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The Khmer Sangha is thus actively seeking a place of its own in the new society
and ways of adapting to new conditions. This ‘aggiornamento’ has been prompted
not only by the consequences of social and economic modernisation, but also by
important new phenomena in the religious life of the country. For the first time in the
postcolonial period the Khmer Sangha has come up against competition from other
religious confessions.
In the 1990s Cambodia became the object of increased
attention on the part of various missionary organisations and schools of preaching.This was facilitated by the tolerance of Buddhism towards other religions, by the lack
of a legal framework in the country to regulate the activity of religious groups and
cults, and also by the policy of the Cambodian authorities who in their growing
concern to attract foreign investment to the country tend to welcome any kind
of activity, including that of religious organisations, which promises to provide
financial aid of one kind or another.
One organisation working in Cambodia which has great financial potential and a
large number of members is
the ‘Suma Ching Hai’ association, which has its head-
quarters in Taiwan. The sect’s founder
Ching Hai has stated openly that Cambodia is
‘an ideal place’ in which to spread her teaching.“ Setting itself the goal of
penetrating into Cambodia, the sect initiated various humanitarian and charitable
activities in l994—95, giving financial aid to build schools and hospitals and
organising educational programmes; it gave large sums of money to support the
charitable activities of the wives of high-ranking officials."
As a result the sect received substantial reductions on the price of large plots of
land in Cambodia, especially in
Kompong Speu province, where it set up its Centre
of Spiritual Renaissance, to the great displeasure of the local population.
The conflict
caused by the sect’s activity became even more serious when it became apparent that
a significant number of its members had entered Cambodia illegally and had circum-
vented the legislation in force when they acquired Cambodian passports. Another
noticeable feature is that most of the followers of the teaching are people of Chinese
origin. There are several reasons for this, but it is clearly part of the process of the
revival of the Chinese community and the restoration of its members to their
previous positions in the Cambodian economy. This process began in the 1990s
and is stimulated by energetic lobbying on behalf of the interests of the Chinese
community in government and political circles. In order to solve the various
problems and to prevent such conflicts in the future
a special committee has been set
up to investigate the activities of the Ching Hai association and to register its
members. The results of its investigations have been considered by the govemment,
which has adopted a resolution stipulating
drastic measures to control the activity of
the sect and to provide security in the region where the religious community is
located. The Ministry of Cults and Religious Affairs has been ordered to exercise
guidance over the activities of the Centre of Spiritual Renaissance. Given the fact
that laws on religiori in Cambodia are in an underdeveloped state this is a first and
very significant step towards the regulation of the activity of religious groups in
Cambodia
Just as active are the Japanese sects and Christian missions which combine
preaching with generous charitable activity. Khmer peasants who come to their
places of worship are given bicycles, motorcycles, agricultural equipment and
financial help.” The standard of living in Khmer villages is extremely low and the
peasants need all the material help they can get, so some of them, for purely prag-
matic reasons, agree to accept another faith, though they continue to go to Buddhist
temples as well.
More than 700 Protestant organisations and hundreds of missionaries are hard at
work all over Cambodia building churches, supplying aid to needy communities and
seeking converts among the traditionally Buddhist population. According to Article
43 of the law regulating religion any religious organisation is forbidden to ‘buy’
converts. However, the government is too poor to provide adequately for the needs of
the population, and people tend to give their allegiance to those who help them
materially. Missionary organisations explain that offering physical help in the form
of clothes and rice to people in need is an expression of God’s love. The head of the
Department of Foreign Relations at the Ministry of Cults and Religious Affairs, You
Davann, says that her department is pitifully understaffed and underfunded and
unable to monitor what she calls the ‘growing trend’ for Buddhist Cambodians to
convert to Christianity."
Without doubt ‘modernisation’ — the economic and socio-cultural changes which
have taken place in Cambodia - has presented the Khmer Sangha with serious
problems and the process of its adaptation to the new situation will be complex, even
ambiguous. The relationship between the process of transformation of Buddhism and
the dynamics of the modernisation of society will depend on many factors and,
indeed, not so much on the Buddhist community itself as on the degree of interest in
its activity shown by different political forces in the country. At present Cambodian
politicians are fully aware of the importance of this question for the future of the
country; they understand completely that there are limits to the process of trans-
forming Buddhism, and that the religious consciousness of the Khmer is not able to
adapt to all the consequences of modernisation.