Theravada-Buddhism in Cambodia

In Cambodia Buddhism takes the majority part but Christianity, Islam and Hinduism are also present to some extent. In many of the villages Buddhist temples are present in Cambodia. Many people from young generation attend the Buddhist monastery at any point of their lifetime. The ‘wat’ i.e. Buddhist temple are usually very colorful in Cambodia.

In Cambodia Theravada-Buddhism was introduced in the 13th century. The religion began to spread under King Jayavarman VII. He made it popular in Cambodia. Ultimately in the 15th century Theravada-Buddhism became state religion. There were many people in Cambodia who denied access to the extravagant Devaraja cult for several centuries. But after Theravada-Buddhism was introduced these people become attracted to this religion.

Most of the Buddhist rituals or rites follow the lunar calendar. Various widely celebrated religious holidays and festivals are there. These are celebrated in all parts of Cambodia. Buddhism in Cambodia seems to be an easy going faith. It always tolerates ancestor also territorial spirit worship. All these are widely practiced in all over Cambodia.

Very often it has been seen that there are rustic altars to the guardian spirits and in the corner of pagodas. There are many Khmer communities who have achars. They share in the spiritual counseling of people. But they do not compete with the monks. Some of the important ceremonies are there who have both animist and Buddhist elements such as funerals, weddings, coming of age, etc. Christianity and Islam are also common in Cambodia in today’s world. At about 500.000 Cham-Muslims are present that belong to the Sunni school while more or less 60.000 Christians can be seen in Cambodia. Most of the Christians are Roman Catholics. In Cambodia nearly all the Chinese are Taoist or Confucianist.