Something to think about: While I understand that our religious customs and traditions call for us to throw food on the ground during Pchum Ben for the spirit of our departed ancestors, socially-speaking, I have always been baffled by the amount of food wasted, especially when a horde of beggars are waiting for charity right outside the pagoda's door. Wouldn't it be better to honor our ancestors' spirits by feeding the poor and hungry instead? Please share your opinion - Thank you!
(All Photos taken on 24 September 2010 by Sek Bandith, Radio Free Asia)
Beggars eagerly waiting outside the pagoda 
26 comments:
Dear author. I for one 110% agree with you and see this is a wasted that our religious leaders and community learders should rethink of how to preserve our faith by not heavily impact environment and on the otherhand can contribute to the poor and the needy. I'm not against with this tradition but scientifically and spiritually I see no benefit of this. How long have we been followed this tradition? 500 years? 200 years?
Did our ancestors really have a test of those food?
Are we the only nation doing this?
Thank you RFA and Sek Bandith of photo Wat kean Swaay!
May Buddha bless all people khmer.
hygiene to correct.ok
We have manything to think about and to correct 2010.
ជាធម្មតា មានពលរដ្ឋខ្មែរយើងជាច្រើន កាលណាពួកគាត់ទៅធ្វើបុណ្យនៅវត្ត ពួកគាត់មិនដែលមើលរម្លងឡើយអ្នកសុំទាន
ទាំងនោះ ។ពួកគាត់
តែងតែដាក់ទានធ្វើបុណ្យសន្សំកុសល អោយអ្នកសុំទានទាំងនោះហើយ ។
តែពួកគេក៏មិនបំភ្លេច នូវទំនាមទំលាប់បុណ្យ
ប្រពៃណីរបស់ខ្មែរយើងនេះផងដែរ សូមកុំភ្លេចថា មានមនុស្សខ្លះ ការសុំទាននេះ ជាមុខរបរមួយ
ប្រចាំជីវិតរបស់គាត់ ។
Excellent question. Buddha would turn over in his grave for the amount of waste.
Kouy Pichet
តើគេត្រូវជឿថា មនុស្សយើងស្លាប់ទៅ នឹងអាច
ចាប់ជាតិជាប្រែតអសុរកាយមែនឬ ?
Kuoy Pichet,
1- This tradition did not exist in Bhudda's time, it is a Khmer custom.
2- Buddha is not in a grave, he was cremated and his remains were divided all over the world (as of now).
Therefore, what you claimed is unlikely to happen.
Cha Ter Thes
i agree, i think they should be thinking about feeding the living and poverty-stricken people first, before they throw the food to the ground in a gesture of offering to the beloved, departed dead people. growing up, i often heard my dad complain about this practice too because he remembered his mother (my grandmother) cooked good foods and made offering to the deads, instead of giving to the living. i think this kind of practice ought be reformed or changed to some degree. it is too outdated, i think! everyone ought to be educated to feed the poverty -stricken people first before wasting foods by making symbolic offering to feed the beloved dead ones! i think only education and time will awaken people to think differently from the tradition. i mean some khmer traditions are good and ought to be passed on to the next generation, etc, however, there are some traditions like this that slows our country down from progress in development, etc... some traditions we ought to maintain or keep while other less useful ones we ought to reformed, changed or modified, etc in order to advance and progress with the rest of the modern or developed world out there!
why are these people like to beg for everything? they are not handicapped or disabled or is it cambodia's lack of social services or human services that cause people like this to beg fore handsout, etc! i saw in america there are homeless people begged for money, food, alcoholic drinks, cigarette, etc, i'm not saying it only happened in cambodia, but cambodia must educate people to stop doing it as demand gov't for better social services for the poors, the sicks, the disableds, the handicappeds, the disadvantaged, etc, etc... cambodia should look overseas, especially in the western countries like america, the eu, etc for reform concepts in the country's social services fields, etc... otherwise, this tradition will not go away any time soon! it is the lack of social services like welfare, workment compensation, social security retirement, etc that cause some disadvantaged people to beg for foods, etc... if they have a place or a serices to apply for assistance, they wouldn't do this, really! they are desparate for help, that's why!
there is nothing wrong with this religious belief. it's just the lack of education and exposure to the outside world that kept people in the dark for so long. people are resilient; we all have the ability to change, to adapt, to adopt, to learn, to think, to see, to wonder, etc; education and knowledge know no boundary; we all can learn from everyone else. please make some reform in order to make our way of life better for all in cambodia, that's all! god bless cambodia.
If you atheist creeps put everything that each and every religion on this planet earth does under a microscope, you will end up in hell for eternity!!!
Now, crawl back to your Mama's womb and ask for mercy, you son of a bitch!!!
shut up, people have the rights to worship buddhism if they so desired; who are you to say this or that about a religion?
