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SIEM REAP, Cambodia--A team of specialists led by the president of Tokyo's Sophia University has excavated the severed upper halves of six Buddhist statues from the Angkor ruins in northwestern Cambodia.
The Sophia University Angkor International Mission, headed by university President Yoshiaki Ishizawa, excavated the statues from a circular moat at the ruins of Banteay Kdei temple on Friday.
About 60 centimeters tall, the statues are believed to have been produced in the late 12th or early 13th century.
Ishizawa and his team have worked to repair and preserve the Angkor ruins, a World Heritage Site. They also excavated Buddhist statues there in 2001, a discovery that brought certain historical events to light, including the fact that Buddhism was suppressed across Cambodia after the death in 1219 of Jayavarman VII, the king who constructed the temple.
The latest excavation found the pieces neatly lined up in the circular moat, which a team member said was "evidence that the people of those days did not lose faith [in Buddhism] despite the oppression."
01/12/2010 Angela Woodall Oakland Tribune (California, USA)
OAKLAND — Buddhists are perceived as being above church politics.
But a bitter five-year battle over an Oakland temple pitted two Cambodian Buddhist organizations against each other and gave rise to restraining orders, threats and allegations of stealing.
The struggle ended Monday afternoon in a nondescript chamber of the California Superior Court on Oak Street with a simple decision that boiled down to one thing: the Oakland Cambodian Buddhist Temple nonprofit has a right to its East 10th Street center and temple.
The center had been taken over in 2005 by the Massachusetts-based International Community of Khmer Buddhist Monks Center.
"We had to endure a lot of pain and suffering to achieve this," said Christina Sam, the daughter-in-law of the center's founder, Sam Son.
"I didn't expect it would take this long," said Christina Sam after she, her husband, Paul Sam, and scores of members gathered in front of an 8-foot gold-hued Buddha statue for the first time since the dispute started.
"I'm very happy. I'm very elated, very ecstatic," said 79-year-old Caray Suy, an original member. Christina Sam interpreted for her.
"We finally got our temple back," Suy added, as other members began removing signs of the Khmer Buddhist Center outside the center.
The feud began in late 2004, when members of the Oakland Cambodian Buddhist Society board of directors decided to transfer ownership of the temple to the International Community of Khmer Buddhist monks. (The Khmer monks have no relationship to the genocidal Khmer Rouge regime that ruled Cambodia from 1975 to 1979.)
The board's decision set off intense opposition among members of the Oakland group, which called the board's decision illegal, and a legal battle ensued between the two groups over the modest, yellow and burgundy three-bedroom bungalow in East Oakland. Each side accused the other of wrongdoing and bully tactics.
Sunthay Sunly boiled down the issues to access and local control of one of the first community-owned Theraveda Buddhist temples in Oakland. "We are not fighting against a person, but for a place for the community to come together," he said. "They lost a lot already."
Son, a refugee who fled the Khmer Rouge, founded the Oakland Buddhist society in 1983. After he was evicted in 2005, Son and three monks moved across the street from the original location, at 5212 E. 10th St., and started the Oakland Cambodian Buddhist Temple. Many of their supporters followed and the battle continued.
Finally, on Tuesday, about 100 people gathered in front of the center, eager to visit the shrine for the first time in years. "Today is the day for us," said Theany Nov.
Not everyone agreed. "We had no choice," William Ley said. He was an original member of the Oakland society but continued on with numerous others from the original location after the Khmer Monks Center took over.
There are still details to be ironed out during the second phase of the trial about damages, after which the Khmer Monks Center would then decide whether to file an appeal, according to its lawyer, G. Robert Woodfin.
David Sternfeld, the Oakland Temple's lawyer, ruled out mediation as a possibility. In the meantime, the dozen or so International Community of Khmer Buddhist monks have to find a new home.
Wednesday, Jun. 24, 2009 By Deborah Calderwood For the Church News Mormon Times
PHNOM PENH, Cambodia -- Chhay Leang Suy, a high councilor in the church's Phnom Penh Cambodia South District, has been approved by His Majesty King Norodom Sihamoni to be an advisor to the president of the National Assembly of Cambodia.
Suy is the first member of the church to hold such a distinguished position in the Cambodian government.
The Honorable Samdeck Akkak Moha Ponhea Chakrei Heng Samrin, President of the National Assembly, is pleased to have a person of Suy's experience and background serving his country.
In his position with President Samrin, Suy will be responsible for advising on city infrastructure, public health services and educational improvement. His term of service expires in July 2013.
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