Buddhism in Cambodia
In the 5th century, Mahayana Buddhism arrived in the Kingdom of Funan alongside Hindu merchants. Chinese traveler Yijing observed this dual religious presence toward the close of the seventh century. Two monks from Funan named Mandrasena and Samghabara took up residency in China during the 5th to 6th centuries. They translated several Buddhist sutras from Sanskrit into Chinese including the Mahayana Mahaprajnaparamita Manjusriparivarta Sutra. This text features the bodhisattva Manjusri as a prominent figure. The Funan Kingdom flourished between 100 BC and 500 CE while kings sponsored worship of Vishnu and Shiva. Buddhism existed as a secondary religion within this Hindu-dominated landscape. Possible early missions state that Buddhism was introduced to Suvannaphum or the Golden Peninsula in the 3rd century B.C. under King Ashoka. Two monks named Sona and Uttara were sent to propagate the doctrine following the great council of 274 B.C. held in Pataliputta India.
King Jayavarman VII reigned from 1181 to 1215 and worked tirelessly to establish Buddhism as the state religion of Angkor. He became a Mahayana Buddhist who regarded himself as a Dharma-king and bodhisattva. His regime marked a clear dividing line with the old Hindu past before 1200. Art in temples mostly portrayed scenes from the Hindu pantheon until after 1200 when Buddhist scenes appeared as standard motifs. King Yosavarman built many Buddhist temples between 887 and 889 representing the mandala of Mount Meru. The largest of these temples is Phnom Kandal or Central Mountain which lies near the heart of the Angkor complex. King Rajendravarman II ruled from 944 to 968 and studied Buddhism intensely though he decided to remain a Shivaist. He appointed a Buddhist named Kavindrarimathana as chief minister who built shrines to Buddha and Shiva. The Sailendra dynasty built the fantastic Mahayana Buddhist temple Borobudur between 750 and 850 in Java. This structure appears to have been the inspiration for later fabulous Angkor building projects including Angkor Wat and Angkor Thom.
After the 13th century Theravada Buddhism became the state religion of Cambodia. King Jayavarman VII sent his son Tamalinda to Sri Lanka to be ordained as a Buddhist monk and study Theravada Buddhism according to Pali scriptural traditions. Tamalinda returned to Cambodia after ten years of ordination and promoted Buddhist traditions received during his training at the famous Mahavihara Monastery. This new dynamic type of Theravada Buddhism was preached as the true faith in Sri Lanka during the period when Prince Tamalinda studied there between 1180 and 1190. Wandering missionaries from Mon-Khmer-speaking parts of Siam Burma Cambodia and Sri Lanka played an important part in this process. The mass conversion of Khmer society to Theravada Buddhism amounted to a nonviolent revolution at every level of society. Scholars struggle to account for this sudden and inexplicable transformation of Khmer civilization. Theravada Buddhism succeeded because it was inclusive and universal in its outreach recruiting disciples and monks from elites court villages and peasants. When Prince Tamalinda returned he was a Thera or senior monk capable of administering ordination into this vigorous Theravada lineage.
In 1975 when the communist Khmer Rouge took control of Cambodia they tried to completely destroy Buddhism. Article 20 of the Cambodian Constitution 1975-1979 stated that reactionary religions detrimental to Democratic Kampuchea were absolutely forbidden. By the time of the Vietnamese invasion in 1979 nearly every monk and religious intellectual had been either murdered or driven into exile. Nearly every Buddhist temple and library had been destroyed by the end of their rule. Estimates of the number of monks prior to the ascension of the Khmer Rouge vary ranging between 65,000 and 80,000. By the early 1980s the number of Cambodian monks worldwide was estimated to be fewer than 3,000. The patriarchs of both Cambodian nikayas perished sometime during the period 1975 to 1978 though the cause of their deaths is not known. Observers estimated that 50,000 monks died during the Khmer Rouge regime. Monks who did not flee lived among the laity sometimes secretly performing Buddhist rituals for the sick or afflicted.
