Tuesday, 07 October 2008
Written by Moeun Chhean Nariddh
The Phnom Penh Post
Dear Editor,
As Cambodian people are returning from P'Chum Ben, they might have fulfilled their traditional obligation to appease the ghosts of their ancestors who have been roaming different pagodas in search of food offered by their living relatives during the two-week-long festival.
However, probably very few people apart from the Buddhist monks and lay people have been able to please the gods by fully following the panca-sila, or the Five Precepts, they have repeatedly chanted during the ceremonies.
The panca-sila, or the Five Precepts in Buddhism, include:
1. Panatipata veramani sikkhapadam samadiyami (I undertake the precept to refrain from destroying living creatures).
2. Adinnadana veramani sikkhapadam samadiyami (I undertake the precept to refrain from taking that which is not given).
3. Kamesu micchacara veramani sikkhapadam samadiyami (I undertake the precept to refrain from sexual misconduct).
4. Musavada veramani sikkhapadam samadiyami (I undertake the precept to refrain from incorrect speech).
5. Suramerayamajja pamadatthana veramani sikkhapadam samadiyami (I undertake the precept to refrain from intoxicating drinks and drugs that lead to carelessness).
Since at least the Khmer Rouge period, most Cambodians have committed sins by breaching some or all the Five Precepts in Buddhism.
Undoubtedly, the Khmer Rouge had committed the most severe sins by committing genocide on their own people. Some people have continued to repeat the Khmer Rouge's sin by killing other fellow Cambodians over malice, political conflicts, robbery or land disputes.
Many Cambodians have also breached the second precept by stealing other people's property and money in the forms of theft or corruption, while others have committed the more serious sin of sexual misconduct. Despite the recently passed adultery law, some people, particularly officials and rich businessmen, have continued to have fun with their mistresses who are other people's wives or daughters.
More or less, all people have committed another sin under the fourth precept of refraining from incorrect speech. Politicians have broken the swearing-in oaths and their promises with voters; some journalists have misquoted their sources; some judges have given unjust rulings by telling lies; while other ordinary Cambodians have committed this sin in various ways.
Last but not least, some Cambodians have committed another serious sin under the fifth precept by drinking alcohol or taking drugs.
As Buddhists, Cambodians should try to restore their religious morale by following the teachings of Buddha, particularly the panca-sila, or the Five Precepts.
Cambodia will have a peaceful and harmonious society if we can follow the Five Buddhist Precepts that are the basis of the rule of law.
Moeun Chhean Nariddh
Phnom Penh
As Cambodian people are returning from P'Chum Ben, they might have fulfilled their traditional obligation to appease the ghosts of their ancestors who have been roaming different pagodas in search of food offered by their living relatives during the two-week-long festival.
However, probably very few people apart from the Buddhist monks and lay people have been able to please the gods by fully following the panca-sila, or the Five Precepts, they have repeatedly chanted during the ceremonies.
The panca-sila, or the Five Precepts in Buddhism, include:
1. Panatipata veramani sikkhapadam samadiyami (I undertake the precept to refrain from destroying living creatures).
2. Adinnadana veramani sikkhapadam samadiyami (I undertake the precept to refrain from taking that which is not given).
3. Kamesu micchacara veramani sikkhapadam samadiyami (I undertake the precept to refrain from sexual misconduct).
4. Musavada veramani sikkhapadam samadiyami (I undertake the precept to refrain from incorrect speech).
5. Suramerayamajja pamadatthana veramani sikkhapadam samadiyami (I undertake the precept to refrain from intoxicating drinks and drugs that lead to carelessness).
Since at least the Khmer Rouge period, most Cambodians have committed sins by breaching some or all the Five Precepts in Buddhism.
Undoubtedly, the Khmer Rouge had committed the most severe sins by committing genocide on their own people. Some people have continued to repeat the Khmer Rouge's sin by killing other fellow Cambodians over malice, political conflicts, robbery or land disputes.
Many Cambodians have also breached the second precept by stealing other people's property and money in the forms of theft or corruption, while others have committed the more serious sin of sexual misconduct. Despite the recently passed adultery law, some people, particularly officials and rich businessmen, have continued to have fun with their mistresses who are other people's wives or daughters.
