardless of attempts to interpret the meanings of new temples, stupas, or Buddhas or to decipher what they contain from the past, I clearly see that Cambodian history is repeating itself, which underscores the question: how can the current Cambodian Buddhist movement stand against global politics, modernization, and the fast pace of Western culture?

His messages are posted through his website under norodomsihanouk.info.

278 The Impact of Western Buddhism, or Engaged-Buddhism, on Cambodia

Kathryn Poethig describes the peace march led by the Venerable

Mahaghosananda, the Dhammayatra across the Thai border and from

village to village inside Cambodia, a means to initiate a peaceful vision for the

unity of Khmer leaders; it is useful to examine how Mahaghosananda came to be

a leader for peace. This Venerable born in 1924 was the only son of a fanner

family living in the southern part of Cambodia, in the province of Takeo

bordering the southern territory of Vietnam beside Kampot province.

Mahaghosananda studied Buddhism at the Buddhist University in Phnom Penh

and Battambang and was attracted to monkhood, progressing to the higher

echelons of the Mahanikay under the tutelage of Khmer Buddhist Supreme

Patriarch Chun Nath. He left for doctoral study in Buddhism at Nalanda Unversity

in India at the age of 27, and made few visits to his home country during forty years of living abroad.

While in India, Mahaghosananda met , a Japanese

Buddhist who had a long friendship with and founded the

Nipponzan Myohoji, an order dedicated to world peace. At their center in Rajgir,

Mahaghosananda learned Gandhian philosophy and the practice of Satyagraha.

Mahaghosananda spent fifteen years in India, and visited other pagodas or wats throughout Asia. In 1965, after a brief return to Cambodia, he went to Thailand and studied in the forest monastery of the meditation master Ajahn Dhammadaro.

When Cambodian refugees flooded the camps along the Thai border around 1978, Mahaghosanada joined the international delegation to Sakeo, the

279 Thai-Cambodian camp occupied by the Khmer Rouge and their hostages fleeing

Vietnamese troops. He flew to France to print 40 thousand leaflets of the metia- sutta, the Buddha's discourse of loving-kindness, and distributed them among the camps. He established pagodas (wats) at the refugee camps along the Thai-

Cambodian border, and ordained monks against the orders of the Thai military. In addition, together with Protestant activist Reverend Peter Pond, he circulated a letter in the camps to support the refugees, assuring that repatriation was not a mandate and could be negotiated. There was much political conflict concerning the Cambodian refugee settlement in the Thai camps, the Thai military who backed a campaign of conscription of the refugees, and the movement by Pond and Mahaghosanada offering refugees sanctuary in the pagodas to avoid conscription, which led to the arrest of the Reverend and intervention from the

Ml Queen Mother, a devoted Buddhist. In 1980, Mahaghosananda accepted a UN appointment representing Cambodians in exile at the Economic and Social

Council. In his later years, he settled in Rhode Island and established the pagoda there as well as more pagodas around the globe in the decades that followed.

In France, the exiled sangha elected Mahaghosanada as the Supreme

Patriarch of the Mahanikay order in 1988. This appointment led to the division of

Khmer Mahanikay group, because the socialist government in Phnom Penh had already appointed as Head of the Mahanikay sangha. When King

Sihanouk returned to Cambodia in 1992, Tep Vong held the title as Head of the

327 Cooper (1981), as discussed by Kathryn Poethig, "The Transnationalism of Cambodian Religion," in History, Buddhism, and New Religious Movements in Cambodia, ed. John Marson and Elizabeth Guthrie, 197-212 (Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 2004), 202.

280 order, and Mahaghosananda resigned because the sangha from overseas and those in the country were united again. The king bestowed on Mahaghosananda the honorary title of Samdach Brah Mahaghosananda. Because of his missionary efforts and ability to communicate with the U.S. public, Mahaghosananda was recruited as the Cambodian face of interfaith peace activism, and he and Reverend

Pond cofounded the Inter-Religious Mission for Peace in Cambodia and the outside world, which led to several meetings with Pope John Paul II and numerous engaged Buddhist leaders.

The concept of socially has been gaining recognition and support in North America and Asia for about two decades now.

Mahaghosananda's spiritual mission to engage Cambodian people in national unification was credited for the Dhammayatra Peace Walk and received international acclaim. Dhammayatra took place because of a transnational network supported by many countries, expatriate founders, and the leader,

328 Mahaghosananda himself, who has been called the "Gandhi of Cambodia."'

Poethig describes the mission of the exiled monk Mahaghosananda returning to work in the refugee camp in Thailand and then in Cambodia. Out of the temple and into the world, Mahaghosananda strived to draw a connection between individuals and the social suffering of Cambodians after the holocaust of the Pol

Pot regime. Mahaghosananda often noted that the Buddha conducted "a 'conflict meditation' when he walked onto the battlefield between the Sakya and

Ibid., 198.

281 ." Further, he referred to the works of Buddha, that the teacher took action and got engaged with the social and religious crisis. Thus, Buddhists should "leave our temples and enter the temples of human experience that are

330 filled with suffering." To local Cambodians, this peace walk engaged

Cambodians to respond to the need for national unification—an example of transnational networking and the philosophy of engaged Buddhism Cambodians experienced after suffering through the communist regime. The legacy of such considerable action by Samdach Breah Mahaghosananda did inspire peace activists in the country; unfortunately, after his passing, the conflict between the two has continued and society's humane values have worsened.

Contemporary Buddhist Practice in Cambodia

Buddhist practices in present-day Cambodia are varied, and several authors from Marston and Guthrie's History, Buddhism, and New Religious

Movements in Cambodia are useful to the purpose of this dissertation. Hang Chan

Sophea, who studied archaeology at the University of Fine Arts in Phnom Penh

331 and also worked for UNESCO, described the different modes of worship in

Cambodia today. For example, the leper king statue representing Jayavarman VII kept in the National Museum in Phnom Penh is important not in artistic terms, but rather for its sacred value, which inspired Cambodian officials and museum

329 Ibid., 202. 330 Ibid., 203. 331 United Nations, Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization.

282 employees to display the statue for revering and worshipping. It is the '"assembly

332 point' (di ruom or di prajnm) of the museum's supernatural powers (parami)" and is worshipped and admired by the staff of the Ministry of Culture and by pilgrims from the outside—veneration of this statue seems to hold a unique way of worshipping and needs further study to unveil the motif or mystery behind it.

Why does the statue with its double icons continue to reappear within present-day

Cambodian culture? Are there hidden secrets underlying the monuments erected by King Jayavarman VII, the statues of himself?

In addition to the statue of the leper king, which most scholars refer to as

King Jayavarman VII, Hang also introduces several local places across the country where worshipping still occurs. In the town of Siem Reap just around the corner from the royal house, there is a statue of Yay Deb sitting in a wooden spirit house, shaded under a large sacred Bo tree. Hang decribes the statue as virtually identical to the leper king at Phnom Penh National Museum, with the exception that the statue has no fangs. Yay Deb was contemporaneous with the leper king, according to early scholarly research at Wat Khnat Rangsei, a

Buddhist pagoda built on a pre-Angkorean temple site south of western Baray.

The original statue was broken to pieces during the Pol Pot regime and was thrown into a pond near Wat Damnak (this was not unusual—the regime destroyed almost everything of Khmer heritage), and it is said that the power of

Yay Deb is unaffected by any efforts to destroy her statue. In 1985, the pieces

332 Chan Sophea Hang, "Stec Gamlan and Yay Deb: Worshipping Kings and Queens in Cambodia Today," in History, Buddhism, and New Religious Movements in Cambodia, ed. John Marson and Elizabeth Guthrie, 113-31 (Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 2004), 115.

283 were reassembled, and the staff of the Angkor Conservation Office set her back in

her original place, with the only new molding of her head. Also at the site, to the

left side of the Bo tree, there was a religious pavilion that housed two statues,

Neagn Chek-Neagn Chom and Brah Arig Tarikow, a divinity embodied in a

statue of Avalokitesvara that had previously been worshipped in the royal palace in Phnom Penh. King Sihanouk and his Queen regularly present the statues with offerings of cigarettes, betel nuts, sweets and food, and flowers; even military leaders are known to pray for a blessing before undertaking military campains.

Significantly, Hang pointed out that the statue reflects masculine physical traits, but the worshipping of this new statue has not caused shock nor caught the public eye. Regarding the male and female appearance of the statue, an employee of the Conservation Office explained that the double iconographies do not mean two aspects, but that the statue is of a single divinity worshipped since ancient times. To be specific, the explanation emphasized that the masculinity and the femininity cannot be separated, and both can be manifestations of the divine essence according to different conjunctions of time and space. Another Yay Deb statue identical to the leper king in the National Museum in Phnom Penh, is positioned facing east under a koki-tree inside the museum. This female aspect of the statue of leper king is venerated with ritual objects and is treated as a substitution for the one in Siem Reap; in other words, she can be worshipped in two places, Phnom Penh and Siem Reap.

There are two other statues of the leper king in Phnom Penh. The first, located in front of Unnaluom Pagoda, is called BrahAng Sankh Cakr or Stec

284 Gamlah or leper king, and is a manifestation of the aspect of godly power. The other is located along the Tonle Sap riverfront and is called August God (Brah

Aiig Cakr), holding a conch and a disc, an icon of god Vishnu. The version of the leper king at Unnaluom Pagoda as Brah Ahg Sankh Cakr was first erected by

King Norodom near the site in front of Wat Unnalom when the palace was relocated from Oudong to Phnom Penh in the late nineteenth century, and it is said that people seek protection by sheltering there. The second statue of the leper king at Tonle Sap faces east under a pyramidal roof directly in front of Wat

Unnalom, the central pagoda and administrative headquarters of the Mahanikay order of Cambodia. What I found interesting is the indication that worshippers reside or used to reside within the area, the majority of them ethnic Chinese and

Vietnamese whose ancestors are said to have lived along the riverbanks of Tonle

Sap in houseboats. These worshippers contested that they survived the bombings of the Ho Chi Minh trail during the United States-Vietnam war, and that their ancestors regularly worshipped this kind of statue. Furthermore, according to the caretakers of the place, a number of the survivors' children now living abroad pay their respects to the statue when visiting Phnom Penh. Fortune-tellers offer their services to the visitors, and display countless objects for worshipping and as means of reading fortunes for people in distress from sickness or marriage problems or to determine an auspicious day for a grand opening of a business or business venture. The caretaker also practices Chinese and reading, interpretation from sticks, which I believe is of the I Ching tradition. For festival occasions, the statues also attracted participants for boat racing and the

285 celebration during the water festival; participants prayed and believed they received energy and were blessed for their victories.

In all, Hang describes her viewpoint of the cult of the leper king in different forms and aspects, and Yay Deb in Siem Reap and as well as in Phnom

Penh, as representing the notion of maintaining national political unity and integrity. However, ] am skeptical that the re-establishment of such contemporary practices is a good fit for the current time and space for political Cambodia; rather, it seems to serve and encourage the elevation of Cambodian people's beliefs and ignorance. The people would be better served by being better educated and discarding false practices and superstitions—uplifting their general living knowledge and common sense will help them to see the reality of the new world order, for a smarter and healthier life.

1 can understand that the Khmer people's integrity has been entrusted in the legacy of ancient Khmer kings and that their achievements are well respected by the world, but nothing can elevate the status of future Khmer royalty but their own efforts; they must demonstrate the worth and the sacredness of kingship in order to receive respect and veneration from the people. It is a very challenging task but it is necessary, because the new generation of Cambodia becomes ever more engaged with the sophistication of the twenty-first century, and subsequently nothing remains secret any more—in other words, the world is exposed to an open source of knowledge, information, and technology accessible to people across the globe and to different levels of societies. Taking Cambodians back to the past with some alterations and modifications is real punishment;

286 instead, walk them along the road of modernity and technology by demonstrating the cause and effect they encounter.

According to the teaching of Buddha, no supernatural power exceeds the strength or will {paramT) posessed within oneself. A person should seek to be endowed with right knowledge, and the right view leading to righteous living. The encouragement of supernatural beliefs and the practicing of different cults have been rooted in Cambodian society for centuries; Marston and Guthrie's edition contains many stories of Guru ParamT where monks and laity became dictators telling the future outcomes of the people. What has happened to the sayings of

Buddha, such as "the self is self-help {khlourn tipeung khlourn, in Cambodian)"

333 or "the self is the lord of self (atla hi attano natho, in Pali)" ? In Hindu tradition, the Bhagavad Gfta (chapter vi.5) also gives the same view: "let a man

334 lift himself by himself (uddhared atmana 'tmanam, in Sanskrit).

Two additional essays from Marston and Guthrie are of interest to this discussion. Marston presents a modern-day hermit or ascetic who is a compound of a religious figure generally referred as . In a district about twelve kilometers from Phnom Penh, a monk with the given name of Ras' LT established a religious center on his parents' land in the village where he grew up. Marston visited the compound and interviewed the hermit. The ashram was built following the structure of a monument in the Angkor style (prasad), and named SaramandTr- prasad. The claim is that the hermit enabled the blocks of clay to harden faster and

333 S. Radhakrishnan, 77?e Bhagavadgita (India: Harper Collins, 1993), VI:5, 189. 334 Radhakrishnan, Dhammapada, 189.

287 be more truly transformed into stone than would have occured by natural processes alone. However, like many religious movements, this cult stresses that the saramandir was the handiwork of the nation, and that it means that

Cambodians can rebuild the country's greatness without help from foreigners.

The hermit also compares himself to North Korea, and says that he can understand why that country refuses the inspection of their nuclear power facilities. The claim of his supernatural power has attracted even Cambodians living abroad, and he has followers in both Cambodia and the United States.

Whether Tapas' movement represents nationalism or not, Martson shared his opinion:

1 myself have tended to believe that Tapas, if not all those managing his movement, really believed in his own powers, although this also contradicted by some details, the most convincing evidence of fraud, to me, was a marble vase that he claimed had been transformed from ,, 335 wood.

On a visit to the abbot of Wat Maha Mantri in Phnom Penh, Marston met

Samtech Oum Sum, who said to him,

in 1998 that when he visited the site of the compound, they would not let him enter the prasad, presumably for fear it might collapse on one of the highest-ranking Cambodian monks. He commented that in the old days (i.e., the 1980s) they would have just trown Tabas' in jail, but now you had to take into consideration things like "rights."

335 John Marston, "Clay into Stone: A Modern-Day Tapas," in History, Buddhism, and New Religious Movements in Cambodia, ed. John Marson and Elizabeth Guthrie, 170-95 (Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 2004), 182. 336 Ibid., 183.

288 The newspaper article claimed the prasad showed signs of damage after the rain, and the truth came out: the clay used to build the prasad was mixed with cement or iron filings to make it hard. Tapas became a joke—the cheater. Finally, with all consideration, Marston wrote,

With reference to the larger question of how millennial movements can fit into the belief system of Theravada Buddhist societies... Tapas' movement suggests several possibilities: the degree to which iconic elements peripheral to Buddhism can come to take on central roles; the degree to which traditional ides of the millennia savior, as a Maitreya or an anak man puny, can be called on even when they do not play an explicit role in the ambiguity of symbolic systems; the degree to which the association of Buddhism with the nation lends itself to the dream of national salvation; the degree to which one conventional way of building merit, by building buildings, can extend itself to the idea that building a building can create 337 the conditions of a new order.

Marston learned that there was another religious movement in S'ang District that involved collecting money from people, and most of its centers were also closed down for misconduct and fraud, including sexual license taken by the leader and a cave full of weapons.

The last essay I present here concerns the medium (snari) who performs rituals and reverences to the triple gems, and how the role of the medium reflects 338 Buddhist rituals and relations with monks. Didier Bertrand puts more emphasis on the practitioners of exorcism and possession, with recognition of the power of spirits and its use in Buddhist settings. The acknowledgement of the

"' Ibid., 192. 338 Didier Bertrand, "A Medium Possession Practice and Its Relation with Cambodian Buddhism: The Gru Parami," in History, Buddhism, and New Religious Movements in Cambodia, ed. John Marson and Elizabeth Guthrie, 133-^49 (Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 2004).

289 triple gem indicates that the teaching of the Buddha is primary, whereas the

invocation of the spirit power of hermits, local deities, and monk , and the

chanting are all performed in a specific order and tone of voice to show the

hierarchy of the spirit world. Bertrand discusses the new role played by monks in

the reunion of mediums that can take place at pagodas. This new networking role

is exemplified in the story of a well-known healer-monk in Phnom Penh who was

supposed to be a very powerful parami, or spiritual power embodied in a medium.

He organized a meeting of all the mediums to gather around a Bo tree in which

his power resides; this meeting takes place every three years and participation by

gurus (Gru) and mediums has increased. Another monk gathers hundreds of

people for the celebration of the opening of the parami way or the consecration of

his relationship with a parami; this ceremony is conducted in his residence (kutf)

inside the pagoda, or in the main meeting hall (vihara).

Bertrand shows that Cambodian Buddhism makes connections with the power of the spirit world, a vital energy that communicates with those who are

blessed to carry out the communication. But how will Theravada Buddhism hold

on to its authenticity as prescribed in the vinaya, the rules for monks? It is understood that trances are not allowed for monks, but a monk who practices possession is even a few steps beyond trance. Bertrand stresses, "it disobeyed the most basic rules for monkhood, and one may ask beyond what point they should 339 still be considered a monk." Healer monks are found in Buddhist countries

(one wonders if they do heal people and if so how, or whether they just collect

339 Ibid., 163..

290 donations), and are usually forest monks living simple lives; monks in today's

Cambodia are totally different, as described by Bertrand:

the monks, on the other hand, secure in their robes, do not always respect the rules of the vinaya and can be found going about during the rainy season retreat, enjoying television and music during leisure time, pursuing ..,_,. ,. • 340 lucrative practices, or getting involved in politics.

Comparative Overview of Buddhism and Social Reforms in Sri Lanka, Myanmar, and Thailand

The tradition of Theravada Buddhism had its roots in Ceylon (Sri Lanka) and then extended to the neighboring countries of Burma (Myanmar), Siam

(Thailand), Kambuja (Cambodia), and Laos. (To avoid name confusion, I use the current , Myanmar, Thailand, and Cambodia in this section.)

This orthodox system of the teaching of Buddha plays a vital role in distinguishing the authenticity of his doctrine, as well as a core value that binds together historical Sri Lanka and these four countries, and perhaps other countries of Southeast Asia. In this section, I show how this branch of Buddhism holds cultural links together; however, my intent is not to discuss the topic in terms of detailed historical Theravada Buddhist practice in these countries, but rather to examine the essence and failure of Theravada Buddhism using its origin country of Sri Lanka as the model.

Ibid., 165.

291 The following discussion is based on History ofTheravada Buddhism in

34 i South-East Asia with Special Reference to India and Ceylon by Kanai Lai

Hazra, who is a reader in the Department of Pali at the University of Calcutta and specializes in Southeast Asian history, culture, and civilization. This section covers a brief description ofTheravada Buddhism as established in the countries mentioned above, followed by their social changes and movements, with more attention to Sri Lanka, the country known as the birthplace ofTheravada Buddhist tradition.