Following challenges to the legitimacy of the Vietnamese-backed People's Republic of Kampuchea policies towards Buddhism began to ease starting in the summer of 1979. A group of monks exiled and re-ordained in Vietnam during the Khmer Rouge period were sent back to Cambodia. In 1981 one of their number Venerable Tep Vong was elected the first sangharaja of a new unified Cambodia sangha. This election officially abolished the division between the Thommayut order and the Mohanikay. The ordination of new monks was sponsored by the government as a public show of piety and lifted restrictions on ordination. Following the withdrawal of the Vietnamese military the newly renamed Cambodian People's Party sought to align itself with the Buddhist sangha. They declared Buddhism to be Cambodia's state religion in a 1991 policy statement. In 1991 King Sihanouk returned from exile and appointed a new sangharaja for each of the Thommayut and Mohanikay orders. This effectively marked the end of the unified system created under Vietnamese rule in 1981.
Since 1855 the Buddhist monastic community in Cambodia has been split into two divisions excepting a brief period of unification between 1981 and 1991. These divisions are the Maha Nikaya and the Dhammayuttika Nikaya. The Maha Nikaya is by far the larger of the two monastic fraternities claiming the allegiance of a large majority of Cambodian monks. The Dhammayuttika Nikaya remains a small minority isolated somewhat by its strict discipline and connection with Thailand. The Thommayut order was introduced into the ruling circles of Cambodia from Thailand in 1864. It gained prestige because of its adoption by royalty and aristocracy but adherents were confined geographically to the Phnom Penh area. In 1961 the Mohanikay had more than 52,000 ordained monks in some 2,700 wats whereas the Thommayut order had 1,460 monks in just over 100 wats. High-ranking officials of the Maha Nikaya have often spoken out against criticism of the government and in favor of government policies including calling for the arrest of monks espousing opposition positions.
Divisions within the sangha between modernists and traditionalists were recorded in Cambodia as early as 1918. Modernists attempted to respond to Western criticism by re-interpreting Buddhist teachings particularly those related to philosophy and meditation in light of both modern secular knowledge and the Pali Canon. Traditionalists prefer to stick to practices handed down through monastic oral tradition which center on performance of merit-making ceremonies and attainment of heightened states through concentration meditation. For many years Maha Ghosananda remained the most visible figure of the Maha Nikaya modernists. Through his Dhammayatra program he brought Engaged Buddhism not previously seen among Cambodian religious institutions. This form of modernist engaged Buddhism proved very popular with Western Buddhists and NGOs who lent support and funding to efforts by Maha Ghosananda. High officials of the Cambodian government tended to support the most conservative members of a segment known as the boran an ultra-conservative movement touting worldly efficacy of rote recitation of various Pali and Khmer prayers.
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Common questions
When did Mahayana Buddhism arrive in the Kingdom of Funan?
Mahayana Buddhism arrived in the Kingdom of Funan during the 5th century alongside Hindu merchants. Chinese traveler Yijing observed this dual religious presence toward the close of the seventh century.
Who was King Jayavarman VII and what role did he play in Cambodian Buddhism?
King Jayavarman VII reigned from 1181 to 1215 and worked tirelessly to establish Buddhism as the state religion of Angkor. He became a Mahayana Buddhist who regarded himself as a Dharma-king and bodhisattva.
What happened to Buddhism under the Khmer Rouge regime between 1975 and 1979?
The communist Khmer Rouge tried to completely destroy Buddhism when they took control of Cambodia in 1975. Estimates suggest that 50,000 monks died during the Khmer Rouge regime and nearly every temple and library had been destroyed by the end of their rule.
How many monks were there in Cambodia before the Khmer Rouge ascension compared to the early 1980s?
Estimates of the number of monks prior to the ascension of the Khmer Rouge vary ranging between 65,000 and 80,000. By the early 1980s the number of Cambodian monks worldwide was estimated to be fewer than 3,000.
When did Theravada Buddhism become the state religion of Cambodia after the 13th century?
After the 13th century Theravada Buddhism became the state religion of Cambodia following the return of Prince Tamalinda from Sri Lanka. King Jayavarman VII sent his son Tamalinda to Sri Lanka to be ordained as a Buddhist monk and study Theravada Buddhism according to Pali scriptural traditions.