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Meak Bochea Day in Cambodia In Cambodia, Meak Bochea Day is an important religious festival.  It is observed on the full moon in the third month of the Khmer calendar, which generally lands in later February or early March.  Meak Bochea Day commemorates the final sermon given by Buddha, in which he summarized the “heart of Buddhism” in three principles: ceasing from all evil, doing only what is good, and cleansing the mind. The group that assembled that day, around 2,500 years ago now, to hear him preach are sometimes called the “Fourfold Assembly” because of four factors that were in place: the 1,250 listeners were all “enlightened ones,” they were all ordained by Buddha himself, they came, according to the tradition, without being summoned, and it was a full moon in the month of Magha.  It is also said that, on this day, Buddha correctly predicted the day of his own death, which occurred three months later. The day of his death was also the day of his birth and of his p...

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  Glossary Buddha The founder of Buddhism, Siddhartha Gautama, after his enlightenment. It is a title which means the enlightened or awakened one. CE Common Era. chant Repeating religious phrases or quotations from sacred texts. conscience An inner sense (or 'voice') which communicates what is right or wrong in one's behaviour. Dhammapada The most famous of the Buddhist scriptures in the West, with 423 verses in the Pali canon. dharma This word has various meanings which have to be understood from the context in which it is used. It can mean religious duty. In Buddhism it is most widely used to mean the Buddha’s teaching. It can also mean ‘the truth’. enlightenment The realisation of the truth about life. In Buddhism it releases a person from the cycle of rebirth. founder The person who is regarded as founding or starting a religion, eg Jesus was the founder of Christianity; the Buddha was the founder of Buddhism. Jakata Tales (Jakata stories) A large collection of writings...

 Sutta Pitaka Vinaya Pitaka Abhidhammapitaka Sutta Pitaka It contains over 10 thousand suttas or sutras related to Buddha and his close companions. This also deals  with the first Buddhist council which was held shortly after Buddha’s death , dated by the majority of recent scholars around  400 BC, under the patronage of king Ajatasatru with the monk Mahakasyapa presiding, at Rajgir. Its sections are: Digha Nikaya:  Comprises the “long” discourses in 34 long sutras. Majjhima Nikaya:  Comprises the “middle-length” discourses in 152 sutras. Samyutta Nikaya : Comprises the “connected” discourses in over 2800 sutras. Anguttara Nikaya : Comprises the “numerical” discourses in over 9600sutras. Khuddaka Nikaya : Comprises the “minor collection” It has 15-17 booklets. (Thai 15. Sinhali 17 & Burmese 18 booklets). Vinaya Pitaka The subject matter of  Vinay Pitaka  is the monastic rules for monks and nuns. It can also be called as Book of Discipline. Suttavib...

  Specifically, all Buddhists live by five moral precepts, which prohibit: Killing living things Taking what is not given Sexual misconduct Lying Using drugs or alcohol

  Four Noble Truths The Four Noble Truths, which Buddha taught, are: The truth of suffering (dukkha) The truth of the cause of suffering (samudaya) The truth of the end of suffering (nirhodha) The truth of the path that frees us from suffering (magga) Collectively, these principles explain why humans hurt and how to overcome suffering.

  Eightfold Path The Buddha taught his followers that the end of suffering, as described in the fourth Noble Truths, could be achieved by following an Eightfold Path.  In no particular order, the Eightfold Path of Buddhism teaches the following ideals for ethical conduct, mental disciple, and achieving wisdom: Right understanding (Samma ditthi) Right thought (Samma sankappa) Right speech (Samma vaca) Right action (Samma kammanta) Right livelihood (Samma ajiva) Right effort (Samma vayama) Right mindfulness (Samma sati) Right concentration (Samma samadhi)

  Karma A fundamental aspect of Buddhism is the teaching that you are responsible for your own life and your future circumstances (as well as your future lives)—whether you experience happiness, misery, etc.—and that your actions and behavior can bring good or bad karma. If you are kind to others, the belief is that they will be kind in return, but more importantly, that means you will experience good karma in your present and next life. On the other hand, if you are not nice to others, you will get your just deserts in some form in the near or distant future as well as in the next life through bad karma. The point is to be careful about how you interact with others: everything you do decides what you have to contend with in transmigration. The word  karma  is from Sanskrit, where, fittingly, it refers to one's work as well as one's fate; it begins appearing in English writing in the early 1800s. Hippie generations adopted the philosophi...