Theravada dates to the third century BC visit of the thera Mahinda, the son of King Asoka and brother of Sarighamitta, under the reign of Devanampiyatissa. Historical records ofTheravada Buddhist tradition describe Mahinda's arrival, the sacred relics, the alms-bowl of the Buddha, the

Buddhist texts, and the Bodhi tree from India; thus, the event is generally accepted as the time when this branch of religion was introduced to Sri Lanka. As

Hazra indicated, at that time

there was no organized religion in Ceylon. In addition to Brahmanism brought across by the settlers, there were numerous local cults such 342 as cults, animistic cults, ancestor worship, etc.

The Mahavajnsa, which is recognized as the most legitimate of the Theravada

Buddhist texts rooted in Sri Lanka, recounts how during the reign of Duttha

GamanI (101-77 BC), Buddhist monks from foreign countries participated in the

341 Hazra, History ofTheravada Buddhism. 342 Ibid., 50, based on original sources found in DTpavamsa 8:13 and Mahavamsa 7:7-8.

292 ceremony of the Mahalhupa (Ruvanvalisaya), a s/ilpa enshrined for the body- relics of Buddha. That was the time Sri Lanka became known as the center of

Buddhism; hence, Buddhist texts were also committed in such inspired writing for the first time in the first century BC, marking the period of Sri Lankan arts, literature, and other aspects of culture.

The , an orthodox Buddhist sect, played an important role in

Theravada Buddhism of Sri Lanka, but it did not uproot the Abhayagirivihara

(built by Vattagamanl-Abhata in 29-17 BC) or other rival sects of Buddhism, which form the main theme of the religious history of Ceylon. According to

Hazra, the Abhyagiri fraternity, like the Mahavihara, is listed among the followers 343 of the Theravada by the Chinese Traveller I-Tsing. Their scriptures were the same as those of the Mahavihara, except that certain sections of the Vinaya

Pitaka (e.g., the Khandhaka and the Parivara) Canon, as studied in the

Abhayagirivihara, had readings different from the corresponding text of the

Mahavihara. The two communities also had different views on the interpretation of the texts. Despite these differences, most Sri Lankan kings patronized both sects, though the Mahavihara and its tradition continued to be preeminent throughout the religious history of the country.

Hazra places the Vetulyavada with the Mahayana, and according to Dr.

Paranavitana, the Vetulyas (Vetullas in Sanskrit) and the Vaitulyah (Vaipulyah in

Sanskrit) were a Mahayanist sect of northern India. King Gothyabhaya suppressed the Vetulyavada in the first half of the fourth century AD. In this same

343 Ibid., 50.

293 time, , a Mahayana Buddhist monk (not to be confused with

Sanghamitta, the daughter of King Asoka), arrived in Sri Lanka and received

support from King Mahasena (AD 334-362). The king was quite hostile toward

the Mahavihara, causing the monks from this sect to flee to Rohana in southern

Sri Lanka as well as to the Malay hills. Many buildings, including the Lohapasada of the Mahavihara, were demolished by this king. Fortunately, one of the king's ministers, Meghavanna Abhaya, restored the Mahavihara. The king also ordered the construction of the Jetavanarama {Jelavcma Vihara), a vihara dedicated to his friend Tissa, within the area of the Mahavihara—an action that was protested.

Mahamacco, the chief minister, opposed the king's decision and also dis-robed

(defrocked) Tissa.

In the reign of Buddhadasa, a Chinese traveler named Fa-hsien visited Sri

Lanka around the beginning of the fifth century AD. He stayed at the

Abhayagirivihara and stated that there were five thousand monks at this vihara and three thousand monks at the Mahavihara, an indication that the Abhayavihara was in its prosperous time; however, Hazra stressed that the information given by this Chinese traveler needs verification. Around this period and under the reign of

Mahanama (AD 409-431), The great commentator Buddhaghosa heard of the fame and scholarly activities at the Mahavihara, and came to Anuradhapura and stayed at the vihara, translating the STnhala commentaries on the Tipitaka into the Pali language.

Historical records show the schism of the schools of Theravada Buddhism, and each phase of modifications that occurred, regardless of their claims of

294 authenticity. Sri Lanka has been the center for such schism, as well as the center for the search for old texts which may render religious anthenticity. As a result, sessions for purification occurred, identifying and dis-robing monks whose conducts did not reflect what is written in the Vinaya Pitaka. For this reason, I present the Theravada Buddhist sangha in the sixth century in Sri Lanka, a period of religious cleansing or correction conducted by the king of the island.

At the beginning of the sixth century, a purification of the Buddhist sangha was conducted and supported by two kings in Sri Lanka, King

Moggallana I and his son King Kumara Dhatusena (AD 513-522). However, the

Nikayasangrahava composed by the Mahathera Dharmakirty of the fourteenth century AD states that after public controversy, the Vetulyavada were defeated by

Jotipalathera, leading to a loss of popularity for the Abhayagirivihara and the

Jetavanavihara. Chinese records and several Sanskrit inscriptions belonging to the period (6th century AD) indicate that religious connections between Sri Lanka and India attracted Sri Lankan monks to visit the Buddhist shrines at Bodh Gaya.

Also found in the Chinese text, Hing-Tchoan of Wang Hiuen Ts'e refers to the erection of a monastery at Bodh Gaya by the ruler of Sri Lanka to accommodate monks from Sri Lanka. Two Sanskrit inscriptions of the sixth century AD found at Bodh Gaya mention the erection of a Buddhist monastery and the presentation of a statue of the Buddha to the Bodh Gaya monastery by a monk, Mahanama. A

Sinhalese monk named Prakhyataklrty, who may have been of the Sri Lankan royal family, also established residency at Bodh Gaya during this time.

295 The period of religious purification may have attracted the king of

Kaliriga to take ordination in Sri Lanka. The king of Kaliiiga visited Sri Lanka in

the seventh century AD and became a monk under Jotipalathera (later on, his wife

and minister also joined the sctngha). Under the patronage of Dall Moggallana III

(AD 611-617), a recital of the Tipitaka took place, the driving force of Buddhist

literary activity. King Silameghavanna (AD 619-628) wanted to ensure the unity of the Sangha, and thus had the monks of the Mahavihara and other monks (very probably from the Abhayagirivihara and Jetavanarama) hold and observe the

uposatha ceremony in one place, with the hope that monks from different

fraternities would work together. Sadly, he was not successful because the monks

from the Mahavihara did not want to hold the ceremony with other fraternities.

Another king, Dathopatissa II (AD 659-667), wanted to erect a vihara of the

Abhayagirivihara, and carried out his plan despite the protests he received from the monks of the Mahavihara. His choice prompted the monks of the Mahavihara to apply the turning down of the alms-bowl (pattanikkujjanakamm) on this king, indicating the strength and power the vihara had over the king. Nonetheless, the three groups of monks flourished under royal patronage, and the king sanctioned the maintenance of villages for the dwellers of the three Nikayas.

The period of the ninth century is rather important because the

Jetavanarama Sanskrit inscription found in the precinct of the Abhayagirivihara refers to the foundation of the vihara for a group of one hundred monks, comprised of 25 monks from each group of the four great Nikayas. The exact date of this inscription is debated, as linguistic analysis places it around the middle of

296 the century while palaeographical analysis dates it to the first half of the century,

344 possibly to the reign of Sena 1. Also there was a provision for 40 monks for the study of the sastras without affiliation to any Nikayas of Sri Lanka (Mahavihara,

Abhayayagirivihara, or Jetavanavihara) or the traditional Nikayas of Sri Lanka.

Instead, the four Nikayas of the Jetavanarama Sanskrit inscription represent the four leading Nikayas of the Buddhist Sahgha of India: the Mahasarighikas,

Sarvastivadins, Sthaviravadins, and the Sammitiyas. Because of the finding of this inscription, it can be concluded that the monks of the Abhyagirivihara were probably of the Sthaviravadins.

The Culavamsa refers to the construction of the Varankurarama at the

Abhayuttara (Abhayagiri) vihara by King Sena I (AD 831-851), and his offering of it to the Mahasarighika monks and the Theriya monks. Further, it has been pointed out that the term Theriya, although generally used to refer to monks of the

Mahavihara, could also apply to monks of the other two groups (the

Abhayagirivihara and the Jetavanarama). Additionally, Indian and Tibetan lists of

Buddhist sects mention all three fraternities of Sri Lanka under the Sthaviravadin schools; hence, both terms, Theriya and Sthaviravadins, could be used for all of the groups or any one of the groups of the main Buddhist fraternity of Sri Lanka.

Hazra's analysis concluded that if the term Theriya in the reign of King Sena I was addressed to the monks of the Mahavihara, then there is a dissonance between the monks of the Mahavihara regarding themselves as an orthodox group and denying the king's request to hold an uposatha ceremony together with the

344 Ibid., 54.

297 other two groups, and their agreeing to live within the precinct of the

Abhayagirivihara with other monks.

The Vajiriyavada was introduced to Sri Lanka during the reign of Sena I,

and this new sect was identical with the Vajrayanists, the followers of the Tantric

schools that flourished in northeastern India at that time. During this period, the

Vikramashila monastery, a center of Tantric teaching, played an important role in

the propagation of Mahayana Buddhism within the borders of India and outside as well and affected Sri Lanka also. It was found that under Sena I, Tantric texts like the Ratanakuta were introduced to the country, though this sect known as the

Nllapatadarshana appeared in the religious history of the country. The followers of the sect, however, preached indulgence in wine and love, and appeared in blue robes.

Sri Lanka went through different periods of purification of the sahgha.

King Kassapa IV (AD 898-914) found that it was necessary to unify the three fraternities and by purifying, to remove undisciplined monks from all three groups. He erected a Parivena called the Samuddagiri in the Mahavihara and gave it to the Pamsukulikas, the monks who used only rag-robes and were found in the

Mahavihara and the Abhayagirivihara, according to Rev. Walpola. Moreover, the

Cidavamsa states that these monks separated themselves from the

Abhayagirivihara and had a group of their own during the reign of King Sena II, which shows that they also belonged to the Abhayagirivihara.

So, Sri Lanka went through phases of purification and cleasing among its fraternity groups up to the tenth century, but even though the Abhayagirivihara

298 was considered an important group in the history of Buddhism in the country, no

group could overpower the orthodox Mahavihara. The important question is to

what extent Tantric tradition affected this eminent fraternity.

The following briefly lists significant events in Sri Lanka's religious

history from AD 1000 to the modern era. invaders disrupted the

Sahgha and the lineage of nuns' ordination began to die out around AD 1050, but

by 1070, records show the reinstatement of monks' ordination. In 1164,

Polonnaruwa was destroyed by foreign invasion. With the guidance of two monks

from a forest tradition of the Mahavihara sect, the Venerables Mahakassapa and

Sariputta, and King Parakramabahu reunited all the bhikkhus in Sri Lanka into the

Mahavihara sect, and by the twelfth century, the king had totally abolished other

Buddhist schools. The revival of monk ordination lineage occurred in 1236 by monks from India. However, records from the thirteenth century onwards show

the coastal areas of the country falling into the hands of the Portuguese.

Sri Lanka's history reflects the possession of the kingdom under foreign control—the Portuguese, the Dutch, and the British—and resistance against colonial powers. What is noticeable here is the rise and fall of the Sitawaka

Kingdom, which marked the most vigorous opposition to imperialist rule and led to the Portuguese emissary taking full control, and which totally collapsed after the death of King Rajasingha (AD 1593). To fight against the power of the

Portuguese, Sri Lanka had to seek help from the Dutch, and the conflict between these two foreign powers over Sri Lanka lasted until around 1796, when the

299 British gained full control over the Dutch and Sri Lanka continued on as the first

crown colony of the British until its independence on February 4, 1948.

There are two dates of importance for the record of Sri Lankan Buddhism.

The sixteenth century saw the country's persecution of and virtual eradication of

Buddhism. By the seventeenth century. Buddhism was revived and the Dhamma was twice assisted by Burmese of same Theravada Buddhist tradition; by 1753,

Sri Lanka began the reinstatement of monks' ordination from Thailand through

the lineage of the Siyam Nikaya.

Present-Day Sri Lankan Buddhism

Present-day Sri Lankan Buddhism shows an ongoing conflict between

Tamil militants and Sinhala militant groups. To better present Buddhism in Sri

Lanka, it is useful to consider what is presented in Buddhism Betrayed?: Religion,

Politics, and Violence in Sri Lanka by Stanlay Jeyaraja Tambiah concerning the revival of Sri Lanka Buddhism in AD 1860-1915:

the most vivid and consequential formulation of Sinhala Buddhist revivalism with nationalist overtones is to be witnessed in the anti- Christian movement begun by monks like Migettuwatte Gunananda and Hilladuwe Sumangala in the mid-nineteenth century, then given an institutional and propagandist basis by the Theosophists, notably by Colonel Olcott as their leader in the 1880s, and taken to its ideological 345 limits by the charismatic Anagarika (1864-1933).

Sinhala Buddhist revivalism and nationalism are recognized in various forms to this present day, and had their origin in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, and the goal of shaping Sinhala consciousness and the sense

345 Tambiah, Buddhism Betrayed, 5.

300 of national identity and purpose. But per Tambiah's understanding, Kumari

Jayawardena was in a way correct in insisting that the religious revival of Sri

Lanka in the 1880s had salient political and economic dimensions. Moreover, an article issued in June 15, 1979, under the headline "Bhikkus in Revolt, Part 2:

Revival, Revolt, and Race" gave the following statement,

The new revival, taking place during a period when local capitalism was expanding, was linked to the nationalist strirring of Buddhist sections of the emergent bourgeoisie and was also associated with certain dissident trends in Britain such as anti-Christian .

Local monks had already begun the religious revival movement with a political thrust, even before the arrival of Colonel Olcott on the island. The dominant leader was Migettuwatte Gunananda, who was aggressive and an acclaimed orator, had a fighter's attitude, and led the challenge to Christian missionaries in 1873. Some laymen such as Dharmapala and other monks (namely

Hikkaduwe, Sri Sumangala, Valane Siddharta, Weligama Sri Sumangala, and

Ratmalane Sri Dharmaloka) were also involved with causes promoted by the revivalists and nationalists, such as the establishment of Buddhist schools and the movements of 1904 and 1912. And in 1915, as Tambiah noted, the layman Dharmapala's brand of Sinhala Buddhist revivalism and nationalism was supported by and served the interest of a rising Sinhala Buddhist middle class and a circle of businessmen. Some of those businessmen were implicated in the anti-

Muslim riots that year, which were directed against their competitors—Muslim

301 shopkeepers and merchants—who were branded as exploiters of Sinhalese

consumers.

From among the ranks of the bhikkhns, the most important and notable in

terms of writing published in Sinhalese is the work of Walpola Rahula. He was

born in 1907 in a village in the Galle district of the southern province of Sri

Lanka. After finishing the village school, he was ordained as a novice in the

village Buddhist temple, and practiced in the monastic system of education,

mastering Pali and Buddhist doctrine and history. Then in 1936, Rahula made

history by being the first Buddhist monk to become an undergraduate at Sri Lanka

University College, which was affiliated with the University of London—his

initiative and breaking of tradition were not appreciated by some conservative elements. Rahula completed his monastic education at the age of 22 and began to

study English. He was known as a preacher and a pamphleteer who criticized

some popular Buddhist practices. He successfully worked on his doctoral thesis at

Sri Lanka and got it published in 1956; the book was dedicated to the relationship between the sangha and the Sinhalese kingdom, and deeply reflected the role of

the bhikkhns in the public affairs of ancient Sri Lanka (Ceylon).

Rahula was also thoroughly involved in politics, and soon found himself

in jail—an experience that motivated him to encourage Buddhist monks to act in keeping with their ancient historical tradition, leave their secluded life, and devote their energies for the good of the people. In reply to his critics and also as a manifesto, he appealed to and motivated not only young monks but also young social workers and politicians. Tambiah was quite impressed by this monk, giving

302 his motivation as innovative and yet arguable, and presenting his thesis as a

driving force and inspiring charter to monks for the dedication to restore the

sangha.

The image of the Buddhist monk as a public leader engaging in social and political activities has been obscured, deliberately so, by Western colonialists and their accompanying Christian missionaries. By imposing a particular type of Christian monasticism upon Buddhist clergy, restricting the clergy's activities to individual purification and temple ministries, the colonial administrators dispossessed the bhikkhus of their influence on the public life of their people, and actually succeeded in instituting a tradition 347 of Buddhist recluses, to the near exclusion of other types of clergy.

Also, Rahula illuminatingly asserted that the great reawakening of the bhikkhus

and laymen regarding current religious, social, economic, and political problems

is in large part indebted to Eksath Bhikkhu Mandalaya, a United Bhikkhu Council

instituted in May 1946. As well as being the founder, Rahula became the first

secretary general, saying, "As a result of this movement two important

expressions with deep meaning and historical significance—'Bhikkhu Politics'

348 and 'Political Bhikkhu'—found their way into current Buddhist literature."

The social revolution of 1956 marks an historic event: the political success

of Sinhalese Buddhist nationalism in covering its agenda on the election, the rehabilitation and restoration of Buddhism to its precolonial status, the shift from

English to indigenous mother tongues and especially to Sinhalese, and the fostering by the Sinhalese of their national identity and their national culture. But the most important issue in 1956 was the great expectations for the staging of the

347 Ibid., 29. 348 Ibid., 27.

303 celebration of Buddha Jayanthi (the 2,500-year anniversary of the death of the

Buddha, and the landing of Vijaya the first Sinhalese together with his band of

followers, in Sri Lanka). In addition, in preceding years, recommendations had

been made by the All Ceylon Buddhist Congress, including suggestions

concerning the role of the government in protecting and maintaining Buddhism

and Buddhist institutions, the creation of a Buddha Sasana department, and the

appointment of a Buddhist commission to inquire into the state of Buddhism.

The restoration of Buddhism and the transformation of education in the

1960s and 1970s are also very important to present social movements in Sri

Lanka. Tambiah explained that the United National Party (UNP) saw the

opportunity in the 1960s to accept the two objectives as an essential platform for

its party, and therefore both major Sinhalese political parties—the UNP and the

Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP)—not only grew closer ideologically regarding

Buddhist restoration, but also became alternative choices at subsequent elections.

To document the issue more fully, Tambiah pointed out the fact that the

salience of and public support for political activities by monks suffered a traumatic setback in September 1959, when Prime Minister Bandaranaike was assassinated by a monk, a chief incumbent of the famous Kelaniya temple and also the leader of the Eksath Bhikkhu Peramuna (EBP). After the assassination, monks' activity and visibility decreased dramatically, but the setback was temporary, and monks became active again in the 1965 election that caused division within their ranks as characterized and structured in the sangha. The

Buddha Sasana Commission made certain regulatory proposals following a

304 recommendation made in 1956 regarding the reorganization and unification of various chapters of monks, a move designed to stem the alleged increased division of the saiigha, and to give it more organizational strength to compete and challenge Christian missions.

The point of importance regarding this effort is that between 1960 and the early 1970s, the main two objectives were largely fulfilled: one objective from militant lay Buddhists and the other from politically ardent Buddhist monks to restore Buddhism to a preeminent place. Both political parties collaborated in the acceptance of Buddhism, and in the inclusion in the constitution in 1972 of a statement declaring Buddhism as the religion of the majority. The Buddha ,

Jayanthi celebration took place, and in the same year, a number of Buddhist revival events were initiated from a wide range of political sponsoring: projects to collate and edit the texts of the Pnon and the Tipitaka, and also to translate them into Sinhalese; to publish Buddhist literary texts; to compile an encyclopedia in

Sinhalese and English; and to restore the Dalada Maligawa (the temple in Kanda holding the Buddha's tooth relics), the palladium of the precolonial Sinhala kings, and other famous Buddhist monuments in Anuradhapura, Polonnaruwa, and elsewhere.

