Buddhist Lent Celebrated in Every Pagoda throughout Cambodia

By Soy Sophea

Thursday July 3, marked the beginning of Buddhist Lent—a three-month period marking efforts to renew spiritual vigor. Ideally, Buddhist monks should remain on their temple rounds and many laypeople choose to adopt more ascetic practices.

Meach Pon, Advisor to the Khmer Traditional Council, told the Cambodia Weekly that during the three-month period of Buddhist Lent, monks are only permitted to leave their temples in exceptional cases such as illness in their family, to attend special events and so forth.

Pon said that the Buddhist discipline requires them to be absent from their temple of residence for no more than six days and they must return before dawn on the sixth day without delay. Monks are also not permitted to disrobe until the end of Buddhist Lent.

Buddhist Lent begins on the first full moon day of Asarth [the eighth month in the Khmer lunar calendar corresponding to June and July].

“In ancient times before temples were established, monks often roamed around giving sermons and providing lessons relating to dharma,” Pon said. “But they avoided traveling during the rainy season for fear that they might disturb farmers at work in their fields or destroy their very young crops.”

He said that it was thought that this tradition might have initiated a move towards communal living among Buddhist monks.

Sar Seda, 55, a Buddhist woman, on July 6 brought 2 pairs of candles or Tean Vosa, to be lit in her pagoda at Pursat province. She said that her behavior was a token of respect towards the monks who are representatives of Buddha.

“Every year during Buddhist Lent, my family and I always bring candles to the pagoda where my husband’s parents died and my husband found protection from the Pol Pot regime,” she said.

As usual, she said that this year she brought some food, drink, monk’s robes and one hundred liters of diesel for the pagoda’s electricity generator.

“I do believe that what I have done for Buddha, will be returned to me in the form of happiness and prosperity,” she said pointing with pride to her luxury Land Cruiser. She said she also attended other Buddhist celebrations, as well as Lent.

Sin Sokuna, 53, Seda’s sister-in-law, said that since 2000, she often took food, dried fish, milk, noodles, candles, incense sticks and some money for monks at the pagoda.

Meach Pon indicated that on the first day of Buddhist Lent, Cambodians present the candles and other offerings to the monks following a colorful Tean Vosa parade to their local temples. After reaching the temple, the procession circles the temple three times in a clockwise direction before presenting their items to the monks.

He added that during the three months of Buddhist Lent, monks strictly adhere to Buddhist disciplines, including the performance of rituals, conducting study and discussions of Buddhist doctrine, and providing instruction to Buddhist devotees about the precepts. Buddhist Lent is also considered an auspicious time for young men to enter the monkhood and for laypeople to become ordained temporarily as monks.

Chhorn Eam, Secretary of State at the Ministry of Cults and Religions, told the Cambodia Weekly that Buddhist Lent is a time for Cambodians to present the offerings to monks at each of the 4,135 Buddhist temples throughout the nation.

He said that in addition to the four basic offerings and donations of items that are meant to help in the upkeep of the temple during Buddhist Lent, large candles that are over one meter long and composed of pure bees wax and kerosene are offered to the monks. The monks use the candles and kerosene lamps to keep their temples alight for the three months.

According to Buddhism, he added the lighting of candles and lamps represents the light of wisdom illuminating the darkness of ignorance.