Maha Ghosananda leading a dhammayietra in Cambodia
The Dharmayietra (“Pilgrimage of truth”) peace march, led by our late Samdech Prah Maha Ghosananda, is a very significant step toward our ultimate goal, but the laity community needs to be able to gather momentum to push for greater social mobilization onto other fronts such as empowerment of the dispossessed, building capacity in defending human and citizen rights, promoting democracy, gaining equitable sharing of resources, and lay the foundation for community organizing, and most importantly waging public campaign to galvanize citizen movements which in due time will be capable of simultaneously stand up and say “NO” to the overreaching power of the establishment.
Wednesday, April 14, 2010Op-Ed by NEAY KRUD’TH
At a time when Cambodia’s socio-economic and political climate continue to decline and increasingly threatens our existing social order, the Khmer Buddhist laity and the Sangha communities are holding on to each other while bracing for impact. We are wandering what the future holds while desperately scanning the horizon for a small glimpse of hope.
Even the prediction might not even be completely accurate, as French mathematician Henri Pointcaré said, “It is far better to foresee even without certainty than not to foresee at all”. To mitigate our fear of uncertainty we need to free up our mental capacity to exercise clear reasoning and analysis.
First, one thing is certain ― the future is almost always different from the past. Going back to Buddha’s Three Characteristics of Existence ― anicca, dukka, anatta, the world is a vanity fair full of changes and transformations. There is birth, death, growth, and decay, combination and separation.
Second, change always comes from something. Some changes are earth-shattering, others might be subtle. Change could be positive or negative. However, its impact is nevertheless disruptive. Change is preceded by a sign of structural shift in social, economic, and politics of a country. One must be diligent and alert to be able to recognize and make sense out events occurring around one’s daily life. These structural shifts signal an end of the “old”, a transformation that is disconcerting to people because it is time filled with unknowns and discontinuities as the “old” goes away and people have not made up the “new”. When that happens, a nation falls into what is metaphorically termed “Badlands”.
The author without a doubt believes that, by now, all of us Khmers have seen what “Badlands” are like ― our ancestors and present-day Khmers together we have endured life in the “Badlands” for the past 700 years or so, since the collapse of Angkor, and sadly enough we see no end in sight. In the “Badlands” the old certainty of the past are being scattered like leaves before a storm. There are confusing landscapes which can be more hostile than they are beautiful, more threats than opportunities. The impact of the latest change left us stunned and profoundly disoriented, and it remains to be seen whether, collectively we will emerge, from the “Badlands” with our values, identity, freedom, and security fully restored.
Clawing our way out of the abyss by steering the “Middle Path” has proven ineffective in the face of brutal internal and external assaults on our citizen’s liberty, our nation’s sovereignty and security. An urgent and appropriate level of response, by our centuries-old community of Buddhist laity and Sangha to the challenge of the future, should be delicately crafted, because an “extraordinary problem demands extraordinary solution”.
The author, in his diminutive status as a layperson has no intention of challenging the traditional Buddhist edicts that have prevented the Sangha community from actively promoting constructive social and political change in Cambodia for the preceding centuries. However, the gravity of our collective suffering at this moment in our history warrants the re-adaptation of the Khmer Theravada Buddhist worldview, in order to optimize the bounds in which the Sangha is allowed to participate in the duties of life, without being trapped in ambiguities and contradictions vis-ā-vis the duties of Dharma. The author firmly believes that there is a great possibility that the Sangha could do much more through direct and indirect non-violent actions to help advance our collective struggle toward restoring the dignity, equality, justice and security for all Khmers.
The Dharmayietra (“Pilgrimage of truth”) peace march, led by our late Samdech Prah Maha Ghosananda, is a very significant step toward our ultimate goal, but the laity community needs to be able to gather momentum to push for greater social mobilization onto other fronts such as empowerment of the dispossessed, building capacity in defending human and citizen rights, promoting democracy, gaining equitable sharing of resources, and lay the foundation for community organizing, and most importantly waging public campaign to galvanize citizen movements which in due time will be capable of simultaneously stand up and say “NO” to the overreaching power of the establishment.
The best living example of such power tactics, currently being unfold on the world stage, is the nervous reaction displayed by the Chinese government brought to bear by the loving kindness campaign activities of the Dalai Lama, the spiritual leader of Tibet. The Dalai Lama is a mere “refugee” Buddhist monk, with no significant financial or military asset to speak of, or to be considered a threat to any person or any country, let alone China. Yet, he appears to cause the Chinese authority great pain and embarrassment and keep them on-edge every time he travels and makes speeches around the world to teach Dharma, and to raise global awareness of the plight of the Tibet people under the Chinese rule, and to solicit the world’s support for his country’s freedom.
The author would like to leave the foregoing discussion to the readers, and sincerely hope that a vigorous discussion and debate among communities of Khmer Buddhist will ensue until, together, we can see the light at the end of the tunnel.