Tambiah provides skillful scholarly discussions covering the social movements participated in by laypeople and monks, movements that often showed violence; although violence is entirely against the teaching of nonviolence in Buddhism, it may have served the political needs of Sri Lanka as the country

305 was suppressed by the British Raj and by the work of Christian missionaries to eradicate Buddhism from the island.

349 Heinz Berchert's abstract reflects a similar view of the Theravada

Buddhist Sangha, and his findings show that the emergence of an historical tradition in Sri Lanka was caused by two factors: the importance of an unbroken succession of ordination in the Sangha for the survival of Theravada Buddhism, and the emergence of the Sinhalese nation. According to Berchert, one of the main factors in the nation-building process and movement was the acceptance of the Sinhalese that the legacy of King Asoka to establish Buddhism in Sri Lanka must survive, and that this survival depended on the state of the sangha enshrined in the country. Tambiah demonstrated how committed Buddhist monks and laypeople in Sri Lanka today are very actively taking part in politics, a challenge against the Tamils. Furthermore, Berchert stresses that the history of the

Theravada Sangha shows such efforts toward monastic reforms—but policies implemented by world powers stand behind those reforms. As for the legacy of

King Asoka whose bloody war almost destroyed the social and economic structures of the ancient Indian empire, his conversion to a devoted Buddhist indeed describes religious politics in Sinhalese chronicles underlying a basis for stale-Sangha relations.

Berchert further explained that political thinking shows a dualism of ideological concept based on religious values and the tradition of practical

349 Heinz Berchert, 'Theravada Buddhist Sangha: Some General Observations on Historical and Political Factors in its Development," Journal of Asian Studies 29, no. 4 (1970): 761-78.

306 political science. In the case of Sri Lanka, the impact of historical factors in the

development of the Sahgha structure is reflected in this Buddhist country and in

other historical communities such as Bengal. Hence, in the context of changes and

reforms explained by Tambiah, a state-saiigha like Sri Lanka—with

interrelations between society and Buddhism and popular cults—can be analyzed

as a result of the interaction of ideological, historical, and political factors.

Present-Day Buddhism in Burma (Myanmar)

The preceding analysis is useful to the following discussion of the establishment and development of Theravada Buddhism in Burma (Myanmar).

The Sri Lankan (Ceylon) chronicles refer to the introduction of Buddhism to

Suvannabhumi by the thera Sona and the thera Uttara—the question is, where is the exact location called Suvannabumi? This location has been claimed by many countries, including Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia, Malaysia, and Indonesia; as I mentioned earlier, Coedes refers to Malaysia and Indonesia as Suvannabumi.

Despite all claims, the location of this country is still much the subject of debate, both scholarly and nationalistic.

Burmese tradition has identified as Taking or the Mon kingdom, and suggested that Buddhaghosa was of this origin. But Hazra provides his own argument and suggests that Buddhaghosa's endeavours gave an impetus to the development of Theravada Buddhism in Lower Myanmar. As for Upper

Myanmar, Pagan was founded in the beginning of the second century AD, though it was not recorded until the eleventh century AD. However, both Mahayana and

Tantrayana were known in Pagan before the introduction of Theravada Buddhism

307 from Thaton of Lower Myanmar by Anuruddha of the Pagan dynasty in the

middle of the eleventh century AD.

Lower Myanmar (also known as ) was an important center

of commerce that was familiar to Indian people from a very early period. Hazra

refers to several Buddhist Jataka stories of the late third century BC—old Sanskrit works like the Kathakosha, the Brhatkatha, and several other books that mention many sea voyages between Indian ports and Suvannabumi or Lower Myanmar.

Further, the Mahajanaka Jataka refers to the visit of prince Mahajanaka with a group of merchants, and the Supparaka Jataka gives the story of a sea-voyage of

several merchants between Bharukacca (Broach in Gujarat) and the lower part of

Burma, among other supporting references validating Suvannabumi as Lower

Myanmar. If this claim is valid, Buddhism would have been introduced to this country during the reign of Asoka, but there is no archaeological evidence in the area to support the claim. Only the Pali inscriptions found at Sirikhetta (now

Hmawza in the Prome district of Central Myanmar) date from the end of the fifth century AD or from 500 AD—this lack leaves the claim invalid.

Myanmar was ruled by its own kings until 1886, and Buddhism continued to flourish; the country has been known for a long time for its scholarly studies of the Tipitaka, and most of all, the Abhidhamma. Myanmar monasteries have preserved a rich collection of manuscripts, with as the center for

Buddhist study, and there have been publications from the Hanthawady Press, the

Hazra, History ofTheravada Buddhism, 60.

308 P. G. Mundyne Pitaka Press, and the Zabu Meet Swe Press covering the

Atthskathas and sub-commentaries on the Abhidhamma.

The most notable among the learned monks of Myanmar was Ledi

Sayadaw, who specialized in the Abhidhamma and whose publications included

The Manuals of Buddhism: The Expositions of the Buddha-Dhamma, Rangoon

351 _ 352 and Kaba-Aye and The Manual of Insight: Vipassana Dipani. Another notable scholar was the Venerable (1868-1955) of Thaton who wroteMilinda-atthakatha (1949), Petakopadesa-atthakatha, - viniccaya and Nibbana-katha. Hazra also wrote highly of the works contributed by Myanmar Buddhist monks such as Ledi Pandit, U. Maung Gyi, U. Lin, and

Rev. Pannaloka Mahathera.

After Myanmar became independent, the government took swift measures to bring about the revival of Buddhism and Buddhist studies. Thus, the Buddha

Sasana Council was established to edit the whole of the Tipitaka, and cooperation has been sought for support from learned Buddhist monks in India,

Parkistan, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Cambodia, and Laos.

In reference to Burma or Myanmar, I focus more on recent events. This name Myanmar is a traditional Burmese word that was introduced in June 1989 to replace the alleged colonial name Burma. Myanmar is comprised of two words:

Ledi Sayadaw, The Manuals of Buddhism: The Expositions of the Buddha-Dhamma, Rangoon and Kaba-Aye (Burma: Union Buddha Sasana Council, 1965). 352 Ledi Sayadaw, The Manual of Insight: Vipassana Dipam, trans. Nyana Maha-Thera (Kandy, Ceylon: Buddhist Publication Society, 1961).

309 myan means "quick," and mar means "hardy." According to Bruce Matthews'" research on Myanmar's current political and religious oppression, any perspective of Myanmar's history inevitably involves differences of interpretation associated in part with ethnicity—the homelands of the minorities in the hills, the eyes of an

Indo-Burman, or the perspective of Rangoon determine the account of the country's traumatic experiences up to this present day.

The question remains as to what a nation and nationalism might best mean in Myanmar's particular circumstances. After World War II, there was an immediate rise in nationalism, though without much time to develop.

Unfortunately, the British had done nothing to foster a sense of ethnic harmony or national unity; in fact, it was quite the reverse. Furnivall positively declared that the British stimulated sectional particulars, fostered racial antagonism, and subverted the internal balance of power. Negative views of such policies have heightened ethnic sentiments, particularly among the majority Myanmar.

Burma's sovereign, the Bogyoke or the Major General , inherited a powerful tradition of Buddhist political activism. There are four notable individuals who are recognized as anticolonial leaders: the two monks U

Seinda and U Ottama in the early twentieth century, and the Burmese monk

U Wissera and nationalist ex-monk Saya San in the 1920s and 1930s. In the sense of nationalism, Burma holds similar political and social problems as Sri Lanka— the religion of the country was the only unifying factor available, the only way

Matthews, Ethnic and Religious Diversity.

310 Burmese nationalism could express itself." Aung San continued his goal of building a framework for a new union of Burma; met with Shan, Chin, and

Kachin leaders in Panglong, a small town in Shan State; and reached an agreement signed on February 12, 1947. Unfortunately, Aung San was assassinated in July 1947, only one month before Burma's independence.

Myanmar's present-day religious reforms exhibit an ongoing process leading toward economic and sociopolitical stability.

The spread of the Abhidhamma in Myanmar in the seventeenth century was considered a dynamic growth period in the 's Buddhism.

For example, Manirathana Thera translated Pali texts into Myanmar language, including the Atthasalina, Sammohavinodani, Kankhavitarani,

Abhidhammatthavibhavini, and Sankhepavannana. Of these five, only the

Kankhavitarani, Buddhaghossa's commentary on the Patimokkha, is not concerned with the Abhidhamma. Later in the century more translation took place, such as Aggadhammalankara's translation of Kacayana's Pali grammar, the

Abhidhammattha-Sangaha, Matika, Dhatukatha, Yamaka, and the Pattha into the

Myanmar language. The last text translated was the Nettippakarana.

The people of Myanmar still remember King Mindon (AD 1852-1877) and the 25 years of peace under his kingship. He was prepared for the British occupation of the country, and anticipated that the sahgha would be under pressing reforms, but he maintained a certain continuity of the traditional ways for the benefit of the people of Myanmar in general. He established the Council of the

354 Emmanuel Sarkisyanz, as discussed by Matthews, Ethnic and Religious Diversity.

311 Abbots or Council of , and often was the subject of challenge and

criticism from the abbots.

During Mindon's reign, there were four popular abbots (Sayadaw). In

1855, the Okpo Sayadaw assembled the bhikkhits and taught that the saiigha

needed no protection from secular power if the vinaya was observed strictly. He

also emphasized that mental volition was what really mattered in the religion of

Buddha, and that acts of worshipping with impurity were worthless. He strongly

believed that much of Buddhist practice had become more like rituals, and that the

essence of the real teaching had been lost. Okpo led a movement to challenge

Mindon's Council of Sayadaws, which comprised the unified Thudhamma sect,

and declared that the ordinations of these leaders were not technically valid. As a

result, he and his followers took a higher ordination.

Okpo was not the only Buddhist leader criticizing the Thudhamma

Sayadawa—the Ngettwin Sayadaw also found that religious practice in Myanmar

had become more radical and that reassessment for a proper way was necessary.

Ngettwin's teaching inspired the movement by Okpo and other reformers, which

is interesting because Ngettwin was also the teacher of "Mindon's chief queen

355 and had advised the king on many occasions," and as well as being a key

leader, a driving force in the Buddhist movement in where the

goal was to bring back the right way to practice the teaching of Buddha. Ngettwin believed that meditation was essential for all bhikkhus, more important than

355 Roger Bischoff, "Buddhism in Myanmar: A Short History," The Wheel 399/401 (1995), retrieved on April 11, 2009 from http://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/authors/ bischoff/wheel399.html.

312 starting to learn the Tipitaka, and thus he required aspirants to novicehood to

prove that they were ready at the stage for ordination. Furthermore, he advised

laypeople to stop making offerings on the Uposatha days, which in turn quite

upset the people and the traditional Thudhamma. However, Ngettwin's group

preserved the traditional way of ordination and did not lose popularity as did

Okpo's group with its changes to ordination.

There were two other important Abbots, the Shwegyin Sayadaw and the

Thingazar Sayadaw, both of whom managed to avoid conflict with the

Thudhamma Council. The former also tried to reform the saiighct, and

successfully enough that his movement is still active and highly respected by the

people today. The irony is that Shwegyin was Okpo's student, but when he

returned to his native town in Upper Myanmar, he cleverly avoided controversies

with the Thudhamma Council. He did introduce two new rules for his followers:

that they must not chew betel or consume tobacco in the afternoon. Shwegyin

continued to recognize the validity of the traditional ordination, and only

reminded people that the sangha must regulate and maintain its unity without

patronage from any authorities. Thingazar, on the other hand, was the most popular among the four great abbots. He received a wide range of support by

stressing that the Buddha's teaching is simple and practical for daily life, and

leading a movement to take Buddhist practice back to the basics of the teachings, as opposed to mere scholarship. His view was well honored by King Mindon, and

thus Thingazar became a member of the Thudhamma Council. With similar preferences, both Thingazar and Shwegyin spent time in solitude in the forest and

313 in meditation. Nonetheless, despite royal gifts such as numerous monasteries,

Thingazar always insisted on the practice of the purest of disciplines in

accordance with the Vinaya, and did not get into any disputes with any extreme

reformers or the Thudhamma Council.

The Buddhist Councils (Sangaycina) of Myanmar played the most

important role for the country, and King Mindon was part of this mission that

resulted in five Buddhist Councils held in Myanmar. The first was during the first

Rain Retreat after the Parinibbana of the Buddha, and was followed by three

consecutive councils. The king had all the Buddhist scriptures, the Tipitaka,

engraved on 729 marble slabs.

The slabs were then housed each in a separate small pagoda about three meters high with a roof to protect the inscriptions from the elements. The small shrines were built around a central pogoda, the Kutho-daw Pagoda or the Pagoda of the Noble Merit. To commemorate the great Council, king Mindon crowned the in with a new Hti . 356 or spire.

The fifth Council and the crowning of the Shwedagon Pagoda was as much a

marker of the importance of the religion for the people of Mayanmar as the role of

the Thudhamma of senior monks, which continued to exist and enhance the

tradition in spite of British rule.

Present-Day Buddhism in Siam (Thailand)

Buddhism in Siam or Thailand flourished in a very early period. Bapat places the date around the first or second century AD, while Hazra states that

356 Ibid., 42.

314 Buddhism was introduced to Thailand during the reign of Asoka. In the chronicles of Ceylon, Mahadhammarakkhita or "the Great Protector of the Dhamma" was one of the Greek Buddhist monks who lived during the second century BC, during the reign of the Indo-Greek king Manander. Mahadhammarakkhita was sent to the region called Maharattha, which is identified by the author of the Sasanavanisa as Siam. However, there is no archaeological evidence validating the presence of

Buddhism in Thailand in an early period of the third century BC, which indicates that Siam was not in fact the country visited by Asoka's missionary. Nonetheless,

Thailand is confirmed as a Theravada Buddhist country from the sixth century

AD onwards, based on the discovery of archaeological, architectural, and sculptural remains, as well as Pali inscriptions.

The following is my own time-line for the establishment of Theravada

Buddhism in Thailand; I found it best to only present Theravada Buddhism in

Thailand from the beginning of the thirteenth century onwards. At the start of the thirteenth century, a forest-based Sri Lankan ordination line arrived in Myanmar and Thailand, marking the founding of Theravada Buddhism which later spread to

Laos. Thai Theravada Budhism began to appear in Cambodia, and then spread further into Cambodia after the fall of Angkor to the Thai in AD 1431. Another forest lineage from Sri Lanka was imported to Ayudhaya, the capital of Thailand in the fourteenth century AD. By the seventeenth century, King Kirti Srirajasinh of Sri Lanka obtained monks from the Thai court to reinstate the bhikkhus' ordination line that had died out in Sri Lanka. This reinstatement of ordination was the origin of Siyam or , which took place in AD 1753. King

315 , the founder of the current Thai dynasty, obtained copies of the Tipitaka from Sri Lanka and sponsored a Council to standardize the Thai version of the

Tipitaka, then donated copies to temples throughout the country. In AD 1803, Sri

Lankans ordained in the Burmese city of founded the Amarapura

Nikaya in Sri Lanka to supplement the Siyam Nikaya, and admitted only

Brahmans from the up-country highlands around Kanda. King Mongkut (Rama

IV) founded the Dhammayut movement in 1828, which later was adopted by

Cambodian kings (most of whom were either hostages or exiled in Thailand). In

1900, two monks, Venerable Ajaan Mun and Venerable Ajaan Sao, worked to revive the forest meditation tradition in Thailand. By 1902, King Chulalongkan

(Rama V) instituted a Sarigha Act that formally marked the beginnings of the

Mahanikaya and Dhammayut sects. The Sahgha were at first in the hands of lay officials appointed by the king, but then control was handed over to the bhikkhns themselves.

Concluding Themes

This comparison of Theravada Buddhism in three countries, both history and religious movements, reveals how these Buddhist countries took strenuous steps to protect and maintain religious practice, and especially to ensure that the teaching of the Buddha was not being distorted or manipulated. These countries' history is overwhelming in its detail, and each country has experienced countless crises, both internal and external, whether from the neighboring countries or from the colonizers. Nonetheless, a clear understanding of the dhamma taught by the

316 Buddha overpowered all attempts by imperialist countries to overthrow Buddhist doctrine.

The timeline of Buddhism also shows that the public debate in Sri Lanka between Venerable Mohottivatte Gunananda and the Christian missionaries, led to a nationwide revival of Sri Lankan religious pride in its own tradition, which then further inspired those who became interested in the religion of Asia. Such distinguished individuals (e.g., Sir Edwin Arnold and his epic poem "Light of

Asia") enlightened the minds of Westerners. Even Helena Blavastky and Henry

Steel Olcott, whom I discussed earlier, embraced Buddhism with the establishment of more Buddhist schools. The Pali Text Society founded in

England by T. W. Rhys Davids was established in 1881, and Buddhist texts in

Roman scripts were translated into English. While the British worked on Buddhist texts, the French established centers such as the Ecole Francais d"Extreme Orient, established in 1900 in Paris with affiliated centers following in: Pondicherry in

India, Rangoon in Burma, in Thailand, Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia,

Jakarta in Indonesia, Phnom Penh and Siem Reap in Cambodia, Vientiane in

Laos, Hanoi in Vietnam, and Peking in China, Teipei in Taiwan,

Seoul in South Korea, and Kyoto and Tokyo in Japan. Furthermore, the French and the British took many of the religious documents, artifacts, jewels, and other sacred objects and preserved them in during the colonial period. Today, most valuable artifacts, religious documents, and sacred objects from colonized countries and other countries in the world are found in two main museums: the

British Museum in London, established in 1660 by the collection of the physician,

317 naturalist, and collector Sir Hans Sloan; and the Musee Guimet in Paris, established by Emile Guimet, a Lyons industrialist (1836-1918). CHAPTER FIVE

IMPORTANT BUDDHIST TEACHING INFLUENCING SOCIAL REFORM

MOVEMENTS IN CAMBODIA

The dis-establishment of the Sangha during the Pol Pot regime and the loss of Buddhist moral and ethical influence on today's society in Cambodia is a special matter that connects not only to the civil war but also to the awareness of world leaders, especially those of powerful nations, and to Cambodian leadership as a whole. Chapter Four explained the threats to the identity of the Cambodian people and the Buddhist Sangha; subsequently, society has slowly fallen to the brink of discarding ethical value, a state that is entirely contrary to the claiming of

Theravada Buddhism as the state religion. All forms of social character and individual integrity indicate rapid influences from foreign culture and an urge to

"get rich fast" by engaging all available means to acquire wealth, power, and fame—including corruption.

The problem is that state laws encourage foreign investments to stimulate the economy and offer jobs—these multicultural investments are justified as the means to move the country's economy ahead—but the invitation to investments also creates corruption in all levels of society, including government officials.

This foreign investments initiative may be of sound reason, but it has offended ordinary people's thinking: they only witness the rich getting richer and the poor getting poorer and poorer. Moreover, new problems such as youth drug-addiction, homelessness especially among children, HIV/AIDS and other health threats, and illegal business activities are now manifest. As a result, there is no ethical or

319 moral limit on means of making a living, including the sale of human organs, bribery, prostitution, the sale of children, and so on.

