An Ethnographic Study on the Reconstruction of Buddhist Practice in Two Cambodian Temples: With the Special Reference to Buddhist Samay and Boran(<Special Issue>New Japanese Scholarship in Cambodian Studies)

Abstract

This paper aims to contribute an understanding of the historical experience and current situationof Cambodian rural society by throwing light on changes and reconstruction of Buddhist practicein two temples in the central region of Cambodia. It is well known that the country sufferedextraordinary societal upheaval during the rule of Democratic Kampuchea (1975&#8211;79). However, intensive field research of these changes has been scarce until now. Theravada Buddhism, whichwas declared the state religion since Cambodia's independence from French colonial rule, wasone cultural aspect most harshly suppressed by the regime. All Buddhist monks were forced toreturn to secular life in 1976 and Buddhist activities came to complete cessation during thisera. However, since the collapse of the Democratic Kampuchea regime in 1979, Buddhist practicestarted again spontaneously. This paper, based on long-term rural fieldwork, describes thespecific situation of the demise and rebirth of Buddhist practice in the local community.At the same time, this paper also focuses its attention on the history and actual conditions ofdivision within village Buddhism. In fact, two differing styles of Buddhist practice, which areindicated by local people through the words samay (new/modern) and boran (old/ancient), havebeen observed in the research area. The so-called samay practice, which has its origin in thereformist monks' movement that began in the center of national Sangha in the 1910s, was introducedto one of two temples studied in the 1940s. On the other hand, the other temple studiedupheld traditional practices called boran until the 1960s, but accepted a part of samay practice inits reconstruction process in the 1990s for the first time. In other words, the confrontationbetween Buddhist samay and boran emerges in a more complex manner at present than in prewartimes. This paper analyses local people's varied attitudes toward the division of Buddhistpractice, with careful consideration of the relationship between temples and their communities inlight of the recent socio-economic changes of the local people's lives.