Even the prediction might not even be completely accurate, as French mathematician Henri Pointcaré said, “It is far better to foresee even without certainty than not to foresee at all”. To mitigate our fear of uncertainty we need to free up our mental capacity to exercise clear reasoning and analysis.
First, one thing is certain ― the future is almost always different from the past. Going back to Buddha’s Three Characteristics of Existence ― anicca, dukka, anatta, the world is a vanity fair full of changes and transformations. There is birth, death, growth, and decay, combination and separation.
Second, change always comes from something. Some changes are earth-shattering, others might be subtle. Change could be positive or negative. However, its impact is nevertheless disruptive. Change is preceded by a sign of structural shift in social, economic, and politics of a country. One must be diligent and alert to be able to recognize and make sense out events occurring around one’s daily life. These structural shifts signal an end of the “old”, a transformation that is disconcerting to people because it is time filled with unknowns and discontinuities as the “old” goes away and people have not made up the “new”. When that happens, a nation falls into what is metaphorically termed “Badlands”.
The author without a doubt believes that, by now, all of us Khmers have seen what “Badlands” are like ― our ancestors and present-day Khmers together we have endured life in the “Badlands” for the past 700 years or so, since the collapse of Angkor, and sadly enough we see no end in sight. In the “Badlands” the old certainty of the past are being scattered like leaves before a storm. There are confusing landscapes which can be more hostile than they are beautiful, more threats than opportunities. The impact of the latest change left us stunned and profoundly disoriented, and it remains to be seen whether, collectively we will emerge, from the “Badlands” with our values, identity, freedom, and security fully restored.
Clawing our way out of the abyss by steering the “Middle Path” has proven ineffective in the face of brutal internal and external assaults on our citizen’s liberty, our nation’s sovereignty and security. An urgent and appropriate level of response, by our centuries-old community of Buddhist laity and Sangha to the challenge of the future, should be delicately crafted, because an “extraordinary problem demands extraordinary solution”.
The author, in his diminutive status as a layperson has no intention of challenging the traditional Buddhist edicts that have prevented the Sangha community from actively promoting constructive social and political change in Cambodia for the preceding centuries. However, the gravity of our collective suffering at this moment in our history warrants the re-adaptation of the Khmer Theravada Buddhist worldview, in order to optimize the bounds in which the Sangha is allowed to participate in the duties of life, without being trapped in ambiguities and contradictions vis-ā-vis the duties of Dharma. The author firmly believes that there is a great possibility that the Sangha could do much more through direct and indirect non-violent actions to help advance our collective struggle toward restoring the dignity, equality, justice and security for all Khmers.
The Dharmayietra (“Pilgrimage of truth”) peace march, led by our late Samdech Prah Maha Ghosananda, is a very significant step toward our ultimate goal, but the laity community needs to be able to gather momentum to push for greater social mobilization onto other fronts such as empowerment of the dispossessed, building capacity in defending human and citizen rights, promoting democracy, gaining equitable sharing of resources, and lay the foundation for community organizing, and most importantly waging public campaign to galvanize citizen movements which in due time will be capable of simultaneously stand up and say “NO” to the overreaching power of the establishment.
“Necessity is the mother of taking chances”, Mark Twain.Social change is a complex business. One must changes with it or risks the chance of being left out of the process. Being reasonable is not enough to make change. We all prefer to see the Sangha leads the way in promoting the social transformation rather than the other way around. This way the Sangha is seen as being “relevant” in the consciousness of the laity, and as a consequence fosters more mutual reliance and trust. There will be incentive for both communities ― the Sangha will enjoy bountiful young recruits into its rank, a broadened support base, and a renewed mutual bond; the laity will enjoy the de facto leadership of the Sangha, and the benefit of its ethical and moral guidance. Thus a new solidarity between the two communities is reaffirmed and strengthened in the face of the pernicious enemy of peace and freedom. Together we may be able to achieve what political strategists have been known to say “The first rule of power tactics” is that “power is not only what you have but what the opponent thinks you have”.
The best living example of such power tactics, currently being unfold on the world stage, is the nervous reaction displayed by the Chinese government brought to bear by the loving kindness campaign activities of the Dalai Lama, the spiritual leader of Tibet. The Dalai Lama is a mere “refugee” Buddhist monk, with no significant financial or military asset to speak of, or to be considered a threat to any person or any country, let alone China. Yet, he appears to cause the Chinese authority great pain and embarrassment and keep them on-edge every time he travels and makes speeches around the world to teach Dharma, and to raise global awareness of the plight of the Tibet people under the Chinese rule, and to solicit the world’s support for his country’s freedom.
The author would like to leave the foregoing discussion to the readers, and sincerely hope that a vigorous discussion and debate among communities of Khmer Buddhist will ensue until, together, we can see the light at the end of the tunnel.
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