This carefree attitude imposes an ethical threat that has left Cambodian minorities even more alienated than they were prior to living under the Khmer

Rouge regime. The people who survived the civil war have often remarked that the Communist Pol Pot ideology was to eliminate social corruption and discrimination, and so they created a new society even at the cost of millions of lives of Khmer people. Now as a government is formed, people hope for social order and safety, and dream of a better life—but today's living conditions are even worse than the horrifying period of the communist regime, because those who hold power in the current government are mostly old members of the Pol Pot political body. People often express what they are witnessing, a country with a new name but governed by the same people; unfortunately, they cannot do anything about it but deal with their day-to-day situation.

David Chandler and other historians focusing on Cambodia's political history have revealed much complex matter to comprehend, no matter that the country's name has changed many times within its political ideology. Most important of all is that Cambodians realize some points of significance from their life experiences, bitterness, and recognition of corruption within society; equally important is to recognize the fact that no matter how much Cambodia's annual budget from the international community outlines requirements to implement national policies for the country's reconstruction and development, corruption and poverty remain the nation's biggest issue.

320 Initial Efforts to Rebuild Society and the Country

What kind of measures and policies are needed? This is not an issue for one particular individual, but for Cambodians as a whole. The people have to find a way to become more educated and improve the condition of society, starting from self-awareness to create change and improve mental attitude. This work requires personal effort from all individuals within all social classes, from common citizens to top leaders (whether government officials, religious figures, merchants, or royalty). All must work together, sharing the great tasks, supporting good causes for those who are helpless, guiding and teaching those who need to learn through educational programs within traditional and national identity, and toward a global level. This dissertation is intended as one small but inspiring step toward creating this movement for change.

Direction for Future Reforms and Revitalization

Given the situation presented above, I suggest a re-examination of various conditions in Cambodia from nine perspectives. Those who hold the ability to make changes must first consider an overview of Cambodia's re-establishment of the Sangha and the Buddhist discipline, its unity, monastery educational program, and the ordination of Cambodian Bhikkhums. Second, select facts from current writings on the country's history and religious history and practice need to be re-examined in order to give structure to the desired social and religious reform movements. Third, there is a need to seek joint cooperation from the two Buddhist

Sangha (Dhammayutta and Mahanikaya), addressing the importance of their participation to strengthen moral and ethical improvement as part of an

321 educational program to foster and integrate philosophical and religious education.

Fourth, it is important to assist academic research and writing pertaining to

Cambodian Buddhism for Cambodian monk students and university students by creating a network among Cambodian scholars inside and abroad to facilitate the purpose. Fifth, international communities, corporations, and philanthropists should be sought out to support a center or council for the study of Cambodia and its history and religious changes, using the country's genocide as a 'case study' to highlight policy-making (domestic and foreign) within Cambodian leadership at the regional and global levels. Sixth is the imperative to improve the judicial system's corruption and corruption in general. The seventh perspective is improvement in public education in all areas of study from home to workplace, and the eighth is to draft legislation pertaining to social status and the roles played by royalty and politics. My final recommendation is to include the study of worldview from philosophy to technology, along with ancient languages in educational curricula (, Greek, Hebrew, Chinese, Sanskrit, Pali, Arabic,

Hindu, Dutch, Portuguese, Italian, Spanish, German, and Japanese).

Chapter Four discussed the lack of government effort to implement democracy, human rights, freedom of speech, and the media according to national traits and character, yet within international collaboration. General democratic elections have been held three times since the first one in 1993, and there has been some progress, but the international community—such as Human Rights Watch, the World Bank, Asian Development Bank, and other institutions—is still not satisfied. I also stressed that moral and ethical revitalization remains vital for the

322 future prosperity of Cambodia: therefore, Cambodian academic curicula must be properly designed to include courses stressing moral and ethical values with an integral view of the country's religious context and today's world issues.

Curricula must also provide analysis of the steps from change to transformation: how can Cambodia's new generation leverage advances in technologies to become truly net-centric and interoperable according to the Buddhist view? What is the new role the Cambodian Buddhist sangha needs to grow into to serve the public in ways besides chanting and preaching? What does the sangha mean to the new generation of Cambodia?

In order to create such a framework, the issue here depends entirely on the new developments orchestrated by the world communities' policies toward

Cambodia and the country's leadership itself. The framework starts with the need to respond to and re-examine current trends in academic research on Cambodia, and it should also be developed in accordance with the current version of the world-engaging religious framework. This new framework should provide a clear understanding of the overall aspects of global politics and economic developments, as well as the changing policies and religious trends (e.g., the reasons why the EU's new constitution does not include religion). However, such a framework requires networking among Cambodians in the country and abroad; interactive sessions exchanging communication; and work sessions such as seminars, workshops, and volunteering in which participants can work through example problems contained in a World Book report and produce sample programs. A side-by-side network must be developed to approach Theravada

323 Buddhist countries and those with other forms of Buddhism in the region, to

address questions that are based on an executable model of collaboration and a

procedure for evaluating the authenticity of a framework on the essence of

Buddha's teaching.

The core means of addressing the process of such a framework is to

introduce a safeguarding tool: the practice of nonviolence and the effort of

re-evaluating the Tipitaka's operational and practical aspects consistent with the

guidelines and needs of the current spiritual framework. The effort should focus on developing an understanding from the general public's views toward

Buddhism, and their accepting that other religious teachings are comparable, and on explaining how other spiritual practices' specific philosophical and practical descriptions can exist alongside Buddhism, though with an emphasis on the practical aspects of living in moderation, nonviolence, love, and respect.

Furthermore, special emphasis must be placed on the relationships among various religious institutions, and the need for concordance among representations toward a new view of living with good heart.

While the process of the framework is implemented, awareness must play a side-by-side role to properly benefit from today's access to knowledge through the Internet and technology which is available almost everywhere. Third world countries such as post-civil-war Cambodia are eager to learn about the world— they have missed almost three decades through isolation. Cambodian youths learn about information technology and its innovation, about business administration and management, about new wars, about the world's main events from politics to

324 Hollywood, about food networks and recipes to make bombs and synthetic drugs,

and indeed about Trans-World Corporations, a financial institutional body that

has dominated the world's economy and governments' political and military

strategies.

Cambodia's older generation may know that the Buddha understood social

dilemmas during his time, through preachings from the Jatakas in the forms of

wall and ceiling paintings in pagodas, but no one knows whether previous

generations perceived these stories as legendary or real. I have heard some old-

generation Cambodians claim that Buddha is Cambodian. What have today's

Cambodians learned through the preachings of monks pertaining to the teaching

of Buddha?

I believe the mural paintings in pagodas are very important because

laypeople have limited religious knowledge and may perceive Buddhism

differently. I observed closely when attending religious ceremonies in Cambodia,

and often found the paintings reflecting miraculous stories instead of illustrating

reality and the practical aspects of Buddha's life and his encounters. There are

countless stories from the Sutta Pitaka telling of Buddha's encountering events

and his various discourses to common people and to those of noble families, demonstrating the reality and the practicality of ordinary human living. It is true

that the Sutta also holds stories of the heavenly world. But how Buddhist monks continue to preach the teaching is a cautious matter, because Buddhist teaching claims the practicality of Buddhism in real life. Therefore it is detrimental to exhibit something unexplainable, that is, to include supernatural events from the

325 life of Buddha. These critical issues in interpreting the discourses relating to the

true teaching of Buddhism need to be properly emphasized; for example, the

Jataka contains certain stories reflecting miraculous powers, a traditional

interpretation hardly convincing the young generation to accept the worth of the

religion.

If the teaching of Buddha would remain as humane in this ethical

framework, the Four Noble Truths as viewed through modern society should be able to justify the real life experiences of those who have suffered and still are

suffering, from homes to the battlefields. The purpose of such justification is re-evaluation, showing how Buddhism can be flexible and can be adapted, and how it offers an easy path to living a calm life with loving kindness, mutual respect, tolerance, forgiveness, and compassion. With a similar approach, this suggested framework provides an in-depth correct understanding of current and future religious practice, and it requires a realization that social threats are in progress that will jeopardize human value if the world's marketplace overpowers the world's living place.

Hence, from the Tipitaka, core teachings such as the Four Noble Truths, the Noble Eightfold Path, the Paticcasamuppada, the Abhidhamma, the Path to

Purification, and the Commentaries on Buddhist practice with scholarly works, just to name a few, must be used as references within Cambodian Buddhist schools and institutions, especially in higher education. During my research, I made many trips to Cambodia's Buddhist Insititute, the Preah Sihanoukreach

Buddhist University, and a few libraries in Phnom Penh and discovered the

326 tremendous need for support for Cambodia's education. Currently Germany,

Japan, and Taiwan are most involved in sponsoring religious study with new

documents and reprints of old ones. 1 hope that this academic research will take

Cambodian Buddhism in a new direction where Buddhist teaching still echoes the

reality of life and offers the keys to solving the problems of suffering present in

our material world.

Revitalizing Cambodia's Psycho-Ethical Heritage

As discussed in Chapter One, Cambodians are struggling to reconcile their

past traumas as well as to live with their current difficult circumstances. Coates'

Cambodia Now: Life in the Wake of War does an excellent job of presenting cries

for help that raise many questions. Cambodia's condition has attracted

organizations from various countries, including financial institutions from private

to national, not to mention UNICEF, UNDP, World Food Vision, Oxfam,

UNESCO, World Bank, Asian Development Bank, and hundreds more. All come

in with their own agendas as they work to fix whatever has been damaged.

In 1997 with the help of my cousins, most of whom are widows and other women, we founded a local organization in Plinom Penh, authorized by the

Ministry of Interior in Cambodia. Our National Alliance for the Generation of

Cambodian People Advancement (NAGCAPA) is sponsorsed by INOCHI, a

nonprofit organization for educational development; through this program, many volunteers help young girls from the houses of prostitution, give them vocational

training in sewing for three to six months, and then place them in jobs or help

357 Coates, Cambodia Now, 88.

327 them start small sewing shops in their villages. The program also provides

English and Cambodian classes in exchange for garden-grown food we use to prepare meals for the girls. I learn so much by hearing the stories told by the girls.

Those who do not believe prostitution harms these girls have said to me,

In some cases, at first the women are forced.. .why are you doing this? They give the money to their families...when they try to get out, society still looks down on them and condemns them.

But this 'making a living' leads to health threats with numbers and faces who become victims of AIDS, and the count goes higher every day.

In addition to the two themes of Coates' book discussed in Chapter One, there is a third theme that Cambodia is looking ahead from a crossroads reflecting

Cambodians' hopes and dreams: the booming of night clubs, shopping malls, gas stations with mini marts, used and new automobile (Japanese, European, and US) dealers, fast food chains from K.FC to Pizza Hutt, all with a foreign atmosphere.

Cambodia is on a course for prosperity with no prospect of easy peace; Coates quotes Henri Mouhot (1860), "The present state of Cambodia is deplorable, and

358 its future menacing."

Not Just Victims: Conversations with Camdian Community Leaders in the

359 United States presented the results of interviews with Cambodians who contributed their services to Cambodian communities in different cities such as

Sucheng Chan, ed., Not Just Victims: Conversations with Cambodian Community Leaders in the United States, interviews conducted by Audrey U. Kim (Champaign: University of Illinois Press, 2003).

328 Long Beach, California; Lowell, Massachusetts; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania;

Portland, Oregon; and Tacoma, Washington. The book also included the perspectives of notable individuals who shared their views from their service experiences. Among them, the Venerable Chhean Kong, the 'head monk' at

Khemara Buddhikaram in Long Beach who achieved his academic doctoral degree in India and in clinical psychology in the United States, shared his experience from his work with Cambodians in Long Beach stressing Buddhist teaching including the parent-child relationship from the Buddhist and

Cambodian point of view. When treating patients or clients with psychologal distress, Ven. Kong applies a combination of Buddhist concepts and the use of

'Rational Emotive Therapy,' which the Venerable explains,

Well, Western psychiatrists call it Rational Emotive Therapy, but Eastern psychotherapists use meditation and the Buddhist Noble Eightfold Path: namely, rational understanding, rational thought, rational intention, rational speech, rational action, rational livelihood, rational effort, rational mindfulness, and rational concentration. These techniques are used as , . . 360 tools to treat psychiatric symptoms.

It is understood that new settlers to the United States receive government assistance, but the Venerable assured,

No, I don't think so. Second-generation Cambodian Americans have no interest in applying for public assistance. The young Cambodians get only limited guidance in the field of educational interests. I tell parents to encourage their children to achieve higher education and get good jobs."

360 Ibid. ,84. 361 Ibid.,,90 .

329 Regarding diplomatic negotiations using a spiritual path, the Venerable

Mahaghosananda (who is known for his Dhammayatra Peace Walk to bring peace and reconciliation among political factions within Cambodia) spent ten years as a diplomat and spiritual leader behind the scenes, making countless trips between

Cambodia, the refugee camps, and Cambodian resettlement communities worldwide. Under his guidance, Cambodian cultural preservation was carried out in many camps in Thailand, the Philipines, and Indonesia. When he came to San

Francisco, he and other monks accompanying him often stayed at my residence." When 1 visited Mahaghosananda at Sampoav Meas Pogoda in

Phnom Penh in 1998 prior to the Cambodian general election of that year, he gave me copies of Step by Step ' and three pages of his writing addressed to me, reflecting aspects of the Abhidhamma. I will never forget his smile when he handed me the paper and said, "you are the cook, your skill and service is to feed people with an attentive heart for the enjoyment and the health of the eaters." His statement reflects much of the Buddhist view—there are four kinds of food consuming according to Theravada Buddhism, the food we consume day-to-day for our physical needs and three kinds from a spiritual perspective which are also treated as 'food.' The word for food is ahara in Pali. Thus, Kabalin karahara or ordinary nutritional food consumed in our daily life is one, and the other three are:

Phassahara, or food as the contact of the sense organs with sense objects;

362 Since my family operated a Cambodian restaurant in San Francisco called Angkor Wat, it was quite convenient to serve their daily meals. 363 Maha Ghosananda, Step by Step, ed. Jane Sharada Mahoney and Phillip Edmonds (Berkeley: Parallax Press, 1992).

330 manosaficelanahara, or the food of mental volition; and vihnanahara, or the food of consciousness. In sum, all of us are the cooks, but what kind of cooks are we?

Are we cooking to destroy our life or to sustain it?

Mahaghosananda once mentioned that people asked him, "Is it right to allow the Khmer Rouge to participate in an interim government?" Always with a serene smile he said,

We must have both wisdom and compassion. We condemn the act, but we cannot hate the actor. With our love, we will do everything we can to assure peace for all. There is no other way."

It is time to move on, embracing the present as mother of the future.

Mahaghosananda said:

We may notice that the vase of flowers on the table is very beautiful, but the flowers never tell us their beauty. We never hear them boast of their sweet sense. When a person has realized nirvana, it is the same. He or she does not have to say anything. We can sense his beauty, her sweetness, just by being there.. .Take care of the present, and the future will be well. The Dharma is always in the present, and the present is the mother of the future. Take care of the mother, and the mother will take care of her child.365

It is the mind that we have to cultivate, and the will to control it. The former requires us to curb all defilement verbally, intellectually, and physically; and the latter can be achieved by practicing the Noble Eightfold Path, mindfulness meditation, and so on. There is nothing better than to work on the present, and re-examine the past so we do not repeat the same mistakes.

364 Ibid., 21. 365 Ibid., 32.

331 Efforts to Rebuild Nation-Traits within Individuals

It is important to mention here that when I campaigned in the Cambodian

general election in 1998,1 strongly stressed that peace in Cambodia starts from each individual—ordinary people to government leaders, royalty, religious

figures, and people in commerce alike. It is a civil task that everyone must share, each improving their own individual ethical conduct. In 2001, the Cambodian

Institute for Cooperation and Peace (CICP), a 'Think Tank' of Cambodian elites, published a book covering important issues discussed by various panel presenters from different seminars. Among them, H. E. Chhorn Earm, Secretary

General of the Ministry of Cult and Religion shared his view of the establishment of civil order by presenting the history and background of Theravada Buddhism along with the country's history.

Earm pointed out that the re-establishment of Cambodian Buddhism in

September 1979 is not the same as it was practiced from ancient times to the year

1975. Buddhism before 1975 was traditional, holding a love for national religion with clarity toward the country's interest, and with ethical strength within a strong designated leadership. Despite 90 years under French control, the Cambodian

Sangha successfully strengthened the country's culture and protected the nation from foreign cultural influences in order to maintain national identity, including working against the conversion of Cambodian script to a Romanized alphabet. In summary, Earm asked for support by addressing Cambodians, especially those in

366 Kao Kim Hourn, Emerging Civil Society in Cambodia: Promotion of Human Rights and Advancement of Democracy, ed. Samraing Kamsan (Phnom Penh, Kingdom of Cambodia: Cambodian Institute for Cooperation and Peace, 2001).

332 leading roles in government, religion, and the general public to understand the importance and value of national awareness grounded in the essence of the country's religion. Because wherever there is a community, there exist Buddhist pagodas, everyone has to maintain the value of the country's religion. If everyone is not awakened to get involved in keeping Cambodian Buddhism alive, nothing can be achieved, no matter how good the national framework may be.

It has been eight years since this address was published, and the results have been unfortunate—a difference of opinion between the two Cambodian

Sangharajas. Ven. Tep Vong is currently the Sahghareach of the Cambodian

Mahanikaya order. He was the youngest of seven senior monks reordained under

Vietnamese supervision in 1979 and remained the sole official Sahgharaja of

Cambodia until 1991. Ven. Bour Kry, a monk who was in exhile in France, became the seventh and current Supreme Patriarch (a title appointed by King

Norodom Sihanouk) of the Dhammayuttika order of Cambodia. Ven. Kry is socially and religiously active, as witnessed by his many return trips to Cambodia to assist in the reconstruction and redevelopment of Buddhist schools and monasteries. He has often participated in international discussions on various topics and encouraged the role of the monastery in disseminating health information including drug and cigarette dependence in Cambodia. Issues arose at conferences surrounding the HIV/AIDS situation where both attended, exacerbated by the 2000 conference organized for monks by the

National AIDS Authority. Samdach Sahgaraja Tep Vong has stated that he believes that Cambodia's HIV/AIDS is a form of karmic punishment that is best

333 dealt with by cracking down on prostitution, and that monks should not take any role in treating the patients, nor in dissemination of HIV education. In contrast,

Samdeach Sarigharaja Bour Kry argues that Buddhist monks should participate in psychological counseling and comforting the sick and dying by projecting the

Buddhist view. There was also an attempt by the Mahanikaya to position monks as conduits for educational materials regarding HIV/AIDS, a move strongly opposed by Samdach Sarigaraja Bour Kry.

This issue is one among many other religious conflicts between the two orders within the Cambodian Buddhist Sahgha: therefore, it is vital that each individual begin to realize self-awareness, to stabilize these conflicts and others as well. To that end, there is nothing better than to introduce the fourth book of the

Tipitaka and further discussion from several Buddhist scholars' viewpoints on the designations of persons.

'If."]

