Revival of Cambodian Buddhism Post-Pol Pot : หน้า 6/30

Digest from speech of Ven. Chuon Bunsim Head Office of Pedadogy of the General Inspection for National Buddhist Education of the Kingdom of Cambodia The History of Buddhism and the Revival of Cambodian Buddhism after Pol Pot Regime "Buddhism in Cambodia has become weaker and weaker in the last few centuries due to the upheavals in its history. In Pol Pot’s regime (from 1974-1979) Cambodian Buddhism had almost completely vanished. Thousands of monks were forced to marry and return to the countryside. Most religious buildings were destroyed. As a result of this wholesale destruction, Buddhism had to start from scratch in the 1980’s. Many of the old traditions have been lost During the disastrous period, nothing was done for the construction and development of the nation, but everything was done for the destruction of the nation. Therefore the new government, with empty hands, had to start Theorefore the new government, with empty hands, had to start the rebuilding of the nation from scratch. At that time, there had been much works to be done for the rehabilitation and re-establishment of the country but the rulers never neglected Buddhism. Some temples and places of worship that were destroyed were restored and given back to the monks who, at that time were newly ordained, to look after, maintain the tradition and preserve the Dhamma, which is the root of the Cambodia civilization. If the teachings of the Buddah could be spread all over the world, there would be peace everywhere. Like the Buddha said NATHI SANTI PARAM SUKHAM (there is no another happiness than a peaceful-heart). Digest from speech of the Most Ven. Hai-Yun Jimeng (Taiwan) President of Huayen Monastery The Future of Humanity and of the World The core values on which Western industrial power is based are democracy, social welfare and economic growth. Democracy demands social welfare, for which economic growth is necessary, so if social welfare is the ultimate goal, democracy provides the guidance and economic growth the means for its realization. But the economic sector can only increase the amount of social welfare available through waste and despoliation of the earth’s resources. The depletion of global resources is also generating enormous amount of garbage and contributing to the acceleration of global warming. If this vicious cycle is allowed to continue, it will soon bring our planet to the brink of collapse. Buddhism has had very little to say about this sudden emergence of a sixth civilization, and has played little part in the cultural and social developments that followed it. Now, however the mainstream values of society have become seriously distorted. Not only have they done grave injury to mother Earth, they have also disrupted the harmony of society and damaged the human spirit. In these critical times it is therefore incumbent on all our educated young Buddhists to proclaim to the world: “We have now arrived and henceforth will continue to play a part in the social and cultural progress of humanity. It is our intention to help the human race- establish the core values on which a healthier society can be based.”