More or less, all people have committed another sin under the fourth precept of refraining from incorrect speech. Politicians have broken the swearing-in oaths and their promises with voters; some journalists have misquoted their sources; some judges have given unjust rulings by telling lies; while other ordinary Cambodians have committed this sin in various ways.
Last but not least, some Cambodians have committed another serious sin under the fifth precept by drinking alcohol or taking drugs.
As Buddhists, Cambodians should try to restore their religious morale by following the teachings of Buddha, particularly the panca-sila, or the Five Precepts.
Cambodia will have a peaceful and harmonious society if we can follow the Five Buddhist Precepts that are the basis of the rule of law.
Moeun Chhean Nariddh
Phnom Penh
16 comments:
to be frank - to say and do are too different things. cambodians have never followed the percepts, a water blessing will cure any ill deed we done. that is why i always look at cambodians with self caution, even though i share the same history...
Why should Cambodian people follow the teaching of Buddha since Buddha is also a form of communism!
It is so easy to point all the mistakes committed by Cambodian leaders and people! After all, it is human nature to make mistake!
What I see in Cambodian society is the issue of having too much greed and having too much power! Having greed and power is not a bad thing because greed help people create all kind of goods and services for economy to grow and to be more prosperous and having power will keep some form of social order in society!
Too much of anything is bad! So I suggest that Cambodian leaders and people should take moderation into consideration and promote the positive everyday concept of sharing, understanding, well being, and sensitivity, and forgiveness, and kindness...and all those good concepts that help make Cambodian society stay equilibrium!
By the way, in life people have two choices to make either they want to be bad or they want to be good! Why can Cambodian leaders and people choose to be good themselves and to each other?
11:37PM
Please, elaborate and articulate your statement "Why should Cambodian people follow the teaching of Buddha since Buddha is also a form of communism!"
How much you know about Buddha and Buddhism? Or your statement is just a piece of shit statement?
Cambodia should pursue in two scenarios to do goodness:
1. Practicing correctly cultural norm such as these 5 precepts as the author well described and articulated it.
2. Strengthening the rule of laws...this scenario can be succeeded primarily if those top leaders had to take "a leading role" to comply the rule of law.
can corrupted $$$$ donated to monk...for bon...and get blessing...since they robbed people to get $$$ and then do bon....may all of kr go to hell...even uuu go to wat...buddha cannot save uuuu may be 1000 live time....enjoy your $$$$ and go to hell.....due to uuuu rob cambodian assets....
lets put ourselves in righteousness and honorable conduct. that is what we lack!!! greed and power is evil, because it is the temptation that motivates us to harm others. Corruption is a big part of it, and corruption is what essentially is Cambodia. That is why I can not go back because the things I seen had made my heart sad. When I see the poor people there live the what they do, accept the life and the ways that things are... there is really no answer to why we are like this. People driving around with hundred thousand dollars cars and exploiting the uneducated and poor... we stopped caring for one another and let our mentality become self-destructive. it has always been this way even from the start of the Khmer empire... there seem to be no change in sight because we want to live this way. Cambodians say fuck the viet, fuck the siam, fuck everybody... but they are only fucking themselves...
i think it is good to go to the karaoke bar and have mistresses... i think it is good to steal people out of their land. I think it is good to turn a blind eye to things that we see are not our problems...
but I am Buddhist, in all the Khmer sense and I see no good in all of theses.
go play your cards and drinking till 3 in the morning... so many wasted lives that we live...
sharing the same history
To 1:01AM
There are some truths to my statements because Buddhism advocates a very simple way of living and encourage people to give up desire for worldly thing! Isn't this a form of communism? Tell me did Cambodian people have anything beside a shirt on their back and work as slave during the Khmer Rouge? Another good example is how Cambodian people entering the monkhood! Those Cambodian who enter the monkhood will shave their head and give all form of possession to live a very simple life and become celibacy! The sad fact that when these Cambodian monks gave up all form of possession and they became a beggar!
The concept of Buddhism to make human walking bare feet and become a beggar is a concept that I can not accept! If people born to this earth with two hands and two legs and know what is right and what is wrong and they shouldn’t go around begging other people for food! Go out there and work for food God Damnit!
Any good Buddhist country will be fucked after 30 years of war and genocide. Please don't ask too much of Cambodia and time will change everything.
Hello everybody.
This article is very important... I don´t know why some of you get angry . Really buddhism isn't the solution. Since Cambodia is independient, buddhism hadn't do anything.