The Puggala-pahnatii or Designation of Human Types," the fourth book of the Abhidhamma, presents in its contents (Matika) different types of human characters. Law referenced his work from S. Z. Aung and Mrs. Rhys Davids'

Compendium of Philosophy and from Points of Controversy (Kafhavatthu), the fifth book of the Abhidhamma series. Law states that Buddhism distinguishes altogether twelve classes of intelligent beings, four of the average ordinary person

(puthujjana) and eight of the elect class (ariya)—but the person or being has no real existence.

Law, Designation of Human Types.

334 First, it is necessary to define 'the average person {pitthnjjunaY and 'the noble or elect (ariya).' Aung and Davids stated that it is of some importance to know this classification according to Buddhism, for the purpose of understanding the process of developing consciousness. The four classes of ordinary people, all of whom may be dreamers, are:

1. those who are living either a woeful life without good and purposeful

conditions like in purgatory, or like in hell (Pela), as demonlike

{) or animal. These beings are called Duggati-ahetitkas, and

none of the good motives (disinterestedness, love, and reason) attend

their consciousness-at-rebirth (patisandhi-citta);

2. those who live a happy life without good conditions are called sugati-

ahetuka, and they enjoy life in the realm of lustrous desires

{Kamaloka); like the previous class, they hold none of the good

motives at rebirth. Those born blind and deformed belong to this class,

but I argue that such classification needs further evaluation for the

purpose of enhancing physical capability and human value, whether

intellectually or physically handicapped;

3. those who are attended by two good conditions, such as

disinterestedness and love, are called dvihetuka or those holding, the

two powers of mindfulness (concentration and wisdom); and

4. those attended by three good conditions are the dwellers in the form

and formless (Rilpa and Arupa) worlds as well as in the Kamaloka or

lustrous world.

335 The eight classes of the noble or elect (ariyas) people are those in the

stages of the Four Paths (maggatthana) and the Four Fruits {phalatthana). The

former cannot dream because their mental attention is focused on attainment, and

on the consciousness of each Path only for a single thought-moment before they

invariably pass on to the corresponding fruitionai stages. But of the Four Fruits, only the first three classes still dream; the Arahant who is in the final stage is not credited with dreaming, for he is no longer subject to hallucination

(ciitavipallasa).

The Designation of Human Types (Pitggala-pamwlli) as presented in the ten chapters does not stand on its own in the table of contents, but links to 368 the five designations: (1) the notion of the groups {khandha-paMatti)'

369 (2) the notion of sense-organs and their objects {ayatcma-pannatti);

368 Ibid., 2: "(a) the group of material form 'nipa'; (b) the group of sensation 'vedcma'; (c) the group of perception 'sarina'; (d) the group of confection 'sankhara'; (e) the group of consciousness ' vinnana'." 369 Ibid. "There are twelve sense-organs and their objecets. - viz.: (a) the eye, (b) visible shape, (c) the ear, (d) sound, (e) the nose, (f) the smell, (g) the tongue, (h) the taste, (i) the body, (j) tangible things, (k) the mind, (1) ideas."

336 370 (3) the notion of the elements of cognition (dhalu-paMatti); (4) the notion of

371 truth (sacca-pannatti); and (5) the notion of sense-organs (indriyana-

372 pannatti). All serve as tools and understanding to purify the mind.

Even though the ten chapters focus more on those who belong to a

religious body (i.e., monks), they also refer to ordinary people held in high

esteem. Concerning the first division of human types, an average person

(puthujjuna) is said to be he or she whose three fetters have not been put away

and who is not proceeding to put these away, whereas the noble or elect person

(ariycf) is the person who is endowed with those conditions, immediately after

which is the advent of the ariya nature.

Law's explanation relies on the Commentary, and he uses the term

Golrabhii for a person who has reached the family, the circle, or the designation of noble by surpassing the family, circle, or designation of ordinary person

370 Ibid. "The eight elements of cognition are concerned - viz.: (a) the eye, (b) visible shape, (c) visual cognition, (d) the ear, (e) sound, (f) auditory cognition, (g) the nose, (h) odour, (i) olfactory cognition, (j) the tongue, (k) taste, (1) gustatory cognition, (m) the organ of touch, (n) tangible things, (o) tactile cognition, (p) mind, (q) idea, (r) mental cognition." 371 Ibid. The four truths are concerned - viz.: (a) the truth of suffering, (b) the truth of the genesis of suffering, (c) the truth of cessation of suffering, (d) the truth of the path leading to the cessation of suffering. 372 Ibid. "The twenty two functions (or faculties) are concerned - viz.: (a) the function of the eye, (b) the function of the ear, (c) the function of nose, (d) the function of the tongue, (e) the function of the touch, (f) the function of the mind, (g) the function of life, (h) the function of womanhood, (i) the function of manhood, (j) the function of pleasure, (k) the function of pain, (1) the function of gladness, (m) the function of grief, (n) the function of neutral feeling, (o) the function of faith, (p) the function of energy, (q) the function of mindfulness, (r) the function of concentration, (s) the function of insight, (t) the function of will-to-know-what-is-unknown, (u) the function of gnosis, (v) the function of having- come-to-know-the-unknown."

337 through the knowledge acquired by meditation ofNibbana (summum bomirri). The term Gotrabhu derives from the word Gotra, meaning "lineage," and the word bhu, meaning "born of." Although the word lineage often refers to the lineage of the nobles, this name is given to identify a person who is in the stage of spiritual regeneration. Thus, when 'evolving the lineage,' kinship to the sensual world

(Kamaloka) is rejected for the communion of the Ariyas, such as those who have pursued Nibbana as their quest.

In other words, the evolution to Gotrabhii cuts off the heritage of the ordinary, average person {puthnjjana), and evolves the lineage of the

Transcendental,' Path-consciousness, by which the Four Noble Truths are clearly discovered by the eyes or the mind. In this sense, any ordinary person can become a 'noble person' by perfecting mental and spiritual culmination—an open spiritual opportunity for everybody, from this Buddhist perspective. Through this analysis,

I believe that Cambodia's new generation will strive to rebuild the identity of the nation as Cambodians without feeling intimidated by social status. On the contrary, those of noble class who are covered with the veil of kamma, with the veil of evil passion, with consequences, and who are devoid of faith, wanting in desire, foolish, stupid, or incapable of walking along what is recognized to be the true path in regard to things that are good—these noble people are said to be incapable of making progress.

Shwe Zan Aung, trans., and Mrs. Rhys Davids, ed., Compendium of Philosophy: Being a Translation from the Original Pali of the Abhidhammattha Sangaha, 20th ed. (PhnomPenh, Cambodia: Buddhist Institute, 1964), 129.

338 In summary, according to the puggala-paMatti, a person who is striving for three vijjas (knowledge or education) is a person endowed with the threefold 374 elements of traditional knowledge. Furthermore, the descriptions identifying the personality or character of persons from the book render insightful knowledge for further study of the puggala-paMatti and its relationship to the other five groups in the book and to the other books of the Abhidhamma as well.

Steps and Process for Spiritual Cultivation

There are steps for cultivating the mind, a gradual process to reach a stage of calmness and live a healthy life through a proper understanding of Buddhist points of view; to discuss those steps, 1 examine the essence of Buddhism as explained in the Abhidhammattha-Sangaha. This book is known as a primer of psychology and philosophy in Ceylon and Myanmar, and a whole literature has grown around it. The original manual work in Pali is ascribed to the teacher- author Bhadanta Anuruddhacariya, and according to Burmese tradition, he was an elder (Therd) of Ceylon and wrote the Compendium at the Sinhalese Vihara

Law, Designation of Human Types, describes vijjas according to the Commentary as "a person who has first obtained knowledge of previous births. And deva-sight and then Arahatship is called a tevijjo—i.e., possessed of three vijjas: namely, knowledge of previous births (pubbeniva-Sananam), knowledge of deva-sight (dibbacakunanam), and knowledge of Arahatship (Arahataphalandnam). A person attaining Arahatship first and then the other two is also called tevijjo. The Brahmanic phrase tevijjo signifies "versed in the three Vedas, Pali: Vijja." The term

was, according to the Anguttara Nikaya, vol. I, 163-5, adopted by the Buddha and applied to the three attainments oipaMa, entitled Reminiscence of former births, the 'heavenly eye' and the destruction of the asavas. (Mrs. Rhys Davids, Psalms Of the Sisters, 26-27)

Vijja has been translated there as "wisdom"; cf. Psalms of the Brethren, page 29."

339 (founded at Polonaruwa by Somadevi, Queen of King Vattagini [88-76 BC], and Minister Mula). The first translation of the work from the original Pali by

Shwe Zan Aung has been revised by Mrs. Rhys Davids, and provides a summary of all things relating to a 'being' from a Buddhist standpoint. The book may not be easily intelligible to lay readers, but as the Buddha said, "Whosoever of them are desirous to learn! (Ye keci sikkhakama),"' and through study, one is able to understand how the mind and consciousness are defined, and how the objects of consciousness, of sense, and of thoughts are related in their roles.

Of importance here is Panfiatti, which the translator rendered as (1) that which makes known (panfiapetlti), or (2) that which is made known

{panMpiyatiti). However the two words are analyzed, it is clear that they are relative terms; therefore, whatever idea or notion of a thing is marked out or is part of its true meaning also relates to its attributes, suggesting additional meanings as a term. In other words, the idea or notion of the inherent characteristic of a thing, when made known, is represented in a word or sign.

Panfiatti differs according to the influence of concept: when viewed objectively, concept is an attribute or a collection of attributes, but when viewed subjectively, concept is an idea or notion corresponding to what is objectively viewed. In this sense, a concept perhaps is an idea corresponding to an individual thing. But the

Ahhidhammattha-sangaha explains panfiatti from a more distinguished view, not

Aung and Mrs. Davids, Compendium of Philosophy.

Dr. Rina Sircar, class lecture, California Institute of Integral Studies, Spring 2001.

340 from the viewpoint of names or the nominal (nama-panfiatti), or from the ideal or the conceptual (attha-pannatti), but from the 'real' (paramatlha).

The Buddha taught his view of life more than twenty-five centuries ago, stating that life is like the current of a river (NadTsoto viva), and this view became recognized in the West as the idea that every moment within the fabric of the body or any external thing is the same. This is the Buddhist idea of existence, that the ceaseless change or flux of things is in continual replacement—the impermanence of all things, including the body. Therefore, what is needed are steps of consciousness, a mental awareness and awakening stage, so that one moves from normal consciousness {kama-citta) within the world of desire (kama- loka) to a transcendental consciousness (lokuttara-citta). The process requires one to realize and to understand the reality of things in the phenomenal world, whether by phenomenal one means a subtle residue of material things in the plane of existence still to be encountered, or the plane where there is no trace of material present (e.g., ideology and theory from an intellectual definition). This understanding is called the supernormal consciousness (mahaggata-citta) because it reaches a sublime state of mind.

So if a person wishes to transcend the experience of this conditioned world, one must first of all cultivate the mind and purify the views (dit.thi- visuddhi), that is to say, be free from the idea of an identical substance of mind or matter. To do so, one must study the characteristic marks, functions or properties, phenomenal effects, and immediate causes of each of the material qualities of the body and the mental properties (after drawing a preliminary distinction between

341 mind and matter \nama-rupa-pariccheda-hana\). In other words, one must understand the explanation from the Pali Abhidhamma in regard to mind-matter

{nama-rupa), and then cultivate the mind by purifying transcending doubts

{kankha-vitarana-visuddhi). In doing so, all sixteen classes of doubt with reference to the past, the present, or the future must be transcended, by carefully studying the Buddhist doctrine of causal relations or evolution {paticca- samuppada-dhamma). Once this doctrine is properly viewed and understood, then cultivation of the ten modes of insights (vipassana-nana) may proceed.

The Ten Modes of Insights (Vipassana-nana)

1. Contemplative insight (Sammasana-napa) is contemplation on the conditioned as impermanent, evil, or unsubstantial. That is to say, one has to cultivate that contemplative insight, meaning the insight in which the person contemplates those three salient marks of things.

2. Insight of the rise and fall of things (Udayabbaya-nana) is development of the insight into flux, meaning the coming and going by which one must observe the growth and the decay of things, being and non-being in the process of becoming. From this process there may be something provoking one's distinctive human feeling; the body and nine other hostile influences may operate against further progress. These detrimental influences are known as the ten defilements (vippasanupakkilesa), and can be controlled by a meditator who leads himself or herself to the Path—otherwise, one has attained a path which is not a path (magamagga-Mna-dassana-visuddhi).

342 3. Insight into disruption {Bhanga-fiana) is the means by which one

confines one's attention merely to the decline or decay of things rather than the

growth of things, because growth is more characterized.

4. Insight into danger or fear (Bhaya-nana) refers to insight in which one

sees the danger in the decay or decline of things.

5. Insight into evil {Adlnava-napa) is insight in which one realizes the

evil nature of this danger.

6. Insight into repulsion {Nibbida-fiapa) is insight in which one becomes

disgusted with the evil nature of the danger.

7. Insight for liberation {Muccitukamyala-nand) is insight associated

with the desire to be set free, in which one aspires to be emancipated from all

evils.

8. Insight into re-contemplation {Patisankha-hana) is insight in which

one re-contemplates the conditioned with reference to the Three Salient Marks

(Ti-lakkhana): impermanence (Anicca), suffering (Dukkha), and no-soul {Anatta).

9. Insight of indifference to the activities of life (Sankha-mpekkha-fiana)

is insight in which one is no longer affected by the good and the bad of this world,

because one develops the feeling of indifference (upekkha), which is fostered by

the balance of the mind or equanimity (tatramajjhattata). Upekkha in this sense is not referring to the neutral aspect of feeling between pain and pleasure or joy and

sorrow, but refers to the higher mental attitude that can be described as a factor of knowledge or wisdom.

343 10. Insight of wisdom (Amtloma-napa) addresses the last development of

insight, which is wisdom. At its maturity, this wisdom changes itself into the

insight of adaptation (anuloma-nana), by which one finds oneself with the mental equipment and qualification for the Path.

Consciousness

The Abhidhammatiha-sangaha presents the ultimate sense (paramatthato) of consciousness in eight parts, each with in-depth discussion of the subjects contained within. Part One presents consciousness as experienced in the sense- pleasure world {kamaloka), in the world of forms (riipaloka), in the formless world (ariipaloka), and in transcendental consciousness or the supramundane world (lokottaraloka). Part Two talks about mental properties, the allies to thought that arise and cease from moment to moment and share their object and its base, distinguishing every act of consciousness. Further, it explains the concomitance of properties, mental properties, morally beautiful concomitants, and syntheses of properties! Conciousness as presented in Part Three refers to particular concomitants of consciousness, such as from feeling, the six conditions, function, the doors' organs, objects, and bases. Part Four explains sense- cognition, the process of ecstatic apperception, retention, the law of apperception, and cognition in different planes. Part Five discusses consciousness as not subject to process, or as a process-free consciousness which covers the realm of life. In

Part Six, the topic of matter is presented from material qualities, aspects of matter, origins of material phenomena, and the grouping of the qualities of the material body in kamaloka, riipaloka, ariipaloka, and nibbana. The categories in Part

344 Seven include the nature of all evil categories, as well as of mixed categories, and

the factors of enlightenment.

Part Eight is of particular interest to the topic of this dissertation, and is

discussed in greater detail. Part Eight includes the following list of consciousness

of relations from the law of happening:

Because of ignorance, the actions of the mind. Because of the actions of the mind, consciousness. Becaused of consciousness, mind and body. Because mind and body, the sixfold organ. Because the sixfold organ, contact. Because of contact, feeling. Becaused of feeling, craving. Because of craving, grasping. Because of grasping, becoming. Because of becoming, birth. Because of birth, decay and death, sorrow, lamentation, ill, grief, and 377 despair come to be. Such is the coming to pass of the entire body of ill.

All these conditions above hold aspects of law {Patcasamnppada) where the

mind and body are correlated.

For spiritual cultivation of the various aspects within the context of mind

and body or moral and ethical standpoint, these steps and processes are

understood by those who seek the stage of calmness and liberation; in order to

engage this process of self-cultivating, consciousness is the key to unlocking

material attachment. In this regard, the seeker for spiritual elevation should be beyond sensitivity to the facts of world politics, ideology, or religious preference.

The liberation of mind, emancipation, or nibbana are the best endowment in terms of striving for a meaningful life.

Aung and Mrs. Davids, Compendium of Philosophy, 188-89.

345 In the Abhidhammattha-sangaha, discussion of consciousness is needed to discuss the stations of religious exercises that emphasize 'calm' and 'insight,' mental culture, and meditation on the riipaloka and arupaloka. The word calm

378 used here is explained by S. Z. Aung" as samatho 'Kelese samathetiti samatho.'

It is called 'calm' because it 'lulls' the passions. Thus, is a course of auto- in which the (sense desires, ill-will, slaughter- torpor, worries and restlessness, and doubts) are irradicated. In this sense, the exercise in calm comprises the following seven stations covering forty aspects in the exposition of'calm.'

(1) The ten hypnotic circles namely, earth, water, fire, air, blue, yellow, red, white, space, and light. (2) The ten impurities are: a bloated, discoloured or festering corpse, one with crackled skin, gnawn and mangled, bitten in pieces, mutilated, fragments, a bloody corpse, one worm-infested, and skeleton. (3) The ten recollections or meditation are those of the Buddha, the Doctrine, the Order, virtue, liberality, gods, peace, death, mindfulness regarding the body, and mindfulness regarding respiration; (4) The four illimitable are love, pity, appreciation (sympathy with joy and success), and equanimity. These four are also called the Sublime Abode. (5) The one notion here refers to that of the offensiveness of material food. (6) The one discrimination is that of discriminating the four Essentials or the four elements namely, the element of extension 'pathavl,'' of cohesion 'apo,' of heat '/e/o,' and of motion 'vayo.' (7) The four stages of ariipa-jhana which are the conception of the infinity of space, of consciousness, of moral consciousness dwelling in nothingness, and moral consciousnesss wherein perception neither is 379 nor is not.

Aung and Mrs. Davids, Compendium of Philosophy.

Ibid., 203-4.

346 Emancipation

The development of all these insights, starting from the insight into

disruption and moving up, is collectively called purity of insight during the

progress of the practice of discovering through the eyes and the mind—in other

words, the purity of intellectual culture (j)atipada-dassana-viduddhi). When this

process reaches its maturity or a matured insight of equanimity has reached the

highest point of discrimination or the stage to adapt and to receive, the person is

said to have successfully reached the special designation of insight of discernment, leading to spiritually rising up to a higher position. This is called

insight of discernment leading to uprising {Vutthana-gdmim-vipaasana-fiapa), because the process tends to reach the goal which is the Path, through elevating

from a lower level. This stage is also known as the 'mouth gate of Emancipation iyimokkha-mukhd),' because the Path is reached immediately after one more stage of adoption (gotrabhu).

When the meditator arrives at the 'gate of Emancipation,' he or she has to go through three phases of designation termed in Pali as 'signless (Animiita),' meaning that the meditator contemplates things that are impermanent by ridding his or her mind of the signs of the three delusions: hallucination of perception

{saMa-vipallasa), thought (citta-vipallasa), and view (ditthi-vipallasa). These three delusions have lured mankind to believe in and chase after worldly things that are not permanent. The realization can be termed 'the undesired

(appamhita),' in that the meditator contemplates things as unwholesome by curbing and ridding the mind of craving, the source that causes the mind to covet

347 and accept things as if they are good. Then the practitioner arrives at the stage of

'void or emptiness (sanhata)^ which requires the person to contemplate things that are unsubstantial by getting rid of the idea of an ego or soul.

