Original report from Phnom Penh
19 March 2009
Cambodian monks studying in India say they have opportunities for quality education, but they struggle with high costs.
India has well-regarded education systems, recognized by the international community, which leads many Cambodian monks to study there.
Their studies in India are usually funded by donors or the family. Most Cambodian monks live at a Khmer monastery, in the capital, Delhi. Some of them live in rented quarters in housing nearby.
Monk Nhem Kimteng rents the second floor of a house in Old Delhi. The house is 12 meters wide.
“I came to India six years ago, to study a doctorate of Buddhism,” he said in a recent interview there. “My subject is not difficult, but what is a problem for me is the budget for studying and the house fee.”
Nhem Kimteng, who is 62, pays 5,000 rupees, or more than $100, for rent each month, and $1,200 for school. Altogether, he spends about $1,500 per month, he said.
“The budget for me is very difficult, but I always receive [money] from my family and donors and from the Khmer people who visit India,” he said.
Another monk, Ven Chandary, 29, a classmate of Nhem Kimteng, said he too was facing a budget problem, “because I don’t have someone to help me.”
“I spend the funds for myself, for study, and sometimes my family helps with the budget for me to study,” he said.
“Anyway, I am committed to finish my studies, even if I lack the budget,” he said. “When I arrived in New Delhi the first time, it was very difficult for me to go anywhere, especially from my place to the university. But now it’s easy for me, because I’ve lived her for five years. Every day I walk from my place to school. Sometimes I’m on foot, sometimes on a bus.”
He appealed for donors and the Cambodian government to help Cambodian monks study in India.
A third monk, Nhim Sao Samkan, 29, who studies social studies at a Hindu university 1,000 kilometers from New Delhi, said saves money by staying home or in class.
“I don’t rent a house, because I live in the Khmer pagoda,” he said. “I spend for school $500 per month and for meals $100. Now I don’t have enough money to study in India.”
India has well-regarded education systems, recognized by the international community, which leads many Cambodian monks to study there.
Their studies in India are usually funded by donors or the family. Most Cambodian monks live at a Khmer monastery, in the capital, Delhi. Some of them live in rented quarters in housing nearby.
Monk Nhem Kimteng rents the second floor of a house in Old Delhi. The house is 12 meters wide.
“I came to India six years ago, to study a doctorate of Buddhism,” he said in a recent interview there. “My subject is not difficult, but what is a problem for me is the budget for studying and the house fee.”
Nhem Kimteng, who is 62, pays 5,000 rupees, or more than $100, for rent each month, and $1,200 for school. Altogether, he spends about $1,500 per month, he said.
“The budget for me is very difficult, but I always receive [money] from my family and donors and from the Khmer people who visit India,” he said.
Another monk, Ven Chandary, 29, a classmate of Nhem Kimteng, said he too was facing a budget problem, “because I don’t have someone to help me.”
“I spend the funds for myself, for study, and sometimes my family helps with the budget for me to study,” he said.
“Anyway, I am committed to finish my studies, even if I lack the budget,” he said. “When I arrived in New Delhi the first time, it was very difficult for me to go anywhere, especially from my place to the university. But now it’s easy for me, because I’ve lived her for five years. Every day I walk from my place to school. Sometimes I’m on foot, sometimes on a bus.”
He appealed for donors and the Cambodian government to help Cambodian monks study in India.
A third monk, Nhim Sao Samkan, 29, who studies social studies at a Hindu university 1,000 kilometers from New Delhi, said saves money by staying home or in class.
“I don’t rent a house, because I live in the Khmer pagoda,” he said. “I spend for school $500 per month and for meals $100. Now I don’t have enough money to study in India.”
7 comments:
They dont need schooling there, just come home. 29 yr old monk? A waste of money. He will quit and marry soon.
Did they have monks study abroad in the old days, like in the 50s 60s or 70s?
I can see the two young monks to pursue a quality education in India and pay a high price, but the 62 yrs old monk, please come home. Don't do that at your friends' and relatives' expense. It is still okay if you spend your own money. Stop complaining, Mr. old monk.
The road to enlightenment is not an easy one! Nevertheless, these Khmer monks are better off studying in India than in Thailand because they received high quality education!
My respect to Khmer monk everywhere for their dedication in preserving the Khmer literature and culture!
You pay is what you get!
i think only serious monks should apply there, that is want to be a real, sacred and respectable khmer monks for life. otherwise, people lose trust in them again. god bless cambodia.
I don't trust India, at least not the southern part of it. Ever since Khmer made contact with them, it's only good once, the rest is downhill until we reached year zero.
Why only the 50s,60s, and 70s? Didn't you know Somdach Choun Nath the most famous Khmer Buddhist Patriact spoke several languages including Japanese, Thai, Vietnamese, French, Sanskrit? He has been to Hanoi, Japan, and India.
Khmer monks traveling is no new stuff, way back even before Angkor era, in Funan time, Khmer monks had been traveling to China to help translate with Buddhist text from Pali.
The monk was called Nagasena.
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