The Role of Buddhism in Strengthening Morality in

Cambodian Society

Introduction

History background

Buddhism originated in Cambodia as early as the 5th century, with

some sources suggesting that in the 3rd century AD and documents Others
show that Theravada Buddhism was brought to Cambodia during the reign of
King (អសោក), who sent two envoys named សោណត្ថេរ and ឧត្តរត្ថេរ to the land
of Sovann Phum since the 3rd century BC. And this religion continued to
grow gradually with Brahmanism, as there is an inscription on the territory
of Vietnam today, the Wukan inscription in Nha Trang province. Dates in the
3rd century, which refer to the king, Srey Mear, are also associated with
Buddhism. In addition to entering Cambodia through those missionaries,
Buddhism was also introduced through Indian merchants. And from the 13th
century onwards, except during the Khmer Rouge rule, Buddhism became
the state religion of the Khmer Buddhists. Nearly 95% of the total
population.
The Role of Buddhism

There are so many factors about which the religion is talked. In term
of education, teachings Buddha reveal reality of lives, which is the basic
education for most of the people who should know and learn in order to live
in peace and harmony. Buddha taught people not to kill each other lives for
grabbing benefits. If people can control their feeling and emotion, they will
get some peace inside, which call the foundation of peace because they are
self-mastered, and they know to interact with other persons promptly. When
majority of people who understand this teaching, government don’t have to
be strict in law implementation due to citizens have maturity of ethics
themselves and they actually realize what to do and not to do. This is what
today world prefers for reserving global peace. According to Venerable Suy
Sovann (Internet, 2012), it is stated that Buddhist ideas and ideals have
guided and influenced the lives and thoughts of countless human beings in
many parts of the world. As Buddhists, our own experiences and discoveries
in life are not enough to give a true perspective on life. To bring ourselves
closer to the ideal of a well-balanced man or woman, we need to acquire, at
least in outline, what is called a cultural grounding in the Dharma.

 For social organization, pagodas provides more means for basically

educating and cultivating knowledge and skills. In the past time, most men
were educated in pagodas, and they were taught by competent and qualified
monks as their teachers who mentored both social skills and ethical behavior
mechanism. Therefore, people are full enough for morals for daily
communication and running businesses transaction. This is the way of
promoting peace and eradicating ignorance for the whole community.
Teaching people how to interact with each well and to retain respected
manner. Core teaching of Lord Buddha rests on human value arising from
internal virtue and mindful concentration. The teaching has changed people
from violence to peace lover, jealousy to loving-kindness, hatred to
compassion, and delusion to right understanding and right thought.

 Non-violence theory is the core values of Buddhism because it always

make peace promoting, stable politics situation, and democracy.  According
to Venerable Loun Sangvath, it is said that “As noticed, Buddhism is the
state religion in Cambodia but why many past political regimes and modern
leadership of Cambodia have been exposed by its terrible violence and
human rights abusing? This might be because the Buddhist monks have not
done their duties properly, the Cambodian Buddhists have less knowledge
and practice on core teaching of Buddhism, and the government has not
used principles of Buddhism to develop the nation correctly” (internet,
2011).
The pagoda is the heart of Cambodian life and many villages, towns,
and cities have developed around particularly active pagodas. The pagoda
was traditionally the place of education for boys, and many young
Cambodian men (generally those from poor backgrounds) still enter the
pagoda for anything between one and ten years to benefit from the
education provided.

Buddhism teaches reincarnation and karma. Good deeds are rewarded

with good consequences, and an elevated status in the subsequent life cycle.
Likewise, bad deeds can result in bad consequences and a lower status in
the subsequent life cycle. This can explain the seemingly dismissive
treatment of poor or disabled people in Cambodian society, as many people
believe their misfortune to be the result of actions in their past life.

There are five key precepts in Buddhism which guide people’s

behaviour to help them live a happy life:

1. To refrain from taking life

2. To refrain from taking that which is not given (i.e. theft)
3. To refrain from sensual (including sexual) misconduct
4. To refrain from lying
5. To refrain from intoxicants which lead to loss of mindfulness

Buddhist monks often observe several additional precepts including

celibacy, not eating after midday, no entertainment or personal possessions.

Many of the teachings of Buddhism encourage practitioners to

overcome suffering, anxiety or dissatisfaction. This feeling is seen as being
very common to all human life, and the cessation of it part of what all people
should strive for. It is easy to see where this core belief filters through into
wider Cambodian culture. In Cambodia, preservation of harmony is more
important than fighting for justice or independence. Loud and aggressive
persons are thought to be rude, or disrespectful, and confrontation is often
avoided at all costs.

Conclusion

As we have studied, we have known that Buddhism is really crucial for

developing economy, education, morality, democracy, none- violence, and
sustaining political situation when all learn and practice theory and teaching
of Buddha called the basic principles. Therefore, Buddhism is considered as
peaceful religion cultivating maturity of mind and it is recognized by the
United Nation.