Idolatry blind to the people and a country without vision perish.
No brotherly love for each other, while some are dying of hunger, others die in life because of his great selfishness.
If you bellieve in the concept of right and wrong, every man has sinned, and no amount of self-control will make you a perfect being.
I see many good things can come out from the practice of Buddha's teaching, because it teaches a person to realaize how he himself can control much of his own suffering. But how do you compensate for all the wrongs that you committed?
I wholeheartedly support Moeun Chhean Nariddh's idea of following the teachings of Buddha. Cambodia needs to restore its Buddhist-based moral and ehtical values.
Beginning with the reign of King Ang Duong many of our leading, Thai-trained, Buddhist monks had devoted themselves to this task when their society was so much in decline, leading to the formation by Ven Chuon Nath and Huot Tat of what an American csholar calls a "modern Dhamma movement" whose one of the aims was to instill "modern buddhist values". ( Please read Prof. Anne Ruth Hansen's book 'How to Behave: Buddhism and Modernity in Colonial Cambodia, 1860-1930, University of Havaii Press, 2007).
I'd like to add 3 quotes to support the idea of moral rejuvenation to support the establishment of the rule of law in Cambodia:
1. Alexis de Tocqueville: "There cannot be freedom without morality, nor morality without faith" ('Democracy in America');
2. Emile Durkheim: 'When mores [morality] are sufficient, laws are unnecessary. When mores are insufficient, laws are unenforceable.";
3. Gandhi: One of the 7 deadly sins is "Commerce without morality"
LAO Mong Hay, Hong Kong
Great scholarship like Dr. Lao Mong Hay academically values the teaching of Lord Buddha. He shows us some very useful references by various scholar.
But may be some modern Khmer student like 1:25 AM talk cheap about his logic and new cheap research that his observation of the monks'livelihood is bad to Cambodian society.
This man is idiot, not understand that the monks are the symbol of good leaders...leaders must be full of morals...and the base of moral is to learn reducing desire.
Surely, you come to power with strong desire, but your moral of reducing desire is your creditability.
Buddha and monks are the good model of leaders. Cambodia's social, economics and politics have signified itself through Buddhism.
Economics surely base on desire, but without proper morality, economics is cripple.
1:25 AM, please learn to change to attitude and vision to see all shapes of thing, not as like your statement....very aggressive....and very ignorant....
I do'n know what are doing monks?
Most of they are eating, sleeping, singing, .... but they don't do nothing in order to change our Country.
Are they a good model of leaders? No.
A good leader is not dictated by the laws without complying with them, if not given by the people and work for their nation, not for their own benefit.
Mystics monks, they love to receive, but don't as well to do their social work.
Leaders not only must be full of morals, they must be honest and workers.
Let us be realistic.
Stupi 11:25PM go to school! go to Cambodia and you will see what temple for!
And if you do not believe in Buddha go fuck yoursef leave religion alone if you so stupid like your fucking ancestors!
Do mai ah Youn Communist Vietnamese motherfucker!!!
To 12:57PM
"This man is idiot, not understand that the monks are the symbol of good leaders...leaders must be full of morals...and the base of moral is to learn reducing desire."
The base of moral is to learn reducing desire? Are you talking about reducing sexual desire or talking about reducing Cambodia to the size of a palm? As far as I am concerned Cambodian people desire to live have been reduced due to poverty and at the same time Cambodia as a country is also reduced by foreigner aggression! It seems the Cambodian desire is proportionate to the size of Cambodia as a country!
Cambodian reduce desire= Reduce Cambodia to a small country!
7:47AM
You are stupid again. If you look at Pol Pot leadership, he is so desired....and also look at Hun Sen, he is so desired to cling to power until he is 90....or we can say that until Cambodia is totally Vietnamized.
See it or not?
hey, don't you know that under the KR regime, people learned to act dump and ignorant in order to be saved from death. so, the time under the KR period doesn't count in terms of background ,etc... people, then had to do anything just to survive that cruel, stupid regime. so, for anyone to use that period against other people who happened to have different political affiliation or belief or whatever is not right, to say the least. two wrongs don't make it right! let bygone be bygone; the important thing though is to never make the same stupid mistake again, and please do learn from all mistakes. to be human is to error, that is natural human being, however, the distinction here is to not ever repeat the same mistake over and over again. god bless cambodia.
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