From a Buddhist point of view, 'Emancipation (Vimokkha)' has three stages—the Path, the Frviit, or Nibbana—as it is preceded by the contemplation of things, and the upward mental development described above. As a result, the mental element of intelligence {panmndriya-cetasika), which has developed through various gradual steps or phases toward the Perfected View {samma- ditthi) of the lowest class in the Path to consciousness. This path is called 'purity of insight or Path insight {magga-hana).' At the stage of thought-transition to

Path-consciousness {hana-dassana-visiiddhi), the process is similar to that of the mental transition to consciousness known as rupa-citta or arupa-citta. In other words, the stream of being, after responding to contact, is being held by representative cognition which allows the person to stay focused, and is then followed by the transitional stage of four moments (or less, according to the person and his or her ability to reach the stage of attainment). Otherwise, the rebirth of objects will continue in the absence of the process of cognition, in an unbroken flow like the stream of a river, until this continuance is ended by the development of discernment of the objects as either impermanent, unsubstantial, or unwholesome.

Hence, the average person (puthnjjana) can evolve to the lineage of the

Transcendental by the process of the evolution of'adoption {gothabhuf followed by adaptation (amiloma), in which the meditator is cut off from the heritage of his

348 or her original human type. It is at this high level of clear and pure insight that

Path-consciousness plays its role, by which the suffering or First Noble Truth is clearly perceived or discerned. Because this Path-consciousness is established and the mind is transparent and pure, errors and doubts are no longer present, the person is liberated—and thus reached, the Ariyan-Eightfold Path-Constituents are cultivated.

Araha tship

As a school, Theravada Buddhism is not concerned with metaphysical problems but only with a person in his or her psychosomatic components. It is encouraging to know that according to the Puggala-pannalti, there are only four among ten human types of ordinary persons, whereas the rest belong to the ariyan or elect type; however, today's world does not seem to project such classifications in human type whether within ordinary people, aristocrats, or leaders. I lived to witness crimes against humanity in Cambodia and other parts of the world, and all kinds of misconducts by corporate executives, military, and government leaders alike, not to mention those in religious institutions. From this view, human moral and ethicial values are indeed degrading. If we all can look at ourselves and re-examine our mistakes, we can change ourselves, and then our society; only through one's own awareness of his or her interrelation, combination, and operation, and the way to cultivate some and to suppress others, can one arrive at the state of perfection. Therefore, the Theravadins maintain that the ideal

Buddhist is the arahant, the accomplished monk who overcomes nibbana through his or her own effort.

349 In order to attain to the stage of enlightenment, there are four stages that are divided into four paths and four fruits which will lead to arahatship. The practitioner within the monastic community will naturally take refuge in the

Buddha, Dhamma, and Sangha. The Theravadins also tend to make distinctions, insisting that Nibbana is beyond the realm of empirical reality and that Gotama

Buddha who attained final Nibbana in the fifth century BC was separable from the dhamma that he taught.

As presented earlier, each individual holds a different ability to remain in the path-thought before consciousness lapses again into the stream; therefore, in the Three Higher Paths, adoption (gotrabha) is specifically identified as a special moment of purification (vodana), and each of these Three Higher Paths are possible only to a person who has attained the next lower path. This stage is known as the Winner of the Stream or Stream Winner (Sotapanna), though the attainer needs to undergo more rebirths in the world of sensuous experience

{kamaloka). He who has entered into the stream, that is, begun the process leading to release from rebirth, can take two paths: that of devotion and that of intellectual discipline, the latter of which gives him the chance that the number of required rebirths will be greatly reduced.

To attain the Second Path, the Stream Winner must weaken all sensual passion, ill will, and all unwholesome thoughts; as only one more rebirth remains, the attainer of the Second Path is called the Once-Returner (Sakadagamf). As the person reaches the second path, in other words, the complete destruction of defilement {Mesa) is achieved, for he has freed himself from the lower bonds

350 such as belief in a permanent self, doubts, belief in mere morality or rites, sensual passion, and malice. The Once-Returner can obtain liberation in the time that runs from death until rebirth in a paradise, or even while in this existence.

Upon entering the Third Path, the person is called the Never-Returner

(Anagami), and continues in the (suddhdvdsd) of the Brahma-loka if he or she has practiced the Fifth meditation or state of absorbtion (jhana), or in one of the lower Brahma-loka if one has only practiced the lower jhana.

The highest level of attainment is the wisdom of Supreme Path (arahatta- magga-ndna) where all the unwholesomeness or impurity (kilesa) has been destroyed. That is to say, the attainer rids oneself of the roots and branches of impurity, and the Four Noble Truths are completely realized, well understood and accepted—this is referred to as the mental element of intelligence (pannindriya- cetasikd) that has developed into the Perfected View {sammd-ditthi) of the highest order. This is the last stage of the purity of insight already referred to; this person has attained arahatship, become an Arahant because the person gained freedom from death and has accomplished all that one proposed and had to do in order to achieve this condition. The person is totally free from all bonds, even from desire for existence in the rupaloka or arupaloka, which are full of excitability, ambition, greed, anger, revenge, and ignorance.

In summary, the Abhidhammattha-sangaha is concerned not with theory but with practice, particularly stressing meditative subjects. In other words, it serves the same function as the Visuddhi-magga with its lengthy and exhaustive explanation of all the methods of meditation and its condensed accounts of the

351 stages of progess in both systems of meditation, concentration, wisdom, and

insight. The masterwork ofthe Abhidhamma-sangaha is the account of the four

types of enlightenment that underline the ultimate soteriological intent of the

Abhidhamma. Hence, from a Theravada Abhidhamma perspective, purifying the

mind is essential—once attainment is reached, one is able to recognize or see into

the past as well as the future. In order to reach this point, which is the highest

level of consciousness, one needs to study, understand, and become well versed with the Abhidhamma, because in the Abhidhamma mind is regarded as a six-

sense faculty, and it is treated as inseparable from the body; thus, mentality- materiality or mind and body (nama-rupa) is a stream of consciousness. As Dr.

Sircar puts it,

This unique traditional Buddhist psychology will help one see the beauty of all things within the awareneness of changes; with practice, if one is 380 fortunate enough, the result will be the attainment of supreme wisdom.

Therefore, I strongly recommend that since Cambodia maintains

Theravada Budhhism as the state religion, it is necessary that the Cambodian

Buddhist sahgha re-examine how to properly revive the vinaya within the two branches (Dhammayutta and Mahanikaya). One goal must be to conduct further study of old and new records on Theravada Buddhism from the Tipitaka for its authenticity and adaptation to current modifications according to the revisions and decisions from Buddhist councils. These actions will allow Theravada Budhhism to maintain its high status as the 'elder' tradition of Buddhism and the country's

380 Sircar, Psycho-Ethical Aspects of Abhidhamma, 5.

352 long-lasting religion—otherwise, Cambodia will be another betrayed Buddhist

nation like Stanley Jeyaraja Tambiah discussed in Buddhism Betrayed7: Religion,

Politics, and Violence in Sri Lanka.

It is also vital to reconsider and re-evaluate the country's motto (Nation-

Religion-King), so that the people, society, religious practice, leadership, and

kingdom are connected to what is stated in the Cambodian Constitution. Though I

respect those who are determined to guard the "righteous" way to govern, I

strongly believe in the laws and the order of things, whether in individuals, nature,

policies within nation-states, conventional things, or private realms.

Spiritual Progress in the Context of Theravada Buddhism

Theravada Buddhism, the Way of the Elders, was the original and only

Buddhist tradition from the earliest times to the time of the second great council when the Mahasarighika school, a precursor of Mahayana, was formed. The main

differences between Theravada and Mahayana Buddhism are the concepts in regard to the Buddha himself, and as well as in regard to the Bodhisatta ideal, the

canon of scriptures, the development of doctrine, the celibacy of monks, and the

form of ceremony. The similarities between these two traditions are: the Four

Noble Truths referring to human suffering and attachment to what is only transient and impermanent; anatta or the no-self doctrine and the doctrine of the chain of causation, although both traditions have various interpretations; the

Noble Eightfold Path which is the way of deliverance, requiring moral discipline as well as the practice of meditation; the virtue of loving-kindness (metta) as being fundamental; the acceptance that Buddhist teaching is universal in its

353 application; and the Middle Way to lead a life toward attaining the goal of

Nibbana {Nirvana: Sanskrit)

The following eight factors provide gradual steps for spiritual progress

from Theravada Buddhist tradition, and can be categorized into three

psychological aspects of spiritual practice. The first category is ethical behavior

and discipline (STla), which consists of right speech, right action, and right

livelihood; with three levels, this is the fundamental framework covering the

disciplines of the precepts practiced by Buddhists. The following are the five precepts, which are said to be mandatory for a Buddhist:

1. Panatipata veramani sikkhapadam samadiyami, I undertake to observe the precept to abstain from harming living beings, 2. Adinnadand veramani sikkhapadam samadiyami, I undertake to observe the precept to abstain from takings not freely given, 3. Kamesu micchacdra veramani sikkhapadam samadiyami, I undertake to observe the precept to abstain from sexual misconduct, 4. Musavata veramam sikkhapadam samadiyi, I undertake to observe the precept to abstain from false speech, 5. Surdmerayamajjappamddatthand veramani sikkhapadam samadiyami. I undertake to observe the precept to abstain from intoxicating drinks 381 and drugs causing heedlessness."

The second category of the psychological aspects of spiritual practice is concentration (Samadhi), consisting of right understanding and right thought, while the category of wisdom (Pafind) holds right effort, right mindfulness, and right concentration. First of all, the precepts are treated as recommendations and

1Q1 Brahgru vimalappafina Om Sou Acarya and Brahgrusarisattha Chourn Nat, Tripranam (summary) and Gihivinaya (summary), 20th ed. (Phnom Penh, Cambodia: Buddhist Institute, 1964), 40.

354 not commands of god like in other religions. That is to say, the Buddha encouraged individuals to make effort and use their own wise, reasonable decisions, common sense, and intelligence by applying these rules and disciplines toward daily life practice. Each precept supports and encourages the development of the others. Hence, Buddhist guidelines for ethical conduct are not extreme, but are rather more cautious for the welfare of all beings.

In most Buddhist countries, the senior laity devoted themselves to observing the (the base five, plus an additional three for stricter discipline). These older people could become more prepared for monastic life since their responsibility for household life was less than that of young people busy engaging with daily living —decisions, actions, and overall attitudes

(cheating, adultery, gambling, swearing, drinking intoxicating beverages such as beer, palm, and rice wine) that tend to contradict the precepts.

Ironically, the life experience of a million Cambodians during the Pol Pot regime is an example that invalidates the practice of Buddhist precepts. The regime of Pol Pot seemed to perform religious cleansing as practiced by

Cambodians for centuries, and those who survived the regime were forced to learn to steal or lie in order to survive. In other words, Buddhist precepts were no longer relevant to help them stay alive, nor worth practicing. Now that society has re-established religious centers (pagodas) all over the country, Cambodians don't seem to show much concern for the moral and ethical values of Buddhism. The two sahghas are very persistant in terms of carrying out the symbol of the religion, which in this case is the expansion of monasteries.

355 The last two precepts apply to those who live in the monastery (monks, nuns, and senior laity of both genders), though the stricter disciplines and rules in the Vinaya Pitaka are required for monks and nuns. The remaining precepts are as follows:

6. Vikalabhojana veramant sikkhapadam samadiyami, 1 undertake to observe the precept to abstain from taking untimely meals, 7, 8. NaccagTtavadita visokadassana maldgandha vilepanadharana mandana Vibusanatthdnd veramani sikkhapadam samadiyami, 1 undertake to observe the precept to abstain from dancing, singing, music and watching games against meritorious-dhamma, use of personal adornment with garlands and perfumes and lotions, 9. Uccasayanamahasayana veramanisikkhapadam samadiyami, 1 undertake to observe the precept to abstain from using a seat that is too high and too comfortable, 10. Imam atthangasamanndgatam buddhappanhattam nposatham imanca rattih imanca divasam sammadeva abhirakkhitam samadiyami. I undertake to observe the precept of the Eightfold Path from which the Buddha had designated for properly observed for a whole day and night, may this observant be a merit, be a clear insight of nibbana or in 1. r 382 the future.

The Foundation of Mindfulness fSatipatthana Suttaj

The following selected stanzas from the Foundation of Mindfulness

{Satipatthana Sittta) reflect the Buddhist essence of mindfulness in the context of

Theravada tradition. The Four Arousing Factors of Mindfulness stresses contemplation of four areas, with clear comprehension and having overcome worldly covetousness and grief. Those four areas are: (I) the contemplation of the body; (2) the contemplation of feelings; (3) the contemplation of consciousness;

Ibid. Note that the tenth precept in Cambodian Glhlvinaya constrains observants from accepting gold or silver, as published by Niyanatolika of The Buddhist Publication Society in 1971, adapting from The Word of the Buddha.

356 and (4) the contemplation of mental objects. These are what the Buddha taught as

the only way for the purification of beings, for the overcoming of sorrow and

lamentation, for the destruction of suffering and grief, for reaching the right path,

and for the attainment of Nihbana. The Master further explained the mindfulness

of breathing awareness, which is the 'breath' in front of the meditator. Mindful

38^ breathing by "contemplating the body in the body (kaye kayamtpassi)"' ' means

that when the person breathes in or breathes out, whether it is a long or short

breath, he or she is mindful or is aware and attentive to the fact that the breath is

long or short.

The next stanza is about conducting the breathing exercise, yet being

mindful of experiencing the whole body by thinking and training oneself that,

"Experiencing the whole body, I shall breathe out." Thinking thus, one trains oneself, "calming the activity of the body, I shall breathe in." By being well aware of breathing in and out, and with calmness, the practitioner contemplates the body in the body internally and externally. Then one further contemplates the origination of things in the body or the dissolution of things in the body, or even

the origination and dissolution of things in the body. Finally, one indeed

establishes the thought, "The body exists," just to the extent necessary for knowledge and memory, and the person lives independent and does not cling to the world.

I could not understand when my mother used to say to us when we were young, "If you eat, sleep, stand, sit, or walk without knowing what breathing is,

383 Dhammananda, Foundation of Mindfulness, 2.

357 you will face consequences." But it is quite clear now that my mother was referring to the Mindfulness of Breathing, and the Modes of Deportment,

Puna caparam bhikkave bhikkhugaccanto va 'Gaccamiti' pajanati, Ihito va 'Thitomhiti' pajanati, nisinnova 'Nisinnomhiti' pajanali, sayanova 'Sayanomhiti'pajanati. Yatha yathava panassa kayo panihito hoti, thatha tat ha nam pajanati When he is going, a bhikkhu understands: "I am going"; when he is standing, he understands: "I am standing"; when he is sitting, he understands: "I am sitting"; when he is lying down, he understands: "I am 384 lying down"; or just as his body is disposed so he understands it.

The Four Kinds of Clear Comprehension stress that one must understand and be aware that one is going, standing, sitting, lying down, and so on; in other words, living by contemplating the body in the body with the awareness described above, one ought to be safe, risk-free, calm, and happy. This is an excellent way to train oneself not to be pressured and stressed while handling daily life, since today's world demands that we spend every second of our time doing something.

Some people are so busy that they drive with one hand holding the cellular phone, and the other hand holding the steering wheel, not to mention their mind occupied with conversation—such a dangerous distraction. This deportment often causes traffic accidents and deaths, which have become such a serious issue that legislators needed to pass traffic laws forbidding drivers to use cellular phones while driving.

It is important to state that Theravada tradition ponders the reflection of the repulsiveness of the body, and Dr. Rina Sircar acknowledges that among the various techniques for mind purification, the late Venerable Taungpulu Sayadaw,

384 Ibid., 2 (for Pali), 35 (for English).

358 a forest monk of Upper Burma, is known as meditation master of the profound

and powerful 'Meditation of the thirty-two parts of the body.' The instruction is

simple, and the meditator begins by methodically reflecting on the inner and outer body, from the top of the head to the toes, the skin, the nails, and so on. The whole process of the practice is one of several practices for establishing mindfulness of the body (kayagatasatipatthana), which originated in the Great

Discourse on the Foundation of Mindfulness {Satipa.t.thana Sutta):

reflect on just the body and restrictively surrounded by the skin and full of manifold impurity from the soles up, and from the top of the hair down, thinking thus: "There are in this body hair of the head, hair of the body, nails, teeth, skin, flesh, fibrous threads (veins, nerves, sinews, tendons), bones, marrow, kidneys, heart, liver, pleura, spleen, lungs, contents of stomach, intestines, mesentery, feces, bile, phlegm, pus, blood, sweat, 185 solid fat, tars, fat dissolved, saliva, mucus, synovic fluid, urine."

The Buddha further instructed his bhikkhus to contemplate and reflect on the modes of materiality or elements (dhatu), to reflect on just this body according to how it is placed or disposed, by way of the modes of materiality, namely: the mode of solidity, the mode of cohesion, the mode of caloricity, and the mode of oscillation. In the same manner, the contemplation of the feeling focuses on experiencing and understanding feeling as pleasant, unpleasant, or neutral. In all, the Sutta prescribes various contemplations, including the contemplation on mental objects such as the five hindrances, the five aggregates, the six internal and the six external sense-bases, the seven factors of enlightenment, and the Four

Ibid., 36.

359 Truths. These mental trainings are well rewarded with the assurance of

attainment. The Buddha said,

"Verily, O bhikkhus, should any person maintain the Four Arousings of Mindfulness in this manner for seven years then by him one of two fruitions is proper to be expected: knowledge (Saintship) here and now; or, if some form of clinging is yet present, the state of Non-Returning (the Third Stage of Supramundane Fulfilment), "O bhikkhus, let alone seven years, should a person maintain these Four Arousings of Mindfulness, in this manner, for six years... for five years.. .four years.. .three years.. .two years.. .one year, then by him one of two fruitions is proper to be expected: knowledge here and now; or, if some form of clinging is yet present, the state of Non-Returning. [The next stanzas reduce the numbers of months of practicing.] "O bhikkhus, let alone half-a-month. Should any person maintain these Four Arousings of Mindfulness in this manner for a week, then by him one of two fruitions is proper to be expected: knowledge here and now; or, if some forms of clinging is yet present, the state of Non- Returning." Because of this was it said: "This is the only way, o bhikkhus, for the purification of beings, for the overcoming of sorrow and lamentation, for the destruction of suffering and grief, for reaching the right path, for the attainment of Nibbana, namely, the Four Arousings of Mindfulness.""

Good Conduct or Morality, Concentration, and Wisdom (Slla, Samadhi, and

Panna>

Buddhist culture has been grounded in morality and ethics from the beginning, committed to the Middle Way between asceticism and hedonism as stated in the Noble Eightfold Path. All Buddhists affirm their refuge in the

Buddha, Dhamma, and Sangha, and very much commit themselves to achieving a certain way of life, for which the Buddha taught his dhamma and to which he pointed the way. Although Buddhists on the whole avoid belief in god like

360 Hindus, Christians, or Muslims, as well as avoiding specific injunctions to which those who are devoted must conform, there are traditional precepts providing guidelines—the obligation or moralities (Sila) to be observed.

