Cambodian Buddhism: History and Practice

The book is structured around the long historical development of Cambodian Buddhism. It begins with the origins of Buddhism in Cambodia, examining Funan, Zhenla, Angkor, Indian religious influence, inscriptions, Buddhist imagery, Mahāyāna elements, Śaiva and Vaiṣṇava contexts, and the religious symbolism of Jayavarman VII’s temple-state. It then discusses the medieval period and the emergence of Theravāda Buddhism after Angkor, paying attention to Thai and regional influences, royal chronicles, monastic traditions, and the gradual formation of a more distinctly Theravāda religious culture. The following chapters analyze territorial, social, literary, and cultic lineages of Cambodian Theravāda, including popular practices, sacred narratives, monastic life, ritual systems, and the relationship between religion and local society. The study then moves into the colonial period, where Buddhism is examined in relation to French rule, monastic reform, the Thammayut and Mohanikay orders, and the tension between traditionalists and modernizers. Subsequent chapters address Buddhism’s role in Cambodian nationalism, anti-colonial politics, and the religious-political transformations of the twentieth century. The final part of the book studies the destruction of Buddhist institutions during the Khmer Rouge period and the gradual restoration of Cambodian Buddhism after 1979, including issues of state control, institutional reconstruction, ideological pressure, and the revival of monastic and lay Buddhist life.