  Nirvana English readers of religious philosophy were first enlightened on the Buddhist concept of  nirvana  in the early 19th century. The word is a borrowing from Sanskrit that means "the act of extinguishing" and, in Buddhism, it refers to a state in which desire and one's conscious attachment to things in secular life (or, in particular, the negative emotions these desires/attachments bring about) are extinguished through disciplined meditation. Once these things are vanquished, peace, tranquility, and enlightenment are said to be fully experienced; ignorance dissolves and the truth becomes fully known. In nirvana, a person also not only enters a transcendent state of freedom of all negativity but breaks free of the religion's beliefs in the continuous cycle of birth, death, and rebirth and the effects of karma—the force created by one's actions that is to determine what that person's next life will be like. A person who has gained ...

by Chan Kit Tze, The Star, April 17, 2005 Monks in Cambodia are providing care and support for Cambodia's AIDS orphans, writes CHAN KIT SZE who visited the Thmey Pagoda Salvation Centre in Siem Reap recently. Siem Reap, Cambodia  -- TRADITIONAL Cambodian music greeted us as we entered the shrine hall of Thmey Pagoda in Siem Reap, Cambodia. The musicians were seven to nine-year-old boys sitting at the far left of the hall, intently playing traditional Cambodian musical instruments. Later, we found out that it was the children's first public performance. << MONK'S VIEW: Venerable Hoeurn briefing the young journalists on his work with people living with HIV/AIDS. The Salvation Centre, which is a non-governmental organization, works with the monks at Thmey Pagoda, to provide support services for people living with HIV/AIDS. They run an orphanage for children either infected or affected by HIV/AIDS.  The musicians who greeted us were either AIDS orphans, or have parents in...

by Tin Sokhavuth, Khmer Times, 4 January 2016 Phnom Penh, Cambodia  -- After being dormant for 10 years, the Buddhist Institute is re-launching its monthly speakers’ program to bring the latest research to the public, an official at the institute said. Phat Chan Mony Ratha, president of the institute’s office of traditions and customs, told Khmer Times that the speakers will be selected based on the quality of research they submit on Buddhism, Khmer language, history, and many other fields of study.  “Their research should be 10 pages maximum because they will only have two hours to speak to the audience,” she said, adding that the research will subsequently be published in Kambuja Soriya magazine. “This program should be a great opportunity for researchers to share their experiences with each other,” said Ms. Ratha. Ms. Ratha added most of the institute’s publications and research on religion focused on Buddhism, but it is expanding to include more research on other religions...

by Tin Sokhavuth, Khmer Times, 18 January 2016 Phnom Penh, Cambodia  -- Prisoners in Pailin’s Salakrao district received an unusual visit this Saturday, as a group of government officials and spiritual leaders dropped in to spread Buddhist teachings in an attempt to better prepare them for life outside bars. Deputy governor of Pailin province Thou Phia, his wife Chea Leap, Provincial chief monk Sann Lee, Noun Savuth, Counselor of his Venerable Non-Gnetand, and a number of provincial government officials specifically emphasized the importance of the five Buddhist commandments to living a good life after prison, according to director of the provincial cabinet Hem Rithy when asked by Khmer Times about the visit.   According to Mr. Rithy, after delivering a sermon, the deputy governor said that the Buddhist five commandments could help everyone, even those in the greater Cambodian society, to live in happiness.   Mr. Phia also said that the inmates should meditate on Buddhist...

by Khouth Sophak Chakrya, Phnom Penh Post, 19 January 2016 Phnom Penh, Cambodia  -- Pailin province’s chief monk, along with other monks, yesterday visited the Pailin Provincial Prison to “educate” the prisoners through dialogue. The chief monk, San Ly, said that under a new program monks will visit the prison regularly to reach the prisoners on a spiritual level, develop their understanding of their misdeeds and encourage good deeds instead. The monks will preach Buddhist principles and pray with the prisoners. “Our mind is a hot ball – it is very flammable; anger will lead us to commit crimes, so we have to calm our minds. Then, we will be happy and free,” said Ly. He added that the program also promotes the spread of Buddhism in Cambodia. Prison officials said that meeting with the monks at least once a month will be mandatory for all inmates.

  by Ate Hoekstra, Deutch Welle, July 7, 2016 Cambodia has one of the world's highest deforestation rates. But a group of Buddhist monks is stepping up efforts to save forests by publicly revealing wrongdoings and mobilizing local villagers. Phnom Penh, Cambodia  -- His memories often bring But Buntenh back to Cambodia thirty years ago. There were jungles as far as the eye could see. Centuries-old trees gave shade and provided shelter to birds and wild animals. << Buddhist monks collect images and videos of illegal logging, and then spread them through social media. Mönche in Kambodscha The air was clean, nature gave the local people everything they needed. The forest near the village where Buntenh grew up was filled with wild pigs. "We were hunting them. During my youth, there was nothing as tasty as the meat of a wild pig," the 36-year-old monk said, laughing. The forests of Buntenh's youth are long gone and with it the wildlife and the birds that lived in it....

  Religion Minister Questioned Over Efforts to Promote Buddhism by Khy Sovuthy, Cambodia Daily, January 11, 2017 Phnom Penh, Cambodia  -- The Minister of Cults and Religion was questioned by a National Assembly commission on Tuesday over efforts to promote Buddhism in the country and an assortment of other concerns affecting the religion, according to the opposition lawmaker who summoned him. Him Chhem appeared before the Assembly’s education, religious affairs, and culture commission, chaired by CNRP lawmaker Yem Ponhearith. Mr. Ponhearith said the main purpose of the appearance was controversial fencing put up around the Buddhist Institute compound near NagaWorld in Phnom Penh, but that the issue was quickly resolved. “The Minister of Cults and Religion will send a request to City Hall to remove them,” he said. “It was an issue of aesthetics.” The opposition lawmaker said he had been concerned about how the ministry would promote Buddhism and protect its stability given the ...