page_title: Buddhism in Cambodia
section_title: Modernists and traditionalists
hierarchical_section_title: Buddhism in Cambodia / The Cambodian sangha / Modernists and traditionalists
caption_attribution_description: English: A group of monks at Preah Pithu U, Angkor, Siem Reap, Cambodia
context_page_description: Buddhism in Cambodia has existed since at least the 5th century. In its earliest form it was a type of Mahāyāna Buddhism. Today, the predominant form of Buddhism in Cambodia is Theravada Buddhism. It is enshrined in the Cambodian constitution as the official religion of the country. Theravada Buddhism has been the Cambodian state religion since the 13th century. As of 2013 it was estimated that 97.9 percent of the population was Buddhist.
  The history of Buddhism in Cambodia spans a number of successive kingdoms and empires. Buddhism entered Cambodia via two different streams. The earliest forms of Buddhism, along with Hindu influences, entered the Kingdom of Funan with Hindu merchants. In later history, a second stream of Buddhism entered Khmer culture during the Angkor empire when Cambodia absorbed the various Buddhist traditions of the Mon kingdoms of Dvaravati and Haripunchai.
  For the first thousand years of Khmer history, Cambodia was ruled by a series of Hindu kings with an occasional Buddhist king, such as Jayavarman I of Funan, Jayavarman VII, who became a mahayanist, and Suryavarman I.
context_section_description: Divisions within the sangha between "modernists" and "traditionalists" were recorded in Cambodia as early as 1918.  Broadly speaking, "modernists" have attempted to respond to Western criticism of Buddhist institutions by re-interpreting Buddhist teachings—particularly those related to philosophy and meditation—in light of both modern secular knowledge and the textual source of Theravada teachings, the Pali Canon.  "Traditionalists", on the other hand, prefer to stick to the practices and teachings handed down through the monastic oral tradition, which have traditionally centered on the performance of merit-making ceremonies and the attainment of "heightened states" through concentration meditation.  Traditionalists have tended to reject modern interest in vipassana meditation as a foreign affectation, and have focused on the rote memorization and recitation of Pali passages rather than attempts to study, translate, and interpret the contents of the Pali tripitaka.
  For many years, Maha Ghosananda remained the most visible and recognizable figure of the Maha Nikaya modernists.  Through his Dhammayatra program and other attempts to use the influence of the sangha to effect social change in Cambodian society, Maha Goshananda brought to Cambodia a form of Engaged Buddhism not previously seen among Cambodian religious institutions.  This form of modernist, engaged Buddhism has proved very popular with Western Buddhists and NGOs, who have lent their support and funding to efforts by Maha Goshananda and other modernist leaders.
  High officials of the Cambodian government, by contrast, have tended to support the most conservative of the Maha Nikaya monks, particular the members of a segment known as the boran, an ultra-conservative movement that touts the worldly efficacy of the rote recitation of various Pali and Khmer prayers and discourses.  Monks in the boran movement do not typically possess a significant knowledge of Pali, instead focusing on the rote memorization and recitation of certain verses and scriptures considered powerful.  Boran monks maintain that by sponsoring recitations of these verses, lay supporters can accrue great merit that will result in immediate, worldly benefits, such as financial or career success.  A large number of senior Cambodian officials (including Hun Sen) have patronized boran temples, providing for extensive expansions and rich decoration of the most popular temples.  Boran monks also teach the efficacy of "group repentance" rituals, where, through the recitation of Pali texts, the karmic fruit of earlier misdeeds can be avoided or moderated.  These rituals, which developed from New Years repentance ceremonies, have become very popular among certain segments of Cambodian society, and have been conducted by the current Maha Nikaya sangharaja, Tep Vong.
  The Dhammayuttika order in Cambodia seems to occupy a middle position between the Maha Nikaya modernists and traditionalists.  Like the Dhammayuttika order in Thailand, they place a higher premium on scriptural study and knowledge of the Pali language than the monks of the traditionalist camp.  At the same time, they have not embraced the modernist, engaged notion of monks as agents of social development, preferring instead to stick closely to traditional monastic roles of study, meditation, and providing merit-making opportunities for lay supporters.
caption: Adolescent monks in Cambodia
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