ការអប់រំ​ (Education)

Buddhism as an education in Cambodia

Why Cambodian takes Buddhism as an education? Because, Buddhism has been a way of life and the state of religion in Cambodia, the people took the Wat(temple) as their school and home or refuge. They thought that, the Wat was not only the moral-religious center of village communities, but served important educational, cultural, literature; traditional and social system functions as well. Buddhism were the Temple be a symbol, is very close with Khmer society. Until recent times, the temples were the main centers of learning with schools and libraries where the Khmer culture and language was preserved and transmitted from generation to generation. And also served as culturally and environmentally-sensitive focus on people-centered development that included indeed featured social safety nets for the poor, destitute, and needy.

An education in Cambodia the Buddhist monk is the importance for educational in Khmer society and traditional. And also the Buddhist monks almost teaching the doctrine to laypeople and young (children), Khmer people taking the Buddhism as own religion and taking to the three triples gem has the Buddha, Dhamma and Sangha as refuge. Same place before doing an education the lay peoples has asking the five precepts or the eight precepts to the Buddhist monk. And then the monk given the precepts to laypeople’s and then after that, giving the Buddha Dhamma talk to all of them. For Khmer society the Buddhist monks’ forward motion or forward development walked together with both secular way and religious way in Khmer society and social class.

Buddhism as an education in Cambodia is teaching to the people only a good way and to avoid the bad way, to be good peoples and members for society, to have a good behavior and principle.  How to living with each others, to understand between group of peoples and living together in society and making-peace with way of life. To follow the teaching of the Buddha, as the principle, rule of life. Do not to do any evil and the middle way (eightfold path). If all the human beings followed the Buddhist teaching of the Middle way or the Noble eightfold path that leading to enlightenment (Athangikhamagga ariyasacca) may these entire the world be peaceful and happiness. For example the human beings should understand the middle way that the paths leading to develop the situation of human attitudes and principle, good conduct, as under.

The eightfold path is:

1. Right understanding               Wisdom  (Panna)

2. Right thought

1. Right speech

2. Right action                 Moral (Sila)

3. Right livelihood

1. Right effort

2. Right mindfulness                         Concentration ( Samadhi)

3. Right concentration

To see all things rightly based on the Buddha’s wisdom, which discerns and understands the principle of the reality of all existence. Begins with the intuitive insight that all beings are subject to suffering and it ends with complete understanding of the true nature of all things. Since our view of the world forms our thoughts and our actions, right view yields right thoughts and right actions. Right Understanding leads to Wisdom, Sammāditthi accepting Buddhist teachings. “The Buddha never intended his followers to believe his teachings blindly, but to practice them and judge for themselves whether they were true.”

The main aims of the Buddhist education:

1. Ordain to the (samanera) novices and (Samaneri), to encourage someone to enter the monkhood.

2. To advice the young people’s be a good people for society and to abstain from gambling, gamester, drugs and drink alcohol that thing makes us to lose one’s memory or to  do any evil (negative actions) in society.

3. To teach the hold history of Buddhism for young people to get some knowledge and to useful for daily life.

4. To practice the dhamma, train mind and promote good habits, help to develop their habits in society.

5. To improve self confidence and realize one’s self.

6. To preserve the culture, traditional and literature in the country.

7.  To promote and propagate the Buddhism to around the world.

8. To develop the young people in society.

9. To correct the human behaviors and to encourage the young people in society.

10. To have attitude, good conduct, moral, principle of life for young peoples in society and to give up the bad conduct in society.

11. To reduce the poverty and destitution of people in society.

12. To learn more knowledge and share knowledge to others in society.

The Buddhist education, almost the Buddhist monks have a duty forward in society, that is a very important for monks today. To care about the people in societies and helpful for children to develop the human recourse and quality of human right.  In society, that they need to improves of human mind.  If they don’t have education they will less or lock of knowledge, they can’t do anything to be better in daily life. Because, we are want more than our think.

Aims of Buddhist education

The aim of Buddhist Education is always teach only right way to the peoples to be good members of society. And education is one of the strongest enabler for young people to take control of their lives and make positive choices. We recognize the value of both formal and informal education and engage in a variety of education projects that respond to the needs of a particular community. These projects give young people the tools they need to create change in their own lives and in their communities.

Why education it is important for us!

Actually, education is the key to develop the human resources and the quality of human right, that the society they need the quality of people to work hard, skill and honest. Education it can change a people from generation to generation or new version, it mean that make a people better than before. To learn more things, get more experience and knowledge in our life. If we living without education and knowledge in our life does not living with meaningful or peaceful life. Therefore education is very important for us and also a way to correct the human behaviors and principle of life and be a good person in society, that they needful.

The role of Buddhist education in present worlds

Now we look at the society today, between the secular way and religious way of view, all both go together. Education as participate in present world is not only Buddhist monks in Cambodia. All Buddhist monks around the world come to participate with the people, and both joined together in societies. To discusses and find out a good point to make surely, to plan and to solve the problems in societies. Here’s event of society have most of problems, that problems make from a bad person that they lose of education and lock of knowledge. There are participators they need to improve the people to be good people for society.  A good society according to Buddhism is one in which the majority of people, or all people, are good people. And each of those good people must be good from within. If each person trains and improves himself from within, the society will improve on its own.