The ten precepts prescribed and observed by monks, nuns, and laity were described above and are summarized here. The five precepts {panca-sila) are for laypeople and prohibit killing, stealing, engaging in sexual misconcuct, lying, and drinking intoxicating beverages. There are also five additional precepts for monastic novices and laity committed to stricter discipline, namely not eating additional meals after noon-time; not taking part in festivals and amusements such as singing or dancing; not using garlands, fragrances, or ornaments; not using a bed or chair that is too large or luxurious; and not accepting money (for oneself)-

All together, these constitute the ten precepts {dasa-sila).

By tradition, the injunction against sexual misconduct has been considered as an instruction for celibacy by monks and nuns, but nonetheless, Buddhists are well aware that this particular precept also referred to lay devotees—there is no distinction of social status in the carrying out of misconducts such as adultery, rape, and other means of sexual manipulation. This is one way of describing morality pertaining to daily behavior and practice.

Buddhist discussion of morality also emphasizes consciousness or thoughts that are accompanied by the main three roots of greed, hatred, and ignorance—called bad or unwholesome deeds, whether by words or actions.

Therefore, any deed performed with bad thoughts is called bad kamma or bad action (e.g., killing, stealing, lying, etc.). These bad thoughts and actions lead to a

361 miserly nature and the notion of stinginess (lobha), an irritable and quarrelsome

nature (dosa), and a deceived or misled nature (moha).

Our world appears to be continually facing the challenge of desires which

are of two main types of thoughts—wholesome and unwholesome—and

accordingly there are then two main types of beings—good persons or bad

persons. By purifying one's thoughts from being greedy, hateful, and ignorant,

one can change into a good person by developing and cultivating oneself from a

lower nature into a higher one, and by acquiring the three good roots of

unselfishness, goodwill, and insight.

In this direction, Buddhism prescribes three stages of development,

namely morality (sTla), concentration (samddhi), and wisdom {panM), found in

the Noble Eightfold Path. According to the Path, there are three groups: Right

View, Right Understanding, and Right Thought are in the category of wisdom

ipanna); Right Speech, Right Action, and Right Livelihood are in the category of

morality (sTla); and Right Mindfulness and Right Concentration are in the

category of concentration {samadhi).

387 Venerable {Aggamahapandita) U Thittila Sayadaw~ explained that these

three stages of development were established because of the three stages of

defilements we all have, whether consciousnesly or subconsciously. The first

stage of defilements merely rests within each one of us, not becoming manifest in words or deeds. That is to say, we all have ill-will in our mind, but not yet coming

out or acting out in words or actions. When any object awakens this first stage,

387 A. Thittila, Essential Themes of Buddhist Lectures.

362 whether pleasant or unpleasant, defilements arise from the latent state and give birth to thoughts, emotions, and feelings—the second stage of defilement. Once

the thoughts are fully formed, fierce and uncontrollable, then evil deeds, evil actions, and harsh words are engaged—the third stage of defilement. In order to destroy or dispel these stages of defilement, the three developments mentioned above must be established and practiced.

Morality (sTla), however, can only temporarily put away or interdict the third stage of defilement; in other words, the first and the second stages remain unchanged. Since the third stage can only be inhibited by morality, the unwholesome thoughts tend to arise again—therefore, this third stage is called the

'temporary putting away (tadangapahanay. Concentration (samadhi) can only put away the second stage, but not the first. So, the defilements rise again, but not as soon, since 'concentration' represents a higher mental culture that is more effective than morality. This stage of development by concentration is called

'putting at a distance {vikkhambhanapahana).' In this way, Buddhism provides a clear explanation of the tangible benefit of the development of wisdom {panha), the insight that enables one to destroy entirely the first stage of defilements, which cannot be accomplished by any combination of morality or concentration.

Wisdom or insight totally eradicates the roots of the first stage, and all ill thoughts will never arise again—this is called the 'permanent cutting away

{samucchedapahana).'

The three stages of development are interdependent and interrelated; therefore, the Venerable stressed that all three stages of development should

363 practiced together and at the same time. As an example, he suggested reflecting

on the interdependency and interrelation of the Noble Eightfold Path. When one

lives a right life (a moral life), it is easier to practice right concentration and right

view; in the same way, practicing right concentration helps one to live a right life

with morality and to have the right view, from which the right view enables one to

live rightly and to concentrate rightly. But when one tries to live a righteous life

with morality without right concentration (without mind control) and without the

right view, nothing can be achieved—the result is not effective.

It has been a long historical silence, about five hundred years from

Cambodia's Middle period, of scholarship identifying the country's politically

and religious struggling. What I presented above is the core teaching of the

Buddha which I truly believe will assist people to spiritual recovery. In a world of experiences by all human beings, it is about human experiences with life. The challenge, then, is to develop tools that will allow people to enter into the experience and meanings of life, to access the inner world of tranquility. Buddha taught us to take care of the present by cultivating our mind and spirit, thus ensuring that the future will prevail. His naturalistic vision, his doctrine, and his recommendation are simple and clear. Despite the fact that Cambodian people are still in a state of spiritual confusion, I strongly believe that it is a good start for

Cambodians to step out from a dark realm of a politically, culturally, and spiritually shapeless society. On the contrary, the new 'Khmer spirit' is a driving force with clear understanding about humanistic discipline, applying the dominant liberal approaches to the value of the teaching of the Buddha—a self-sufficient,

364 self-made, meaningful, and unique spirit that would shed the old skin of

Cambodian society.

365 CHAPTER SIX

SUMMARY

This project is a reflection of the quest to see changes in Cambodia, and

the chapters contained in this dissertation expose much that is needed for the

betterment of Cambodia's people. During the past seventeen years of observation,

I have carefully weighed all the situations concerning Cambodia from various

perspectives. After the 1998 election, I believed that Cambodian leadership

deserved a little more time to create a better future, social stability, and order, but

my view has been changing as events have only shown a worsening in terms of

corruption, greed, and inhumane behavior. As of this writing, patience is wearing

out as reflected by the international community donors' recommendation that the

Cambodian government enact anti-corruption legislation, which they have been

expecting for more than ten years.

Cambodia is rich in natural resources, including offshore oil drilling, a

wealth that has become the center of concern by the current government, the people of Cambodia, and the international community. This wealth must belong to the nation, to the people of Cambodia—the government must provide

transparency and detailed planning so that the distribution of the wealth will lift

Cambodia's poverty and lead the country without foreign dependency.

Unfortunately, Cambodia currently functions on only one motto: 'money is power.' What will the future hold? Is there any hope that current leaders will

give up focusing on their personal wealth to govern with the intent of making

improvements in corruption and in the social and religious conditions in the

366 country? If Cambodians were to be interviewed, I contest that most of them want

a new leadership, so that democracy and all laws are in place as the foundation for

good social order—this view is positively favored when Cambodians come

together, take a stand, and express their will.

This situation is not just the fault of Cambodian leadership; it is also the

responsibility of those nations that want to draw benefits from this country, as

reimbursement for whatever they had invested, whether as donation, loans, or

strategic means. This is a common problem in Third World countries where

dictators hold power. An additional problem in today's world is the focus on

politics, which becomes the center of daily living, predictable and unengaged; for

example, the center for global education via the Internet provides too many political discourses displaying human devaluation of ethics by powerful nations, and thus becomes a medium shaping the mind of people from less educated countries.

This dissertation offers Cambodia as a case study of a political and religious dynamic that is not unique to Cambodia. Contemporary global political agendas concerning global problems lack philosophical underpinnings, spiritual common ground, and a commitment to basic principles that inform the particulars of humanity. This is a situation that must change.

In the hope of reversing such spiritual displacement, I turn to the teaching of the Buddha which can curb the impulse and passion to control and dominate in all natures. Buddha's preaching of nonviolence and education of people by modeling enlightened reasoning must be applied toward present-day problems.

367 However, his teaching has been distorted, modified, and manipulated throughout

time. Theravada Buddhism also has been shaped to fit the political needs of each country where Buddhism began to establish itself. King Asoka embraced

Buddhism when he realized that the policies of conquest are costly. The countries practicing this branch of Buddhism (from Sri Lanka, the first land where the

Tipitaka was compiled, to Laos with its lesser religious movements recorded) all went through countless political, social, and religious crises up to the present day, but Buddhism seems to be the last resort for problem-solving. In the United

States, Buddhism is viewed from a more tolerant and less strict perspective in regard to discipline; belief and reverence would have to be inculcated primarily through social structures and the political system through study and debate.

The teaching of the Buddha has been elaborated too much, and in this process, his informed consent and the Middle Way to sustain the environment have often become meaningless because the purity and essence of its spiritual foundation and the legitimacy of authority discovered by him have degenerated to mere philosophical schemes. This abusive attitude can be controlled and reversed, or else we can continue lying to ourselves by pretending that intellectual reasoning by common people can challenge what may threaten the existence of the human race. Perhaps we also feel convinced that in a good sense, we may rely for material security on the preservation of a due degree of our free-will society— but I think not, because the recording of the historical Buddha is not fiction, and his intent was to teach us the way so that we can be safe.

368 As a researcher, ] present recommendations for ideas and actions to address issues relating to Cambodia and the world in light of the enduring principles of Theravada Buddhist values. From a political perspective, Buddha gave advice to numerous leaders, princes, Brahmans, and merchants (the Sutta

Pitaka lists the names of those who were involved, the various locations, and the reasons for the conflicts). As a mediator, Buddha presents solutions; as a healer, he prescribes the steps and disciplines to follow; and as a reformer, he presents nothing but the truth and recommends changes.

Buddhism in Cambodia, which has manifested a series of reforms although it came so near to extinction in the late 1970s, has inspired Western scholars recently to write about its religions. These Western researchers seem to believe that regardless of the greater political context, the essential feature of

Cambodian Buddhism is its making visible to the masses who support it that the sangha is nothing else but its uniqueness, and hence becomes the house of refuge for the people. This situation is caused by lack of education and by blind belief, both of which require practitioners to depend on a religious operation led by an institutionalized body of monks, which in most cases are supported by royal families and the elites.

This pattern must change; I believe that the people can be educated by demonstrating how the teaching of the Buddha evolved over time and how to apply his teaching toward education, health, economy, morality and ethics, responsibilities, and so on. But what matters most is to teach the people to see the differences between practicing Buddha's doctrine to its utmost spiritual values,

369 and being led to practice the religion for the sake of religious activities. I observe

that people pray or pay homage to the Buddha, the Dhamma, and the Sahgha by

stating a vow that has nothing to do with their actual social behavior; in other

words, religious activities do not correspond to the basic teaching of Buddha. For

example, the five precepts (no stealing, no killing, no lying, no harsh words, and

no intoxicating beverages) have no impact on people's behaviors. There are more

disputes, more drug-addiction problems, more abusive words, and more selfish

and very greedy actions. There are countless civil cases from land disputes or

sensual pleasure leading to various diseases, to murdering between parents and children, or among family members. All of these behaviors are opposite to the

Buddhist precepts.

Ian Harris wrongly concludes that there is only a small hope Cambodian

Buddhism will change in the near future—I strongly feel that it is possible to create a social movement, and that it can happen by taking Cambodian Buddhism beyond the country's political history, scholarly debates and perspectives, location, territorial boundary issues, or demographic weaknesses. Instead, it is vital to expose the country' weaknesses and mistakes so that the people start to realize that their country is about to be vanished from the world's map.

Two important facts pertain to this discussion. The first is the fact that the history of Cambodian Buddhism is tied in with the Dhammayut order of Thailand, and Cambodian people owe it to themselves to investigate why such influence continues to this day. Is it important to keep this tradition, and if so, how does

Cambodian royal patronage and royal integrity resume its role in religion? Is the

370 Thai Buddhist model still effective and purposeful for Cambodia's current affairs?

If Cambodians have to search for their 'identity' as Cambodian, then a movement

must take place away from the politico-religious Thai influence, bringing a 'new

spirit' that truly represents Cambodians of the new millennium. The second

pertinent fact concerns the history and the legacy of Theravada Buddhism

orchestrated by King Asoka, and the need to discover why he chose Ceylon

(Sri Lanka) rather than some other country, and what he gained politically and

economically through that choice.

It is also important to examine the religious history of Sri Lanka in regard

to conflicts between the sangha and the government. The orthodoxy of Theravada

Buddhism has not been quite understood by the general people, which explains

the division of the Buddhist sangha. Does this division make one group of

followers less prestigious than the other? This is the current religious conflict

between the Dhammayut and the Mahanikay in Cambodia.

The purpose of this study is to introduce the possibility of reviving ethical

values, which requires a social movement and network to bring back human value

and integrity by which ordinary people (who have been of great supporters of

Buddhism) can be shifted into a more collective sphere, rather than divisive. The pristine nature of Buddhist values presented in this dissertation from selected books of the Pali Canon demonstrates a strong causal link between culture and

values, mirroring each individual's moral and ethical conduct. These Buddhist values can be seen in three imaginary profiles: one composed of an understanding

in 'practical and basic teaching of the Buddha in daily life,' and how the Precepts

371 work as a guideline so a person can cultivate the mind; the second composed of

an understanding of the 'comparative history of Theravada Buddhism through

King Asoka's policy,' to discover how each Theravada Buddhist country built

from the essence of this sect to fit and benefit themselves; and the third composed

of an understanding of a 'vision of Theravada Buddhism to help identify

Cambodian Buddhism from the legacy of Angkor.' However, the core value of

Theravada Buddhism relies on the words of Buddha, "Be a light unto thyself

{alma dipa bhava)," which place the emphasis on effort by the individual to

liberate the self. The focus here is on a long-term social performance based on

effort and a desire to begin by emphasizing the fundamental teaching of the

Buddha in a plain view—the firsthand opportunity received is the value of the

three collections of Theravada Buddhist tradition. Despite the lack of

comparatively hard data, the present research resulted in an understanding of the

way Buddhism is being practiced in Cambodia that shows the spiritual practices of Cambodian Buddhism as a borrowed identity, because the Pali Canon were not

the religious books used by the kings of the Angkor period.

What truly constitutes Buddhist social responsibility remains largely undefined in the mind of the Cambodian people, since no firm social consensus has yet formed as to what constitutes an appropriate level for the sangha to engage in social responsibilities. The Vinaya was modified during French colonization, when monks were both the figure to challenge foreign suppression and those who worked alongside the colonized. It is clear that the Cambodian

Buddhist monks modified the Vinaya to less strict rules so they can participate in

372 politics, and this change is not limited to Cambodia but has occurred in all

Theravada Buddhist countries. Should this modification be revised and reversed?

It is possible that the new establishment of an association comprised of religious universities from different countries is one step toward the goal and vision of reviving Theravada Buddhism. The Association of Theravada Buddhist

Universities (ATBU) came into existance in 2007 following initial conferences held in Myanmar. Its mission is an inclusive global network comprising participant Theravada Buddhist countries: Myanmar with two universities (State

Pariyatti Sasana Burma and Academic Mission and Activities of the International

Theravada Buddhist Missionary University); Indonesia with two universities (the

Revival of the Theravada Higher Learning Institution in Indonesia and the Nalada

Buddhist Education Foundation); Cambodia with two universities (Preah

Sihanouk Raja Buddhist University and Preah Sihamoni Raja Buddhist

University); Malaysia with one university (the International Buddhist College

Dedicated to Buddhist Education); Singapore with one university (the Buddhist and Pali College of Singapore); Thailand with one university (the Mahamakut

Buddhist University); Laos with one university (the Higher Buddhist Education in

Laos: The Academic Activities of the Two Sarigha Colleges); Sri Lanka with one university (the Pali University of Sri Lanka); India with one university (the

Buddhist University of Tripura); and Vietnam with one university (the Growth of

Theravada ). These thirteen universities hold the goal of uniting people, knowledge, and skills from every higher education institution with

373 a specific mission to educate enrolled students to understand and practice the

Buddha's Dhamma as presented in the Pali Canon.

The framework within these universities is intended to provide a better understanding of each other's policies and activities as well as to be better understood regionally and internationally; to collaborate in administration, teaching, research, and outreach; and to recognize each other's qualifications. The members' and different facilities' collaboration and cross-fertilization provide support among them, enabling them to benefit from the richness of this multinational discipline within Theravada tradition. In addition, they are able to stimulate and focus efforts on maintaining the authenticity of such tradition by ensuring that: first, the new generation will gain a profound understanding of the

Buddha's law and properly apply that law toward life and work; second, the quality of scholarly study from this tradition will become widely understood; and third, the mission of the association will greatly contribute to human society.

I find that the association serves its mission to promote the essence of

Theravada Buddhist tradition, but I question its silence on reviving the order of the Bhikkhunls. According to its mission statement, the goal of the association is to preserve the Buddha's law, and the future generation is the next human stock to keep the world in harmony. If that is so, the association must learn from all aspects of the outer world in terms of women's roles and credibilities worldwide, and must consider modifying the inner rules of Theravada Buddhist tradition.

Theravada is known to preserve the words of Buddha, so why can it not revive the bhikkhunls order also? If the eight vital qualities set by the Buddha can be found

374 in the practices of Theravada Buddhist monk teachers, there is no reason that the

Executive Council of ATBU cannot bring up this issue for re-evaluation.

When the world speaks of Buddhism, despite the disenchantment toward

life, the teaching of the Buddha is generally optimistic about life's direction and

goal, where the individual seeks to live a calm life and reach liberation, and the

Theravada Abhidhamma lays down the ground rules for a proper understanding of

the difference between the ultimate truth and conventional truth. However, this

higher teaching of the Buddha has not been well grasped by Westerners from

free-will societies.

Nonetheless, the general public climate for socially engaged Buddhism is positive in terms of responsible individuals, because Buddhism teaches that the big consciousness of tomorrow is a small consciousness of today. It is now, in this present and not tomorrow that improvements must take place—that is what the

Buddha taught. When actions take place now instead of tomorrow, the world becomes a better place to live.

Buddhist education is available for the next generation of leaders to get

started. We are in the process of creating a new world, and creating a consciousness climate in which the right way to live is to focus on solving social and global problems. To create, maintain, and sustain socially responsible individuals, we need a vision with common ground. We must recognize that the power of the people can make a cultural shift through spiritual realization—in other words, the shift from a culture of competition to a culture of cooperation and fair distribution.

375 In summary, this dissertation addresses the teaching of the Buddha from a

Theravada perspective in which issues like cultivating moral and ethical conduct, dependant origination, consciousness, and liberation are components of global spiritual awareness. When a new practice reaches the global level and changes take place, our Information Age and technology-based societies must rely on human integrity and not on artificial intelligence.

I now present three key ground rules from the Theravada Buddhist view, to support the outcome of this new practice. With regard to transparency, the

Buddha demonstrates that his teaching is not founded on esoteric knowledge: he disclosed all information pertaining to life in the Pali Canon (e.g., the Four Noble

Truths, the Three Tenets Characteristic of Life, and the Path or the Fourth Noble

Truth). There was a compelling and overwhelming reason to disclose that information—the time was right, and spiritual change was needed in Buddha's time. Today, this disclosure, when well understood, can have a potential effect or impact on the marketplace, making it worthy of disclosure because people need to behave differently toward consumption. Otherwise, today's world politics and economic strategies will impose on the transmission of this new spiritual awareness, and pose a devastating threat to public wealth, benefitting only a handful of the elites.