I totally agree that foods and should not be thrown into the ground and wasted like that. My parents make offering to our ancestors' every year and we throw out a little bit of foods too as we call our ancestors to come and take the offering we usually take a spoonful of each dish and put them into a bowl or a plate and is card them. People should not throw food into the ground at temples, they should place them in hygienic way and given to the poor or they should only offer food that can be preserve like dried noodle or dried foods so that they don't go bad easily and can be given to the poor later. While they give away these foods they can pray to ancestor to bless them through given to the poor. Many Khmer religion leaders only preach bad habits or bad tradition or beliefs such as luck,charm,and put too much emphasis on karma.
Try feeding a dead person--if he/she eats, then your offering is accepted.
If not, give to the hungry souls what you would otherwise offer to the spirits of your ancestors. Ain't I smart?
8:17am. i like your idea to educate and do the right things and still make tradition, symbolic offering to dead ancestors, etc... people should do it properly like not throwing foods everywhere on the ground, etc... i greed with your observation. good point! yes, some people need more education than others, that's all! don't blame the religion; it is not the religion, it is the ill-educated people that gave bad name to a religion in cambodia. that's all!
7:00 AM,
It sounds like you grew up in America, the land of plenty food and materials.
It also seems that you have no clue about Cambodian society with respect to government, society and the like.
The problem is not as simple as what you described in your comment. It is much more complex than you think and it involves the government who needs to address this issue with determination. To solve this problem the government of PM Hun Sen needs to tackle corruption issue first.
If America which is the richest country on earth with lots of educated people and resources, still has beggars, thieves and robbers then poor Cambodia with so much injustice in society is not doing too bad, is it?
Habit in people is hard to change.
I challenge you to post your comment with the proper way of using the English language by not writing every word in lowercase the way you always do here and see if you can do it. If you can, then there is hope for Cambodians with respect to changes of habit and behaviour.
Khmer Big Tradition Event.
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Adult Magazine Zone
http://www.ezineporn.blogspot.com
some of us on think technical or typos stuff on blog is not important either, so i reserved the rights to write legibly with no focus on grammatic errors, etc. for your info, i'm not writing a book nor taking english 101 in college, and i'm not trying to please any one on the blog, you know! so, stop harrassing me with the technical stuff here, would you? thanks a million, my dear!
oh, by the way, for me, it is the expression of an idea(s) that counts, as i don't judge the book by its cover anyway, you know! cheers!
shut up! anonymous people don't care how they write on blog. they just express their opinions as much as you expressed yours, really! why waste our time on people's technical errors, especially on blog like this. please smarten up! this is a blog, not an english grammar class, you know!
Well, then don't expect those beggars to change and look for jobs and stop blaming them for trying to make a living by begging.
Cambodia is a country that begs for foreign assistance anyway so why can't its citizens beg from each other?
Perhaps we all should not burn incense its a waste of money (A LOT) and its polluting the air?
IMO tradition/religion/culture is what shape the very foundation of one nation, its has nothing to do with the poor or the rich.
Poor guys in this blog. The culture of Khmer during Phchum Ben is to throw the sticky rice with seasame and other biscuts or cakes with water to the evil spirit which they don't know who they are or it can be one of their famly. The beggars outside of the pagoda will not take this foods because they all realised that the foods is for the evl spirit. They are waiting to get some money from the donors, but some of them take the donation to drink or to smoke which some donors are not happy to do so.
Don't be so doll. You have known everything by the KI website, just considered that beggars in Cambodia due to dictatorship, corruption, human rights abused and selling territory with brain to foreigners such as yuon and others.... Okay, understand, think about it....
Khmer in Phnom Penh
Bach (Throw)bay Ben A Chkuot. QA Chhkuot radical buddhists! I am also a Buddhist but I have never believed and Practised thee Chuot Bach Bay.
Think to the poor and the poor peasants who work hard before you pract6ise the AH Chkuot " Bach Bay Ben!"
Never believe in the AH PRET. PRET MAE VEA! Fucking Pret!
PUOK AH Bach Bay Ben and People who believe in Pret are Stupid people. They believe without using their brain to make critical thinking. STUPID!
Ah phleu khmer 2:13 and 2:17 PM. You are not real Khmer as you claimed here, you are the ones who is so stupid and silly. You don't believe what the Khmer belief which is what religious led them to follow. If you don't, no need to respect your parent who created your head to be a fake Khmer nation. Even the development countries are also respecting their ancient belief as Christian, Muslim. So only a couple of you who are yuon or ah konn khmean pouch which your parent delivered you in vain . Okay, ah stupid and silly. remember this culture is not rich people in Cambodia commit now, it has been long time ago which I also did not know the beginning of it.
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