Phnom Penh

February 11, 2015

Our morning tour was to see the largest Buddhist center and monastery in Cambodia. We first headed to the pagoda where we joined two monks in a chant and blessing. The ten-minute chant was very soothing. The tone, cadence, and acoustics of the room resonated with our bodies. They blessed us by tossing out small, bean-size, jasmine, flower buds. It was a very special experience. We were allowed to take pictures with them, but women were not allowed to touch them or their robe.

Pagoda at the Phnom Penh Buddha Center

Andre with monks

Carolyn’s moment with the monk

Roselie chanting with monks

Our guide today was Tak who is about 40 years old, married, and has two children. He revealed that he was Khmer Rouge and that he was given AK47 and M16 weapons, and trained how to use them. His father was a teacher who was sent back to his village by the Khmer Rouge, to be re-educated. They never saw him again. It seems that ‘re-education’ was just code for taken people away and killing them. His mother looked for him for several years after the Khmer Rouge were defeated. She always thought that she would, one day, see him again.

Lunch hall at the Buddhist Center

Priests getting ready for lunch

Monks gathering food at the nearby village

While most of our group took an ox cart ride, we opted to learn more about the monastery and the life of a Buddhist monk. This monastery currently houses about 400 monks, plus priests and nuns. Many poor families cannot afford to send their children to school nor feed them. So the boys, some as young as 8 years old, may be sent to a monastery where they will be taught the same curriculum as the public schools plus the teachings of Buddha. One can become a monk for a while, and then leave. This is the most common case. Most males want to spend at least one year as a monk. Tak plans to do this for one year as soon as his children are a little older. He may not see his wife or children during that year. Every morning, the monks go to the nearby village and receive [beg] food from the local residents. They return by noon and the food is prepared for lunch. They eat two meals a day: breakfast and lunch. They believe that eating an evening meal creates too much passion that prevents one from thinking and studying clearly. They learn how to meditate as the vehicle to reach enlightened. The peak of enlightenment is a state they call Nirvana.

Statue of a resting Buddha

Tak spent time describing the life and evolution of Buddha, who was the son of a king, but chose to leave the royal court and live with regular people. He became enlightened and then taught. As a side, Tak told us a story of when he was a young boy, when he loved cock fighting. So he would use puppets to playact cockfights. When his grandfather discovered this, rather scolding or hitting him, he took Tak to the Buddhist temple where he learned from the monks how this hurts animals. He never liked cock fights again.

Leaving to tour Phnom Penh in a tuk tuk

Tuk Tuk transportation

King monument

Later in the afternoon we took a tuk tuk ride through the city. The tuk tuk is a motorized version of the traditional rickshaw. Our path took us through the center of town to see the head of state residence, and a statue of the late King Sihanouk. Some admire the king and credit him for saving the country, while others claim he has ‘blood on his hands’ from the Khmer Rouge era. Touring the city in a tuk tuk was not one of our favorite things we’ve done. The city has a case of extreme air pollution. It is the first time that I could feel the pollution affect my breathing, causing me to cough. We all decided to cut this excursion short and head back to the ship. Since only 6% of the population of Cambodia is over 40 years of age, they haven’t experienced the full  impact of all this air pollution. About half the people wear masks to protect themselves.