With regard to accountability, the leading nations are still absorbing and digesting the notion that their interests in competing and controlling may be better applied by engaging and fulfilling whatever is needed, a new and proactive view of sustainability. From the Theravada Buddhist view, understanding dependent

376 origination is to understand the cause and the result of the five aggregates. The arising of one wrong and unwholesome perception leads to harmful and disastrous results, and knowing that such perception is the cause of destruction yet continuing it for the sake of winning and controlling is plainly called a 'crime of humanity.'

So, Theravada Buddhism offers the application of dependent origination toward insight meditation which requires the practitioner to remove all illusions.

This labor requires extreme effort, but according to the advice of the Buddha, as

Ashin Thittila explained, we must get rid of our ignorance and stand firm in equilibrium in the midst of our material world. The way of the Buddha is to contemplate life, but never drown in or get caught in the entangled web of life. By understanging the doctrine, one goes forth and steps out of worldly life, only accepting and settling in a high level of understanding, a life within spiritual awareness. This is the advice of the Buddha, the goal of supreme bliss, the stage of liberation.

With regard to responsibility, people seem to be beginning to realize the benefit of righteous living, of the self-disciplinary ground rules taught by the

Buddha—the beginning of grasping the breadth and scope of this prestigious doctrine. However, Theravada Buddhism does more than claim to preserve the authenticity of Buddha's teaching; most importantly, this orthordox sect indeed demonstrate the competence of the seven books of the Abhidhamma.

Rigorous academic examination of the Abhidhamma by pointing out the right and wrong doings, the cause and effect, and the enormous significance in the

377 definition and explanation in terms of duties and responsibilities, will in turn

have enormous implications for public awareness. The West has come to consider

the Abhidhamma Pitaka as the seven books of Theravada Buddhist psychology,

because each has its own summary or abstract, a systematic list, and deals with

occasions and events. However, I find that they are all of equal importance

because they are interrelated, and any attempt to separate the essence is irrelevant.

For example, in order to understand the different values and qualities of each

different individual described in the fourth book (puggaia pannatti), it is necessary to first understand the first book in its attempts to describe the

fundamental phenomenon or law (dhamma) that establishes human experiences,

and then examine the second book's analysis of various topics by a variety of

methods, using material from the first book. Even though the first two books are presented to support the claim of human quality stated in the fourth book, additional discussion is still needed covering 'Elements' where some

interrelations between various items from the first two books formulate sets of questions and answers. Once all the discussions are well explained, the fifth book

then exhibits points of controversy underlying debates on points of doctrine (in this case, the doctrine was compiled by Moggaliputta Tissa and credited to him at

the Buddhist Council sponsored by King Asoka around the third century BC). The sixth book has its own task, dealing with various questions relating to interrelations within the various lists of items, but the only difference contained in this book is that the items belong to the same list, whereas in the third book, they are in different lists. The connectedness and interrelation, however, sits in the

378 seventh book of the Theravada Abhidhamma, which displays all relations and

laws of interaction by which the dhamma is described and outlined in the first book.

As a result, laws of interaction or relation are integral to what is described about dhamma based on human experiences. If King Asoka is used as an example, examining his experiences and analyzing them in various interrelated methods including catechism, could perhaps identify what kind of individual he was according to the description in the fourth book. However, because of the essence of the fifth book and the sixth book, the experiences of King Asoka could be determined in various interpretations. The first book had to do with his natural attitude and social and political status, the second with his leadership skills, third with his great ambition to rule and control, and fourth with the sternness of all his adversaries. From such historical description, perhaps King Asoka's designation of human type could be found in the puggala-pannatti. Though one thing I must mention here is that Asoka never once agreed to practice the orthodox way of

Buddhism. As I presented earlier, recorded events relating to King Asoka's political campaign and his vow to practice Buddhism really took place years before his son's (Mahinda's) mission to Ceylon and his daughter's establishment of the order of bhikkhams on the same island. .

379 CHAPTER SEVEN

CONCLUSION

Buddhism as recorded in various forms of practice over almost two thousand years in Cambodia has come to settle today in its orthodox tradition,

Theravada Buddhism. The uniqueness of the country's religious practice is reflected in the stone carving of numerous monuments with precise indications of integral aspects of spiritual practice. The legacy of the Khmer kings—whether in the early period, the mighty period of Angkor, the period of vassalage to Thailand and Vietnam, the period of the extreme communist Pol Pot, or this current monarchy—exactly exemplifies the flexibility in Khmer kingship manifesting in different aspects of various religious practices over centuries. Regardless of the

Devaraja cult, the Buddha cult, or the socialist cult, the country's history represents the manifestation of the human mind in leadership, interpreting from the synthesis of major religious doctrines to fit and to follow all that has been imposed on the sovereignty and location of this nation. The elder monarch, His

Majesty the august King Norodom Sihanouk, has engaged in world politics for almost a century and has played his very best roles in ways that are definitely beyond the understanding of the general public. Is he portraying the essence of

Theravada Buddhism? His biography may be fruitful for further research, or modeled for a case study.

As Cambodia moves on, I take a position and present my recommendation. The features and likely consequences of moral and ethical degradation in Cambodia today point to a basic conclusion: anticorruption laws

380 are needed so that society can be put in order. Adequate protection and security are needed when confronting debates with powerful parties, to remove the threat when other political parties present new visions for social reform movements in their political agendas, and for the sake of activists and advocates whose concerns are to serve Cambodians' interests. The following three threads consisting of nine major recommendations emerge from this research study as starting points for addressing the shortcoming of Cambodia's current leadership.

Social Reform Movement Protection

Leadership: Who Should Be in Charge in the Government?

International donors have widely agreed that Cambodia must enact anticorruption laws—a badly needed first step is the assignment of a focal point for powerful nations whose interests are set on investment in Cambodia, whether economic or geopolitical, in support of coordinated international delegates to provide safety and protection to those who will challenge the current government in the 2013 general election. This focal point should be supported by countries like the United States (for its policies on democracy, human rights, labor, and the right to practice religions), as well as regional leading nations such as China,

388 Russia, the European Union, Australia, Japan, and some ASEAN member countries whose national interests and foreign policies do not conflict with

Cambodia's policies. It is time that these nations should have responsibility for close examination and supervision to protect other Cambodian political leaders

388 The Association of South East Asian Nations

381 who will take a stand and oppose the current leadership. Once established and provided, this high-level body of international leaders should immediately take responsibility for initiating and managing the security and protection of opposition political parties.

Risk Assessment

The high-level body of leadership cited above should, as a first step, conduct an immediate risk assessment to determine (and to treat, to the degree possible) the extent of the vulnerability of key opposition leaders to the current government. In the resulting environment of dynamic change in threats and vulnerabilities, the high-level body of leaders will have no sound basis for decision-making on matters of threat without such a prior risk assessment. This action will create a context in which there can be hope and belief (Cambodian people have both in readiness), allowing the peaceful response suggested in this dissertation by following the social movement of the Buddha. This is, in fact, the best possibility that the healing of the Buddhist approach and its spiritual immunity will create effectiveness for the Cambodian social reform movement.

Protection and Security

Once this initial risk assessment is in place, the high-level body of international leaders needs to address preparedness for the threats as identified.

This preparedness will cross several boundaries from the current government, such as military, police, or civilians.

382 The Need to Maintain Moral and Ethical Values from Theravada Buddhist

Tradition

The Divine Abidings ()

Although Cambodian people believe that there are gods and goddesses

living in heavenly worlds, they tend to ascribe creative power to the Buddha.

Furthermore, I believe that a common ground for humanity can be found in practicing the Divine Abidings (Brakmavihara), the four qualities of which permeate the essence of Buddhist teaching. Loving-kindness (metta) is the boundless and unconditional love which radiates to all beings from friends to enemies, from the known to the unknown, from the liked to the disliked, from the sweet and innocent to the mean and menacing. Compassion (karuna) refers to where people are very sensitive and are touched by seeing the suffering of others, and for this reason they have to take action and get involved, in order to relieve that suffering. Sympathetic joy (muditd) expresses the release of selfishness, and refers to sharing and showing true joy in the success of other people; being free from disappointment, bitterness, and jealousy; and sharing happiness with others even when facing failures and tragedies oneself. Equanimity (upekkha) essentially refers to an attitude free from self-centeredness, egoism, and indifference. When practiced, these four qualities could give humanity a hope of unity in spite of all the differences among the concepts of gods—let compassion lead the way so that humanity reaches the forefront of spiritual attainment.

383 Perfections (ParamT,)

Aggamahapandita Ashin Thittila gives the most comprehensible

description of perfections by presenting Buddha as a Bodhisatta featured in the

Sutta Pitaka, which describes his incalculable period of world life cycles to attain

to the highest level in ethical, intellectual, and spiritual achievement. Buddha's

words as stated in the Mahaparinibbana Sutta were to perform good deeds in the present and not wait until tomorrow. The ten Perfections from Theravada tradition

consist of: generosity or giving {dana); morality (sila); renunciation

(); wisdom (panna); energy (viriya); patience (khanti); truthfulness

{sacca)\ determination (adhittana); loving-kindness (metta); and equanimity

(upekkha). These ten perfections hold specific interpretations described in the

seven books of the Abhidamma. It is vital that future generations of the human race reach to the comprehensive level of the higher teaching of the Buddha from a

Theravada perspective, but it cannot be practiced with blind perception and assumption.

Mindfulness Meditation fSatipatthana Sutta,) and Liberation fhibbanaj

In its core teaching, Buddhism reveals the nature of all sufferings relating to life, and describes the way to prevent and discard them. Theravada tradition sets mental discipline in the foundation of mindfulness as described in the

Satipatthana Sutta. Buddhism stresses various levels of desires (tanha) as the source of all suffering, and exposes the fact that we have not just one-time desires but also continuing desires (bhava-tanha) and the craving for annihilation after death (vibhaha-tanha). In order to control ourselves, we must control the five

384 aggregates or grasp and understand that the phenomenal world is not permanent— this understanding refers to impermanence {anicca), non-entity (anatta), and dissatisfactoriness (dukkha). By breaking down the chain of rebirths and suffering, one can come to realize that there is a way to liberation. To reach that stage, we must absolutely destroy the three desires previously mentioned. All these steps are established in the Path (magga), the Fourth Noble Truth, which consists of ethical behavior and disciplines (sTla), concentration (samadhi), and wisdom {pahna). Further, we must eradicate all unwholesome deeds, namely greed {lobha), hated (dosa), and ignorance {moha).

Buddhism first emphasizes virtue or merit, such that virtuous conduct casts out lust. Second, Buddhism emphasizes calmness, true concentration, and mental cultivation, which can conquer hatred. Third is wisdom (or Right

Understanding or direct knowledge resulting from being mindful), which can dispel delusions. Through the cultivation of constant mindfulness (sati) and the controlling faculties (indriya), these three steps of training make possible spiritual power {bald), the first of the seven factors of enlightenment {satta bojjhanga).

Therefore, Right Minfulness (samma sati) must be present in every skillful or karmically wholesome right moment (kusalacitta)—this is the basis of all earnest endeavors (appamada) to reach liberation.

In sum, the establishment of the foundation of mindfulness is set out in four main steps with detailed instructions. The first step is to contemplate the body, which further requires following six directions: the mindfulness of breathing (anapana-sati) by practicing counting and connection; mindfulness of

385 the posture of the body; mindfulness with clear comprehension; reflection on the repulsiveness of the body; reflection on the material elements; and the nine cemetery contemplation. The second step is the contemplation of feeling, and the third step is the contemplation of consciousness. The fourth step is the contemplation of mental objects toward the five hindrances, the five aggregates, the six internal and external senses bases, and the Four Noble Truths.

This is the Theravada Buddhist tradition of discipline for practicing mindfulness meditation, leading to liberation. The right understanding of liberation (nibbana) means being negative to what is lust or craving, but this is not rendering negativity toward life but eradicating what contains all that is unwholesome—that is to say, departing from craving, or the extinction of greed, hatred, and ignorance. The Buddha said to kindle the flames of this world because he knew the reality of our world, and in order to live a healthy life, we have to stay in control by limiting ourselves and controlling such flames. What the

Buddha did was exhibit the reality—it is up to us to make the decision. Hence, liberation in the Buddhist view is neither a mere nothingness nor a state of annihilation; there is no word adequate enough to define it, but only the dhamma which is uncreated and unformed, and thus boundless and infinite.

Theravada Buddhism provides spiritual, in-depth descriptions in the seven books of the Abhidhamma, but only by sincerity and a good and open heart can one grasp this higher teaching, as in the analogy that the raft is not the shore. This perception conveys a period of healing, a spirit of setting free, of compassion, understanding, and tolerance. The best that we each can do is to take ourselves to

386 the stage of liberation by learning from our mistakes. In a Buddhist context, the

parable advises us to practice Buddhism to our individual capacity by trying to

remain in the Middle Way, and the third collection of the Tipitaka tells us much

more by interpreting the usage of the raft, because life is such a massive body of water.

Revive What Has Been Lost

The sutta that gives the best direction for the resconstruction of Cambodia is the Discourse on Families (Kula Sutta). The essence of this discourse is to remind one that actions require consideration and potentiality for a number of reasons: neglecting looking for things, losing cultural background, never repairing things that have gotten old, being very immoderate in consuming food and drink, and placing people lacking virtue and principles in positions of authority. In decision-making in every level, from homes to the offices of the leaders, nothing is more important than restoring human integrity and ethical values. The shape of all cultures has been altered and misplaced. The Buddha clearly explained that everything in the world including nature is organized into hierarchies, structures, and orders—we must closely observe, that we may take good care of those important human value structures.

In order to ensure that Cambodia continues to live up to the legacy of

Angkor, three implementations are recommended. One example of revival would be to sponsor a research study on the name of Prasat Suor Prats, because the differing interpretations make no sense and hold no value. The translation of this monument is the 'towers of the cord dancers,' and the Cambodian legend relates

387 that the towers served as anchoring places for ropes which stretched from one

tower to another for acrobats performing at festivals observed by the king from

one of the terraces, so that the festival reflects in the name of the towers. Zhou

Da-Kuon, the Chinese missionary, described an entirely different purpose for the

towers, as a method of settling disputes between men. According to Da-Kuon, the

twelve little stone towers standing in front of the royal palace were used to

contain the contestants, one in each tower, with his relative standing guard over

him. They remain imprisoned for two to four days, and when allowed to emerge,

the righteous will have remined healthy while the nonrighteous will be found

suffering from some illness. A third interpretation by Henri Mouhot was that the

towers were said to have been the royal treasury, serving as the depository for the crown jewels. Yet another theory is that they may have served as an altar for each

389 province for the occasion of taking the oath of loyalty to the king.

This monument certainly holds its own spiritual meaning, and it is necessary to identify the right interpretation. Mouhot may have been close to rendering the right interpretation, except that he did not give the definition of the two words Snor and Prat. According to the Cambodian dictionary, the word Suor has four potential meanings: crossing or walking on something like a bamboo- bridge, a metal line to dry clothes, or a rope; asking or proposing; a heavenly

390 world; and a word particularly used at wedding ceremonies. Prat derives from

Sanskrit and Pali, which requires further study to determine how this word can be

389 Rooney, Angkor, 260-61. 390 Dictionnaire Combodgien.

388 connected to the preceding word. Additionally, Cambodian grammar seems to substitute certain vowels and consonants originated from Pali and Sanskrit, and it is necessary to determine how such substitution might have affected this name.

The Need to Maintain Cambodian Unity

It is unquestionable that Cambodia needs to encourage national unity to protect the country's interests and relative position in the region, create a sense of cooperation among the major political parties, avoid or respond to political crises caused by the tendency for favoritism, calibrate national identity diplomacy, and shape and strengthen national spirit. The magic phrase is the 'right new spirit' that would take Cambodian leaders beyond the pride of individuals and groups, and rebuild the broken community of strong leaders.

Although there have been substantial political clashes in the past, current developments in the country unfortunately include a looming future crisis caused by the country's wealth distribution. My recommendation is to run a program teaching the Cambodian public about their rights to this wealth, and to create an independent council comprised of people outside the main political body to perform the overall management of this wealth. This recommendation, if implemented, could appeal to more investors to do business in the country and lead current investors to share more profit, thus improving the living conditions of the people.

The Roles of Individuals

Careful examination of the discourses in the Sutta and in Puggala- pannatti, the fourth book of the Abhidamma, shows that Cambodian moral and

389 ethical laws and discipline address the roles and responsibilities of both men and women in their performance of family and civil duties. These responsibilities apply to all: royalty, military, spiritual leaders, businesspeople, farmers, and ordinary people in the public and private sectors. My recommendation is to revive all that pertains to the Cambodian essence necessary to reflect national heritage and identity. Possibilities include Khmer literature and language (including

Sanskrit, Khmer-Mon, and other ancient Khmer languages), as well as arts, songs, musical instruments, costumes, objects for religious worship, hairstyles, food, and so on.

The royal families should coordinate these projects to help society, and should act as good role models. The projects should be headed by the council of the King, composed of those who are competent, skillful, and specialized in the subject areas. Through royal patronage and the assistance of skilled researchers, the council should seek Cambodians and foreign funding to support these projects, and it is vital that the financial management is clear and transparent.

There are current projects being carried out and financed by many countries. For example, China is funding restoration and further research on Chau

Say Tevoda, one of the twin monuments called Thommanun and Chau Say

Tevoda. In the 1960s, there was an extensive program of undertaken at

Thommanon by the Ecole Francaise d'Extreme Orient (EFEO), and that monument is now in sound condition. It is worth exploring why EFEO and China have sponsored such programs by spending money to study these monuments. For

390 example, the latest report tells that India is sponsoring the restoration of Prasad

Preah Vihear. which is now in dispute with Thailand.

The Organizational Arrangements for Cambodian Identity in the New Millennium

Cambodia's dependence on international donors for its yearly budget comes along with strict guidelines for the government to improve laws. While such support continues, the current leadership must change its organizational arrangements and programs to reduce the poverty level, increase educational assistance to students of poor families, create more jobs with equal opportunity

(i.e., jobs for those who are qualified rather than by bribery and favors). In all this, the top priority is to implement anticorruption laws.

This national emergency requires Cambodians from all walks of life to step out of the sphere of spiritual darkness (selfishness, greed, and an unhumane attitude) which is in such constrast to the spreading of pagodas known as religious centers for spiritual awakening. Accountability is required from the Ministry of

Interior; Ministry of Religion and Cults; Ministry of Culture; Ministry of Justice;

Ministry of Commerce; Ministry of Finance; and Ministry of Mines, Energy, and

Industry; but especially from the Office of the Council of Ministers, along with support from the Office of the Prime Minister and the government to make sure that laws and regulations to improve ethical conduct are enforced when violations take place.

Now is the time when the Cambodian government must provide a comprehensive review of all necessary accountabilities by applying the people's moral and ethical oversight to ensure the authenticity and the effectiveness of the

391 teaching of the Buddha. Furthermore, as history recorded, the sense and notion of

Cambodian national identity has been established on the foundation of incorporating philosophy, political policies, and spiritual practices. However, this national trait must be revived and maintained through vigilance, flexibility, and maintaining the policy of equilibrium.

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