As time went on, and political, economic and cultural systems became more complex, the school system played an increasingly important role in providing a suitable education for the changing society, and the state became more involved in organizing education. Education must address social needs. We must build people into good citizens who perform their work of choice efficiently, respect the rights of others, and are mindful of their rights. Education must address needs in terms of development of the individual, preparing the individual to live in the world. That is, education must build people who have a respect for their own honor.

Problems of Education in Cambodia today

Education under French colonization, most programs were adapted from French. Education during PolPot regime went down to almost its zero point. Train the young to sing, praise and obey the Organization. After PolPot regime, education progressed slowly due to civil wars and genocide period.

1. 1.      Regional factor

Schools are old and not enough; Roads are very difficult to travel.  Students living far away from schools are not accessible with them. The enrollment of students keeps decreasing due to their poor ling condition and lack of transportation.

1. 2.      Personal or family factor

Educational value is not given by the poor. They Lack of physical and emotional support for poor students. More work and pressure make the poor lose interest in their education. The inequality between man and woman in education still appears.

1. 3.      School factor

Lack of updated materials: course books, tape recorders, computers, and so on. Teacher low salary, corruption and a limit number of the teachers, Poor school management and school policy.

1. 4.      Government factor

Low government fund spent on education system. Corruption on the educational fund raised from the other countries.

As a country still recovering from continuous wars that destroyed almost everything, there is still a long way before it can become a fully developed country. Consequently, many issues are expected, and the most important of all is corruption. This is not just a small problem that happens only in some minor parts of the government or at a few places; the corruption in Cambodia is happening everywhere, from the top elites to the small kids who have just enrolled for a few years in primary school. In fact, corruption occurs so frequently that it almost becomes a culture trend for Khmer people, imprinting a deep impression in their brains and to the later generations as well. Apart from being a country full of corruption, Cambodia is also a very poor country.

 According to the statistic, 80% of the population live on less than US$2 a day, and a teacher’s average salary is only US$30 per month, and not all of Cambodian teachers live on their own; most of them have families to support, kids to feed, and the monthly bills of electricity and water to pay, and with the inflation happening frequently in the country, being a teacher is not adequate. Therefore, most of them have to find jobs elsewhere such as making their own businesses, opening extra-time classes and so on. While extra-time classes are only promising for science and Khmer literature teachers, teachers who teach social subjects are not very likely to have a chance. Consequently, in class, they have to directly violate the rule and sell papers, either lesson papers or test papers, to their students. In fact, they can disobey the law openly and easily that the law seems to be only for show; in other words, it’s called, ‘Enacted law without implementation’

Solution of education

First, Fund is necessarily needed to achieve the plans for development. More schools and road need to be built and reconstructed. Government should provide poor students with shelter where it is close to schools. Doing so, the enrollment will be remarkably increased.

Promote educational value to the poor. Parents should pay more attention on children education: providing emotional and physical support. Equal chance on education should be provided to all women as stated in Woman Rights.

Provide money to buy new materials. Teacher’s salary needs to be increased. Program “Teacher’s Centre” should be taken into account. School management and school policy should be reinforced. Increase fund to develop education system. Build up idea of honesty and self-righteousness.

Buddhist education and organization in Cambodia

During the French colonial period, Buddhist Temples served as cultural and social centers for Khmer people. When French colonists desired to replace Khmer alphabets with Latin ones, a riot led by monks during the 1940s erupted against the French intention so the Khmer alphabet remains in existence until today. During King Norodom Sihanouk’s leadership, he created a philosophy of Buddhist socialism where pagodas and villages helped each other.

In Khmer society today there are two ministries of education. One is the Ministry of religious and the Ministry of education young and sport. The Buddhist education is organized by the ministry of religious. Those who hold power organizes education in accordance with the project of human values, social quality, human resource, human right and to be a good conduct and principle of life. Almost they educate follows the Buddhist teaching to being in the middle way of life. They respect to the rules of behavior for Buddhists and law to be correctly and justice for oneself and others in societies.

  Now Buddhist education is very close with the ministry of education young and sport as the course of study before the Buddhist monks only studied Pali class and Dhamma that the teaching of the Buddha. But now they have ability to study as the same secular way includes all 12 subjects for studying. This is the kinds of education between both, to show that the education in Cambodia is very similar to each other in society today.

In societies in which organized by the state, those who hold power organizes education in accordance with the economic and political ideals they adhere to. For example, whether they will make learning compulsory, what is to be taught, what is not to be taught, how much the state will control education, how much the private sector will be allowed to organize education according to its own ideals, what subjects will be learned, whether education is closed or open, how much democracy there will be in schools, who has the right to teach, who has the right to learn on the more advanced levels all are defined by political and economic ideals.

We can see that the Cambodia government is unlikely to cease taking part in organizing education, as the leaders believe that: 1. the state must be the spearhead of development; the state organizes education so in order to develop its work force appropriately. 2. The state is a better agency than private enterprises for bringing about equality in education, which leads to social equality. 3. National security can be better preserved if the state organizes and controls education.

Now Khmer society is concentrating on bringing the economy up to par with developed countries. Since Cambodia is a late comer, the state has had to play a major role in organizing education. It has had to lay the foundations for both basic and advanced education, which has meant a greater economic investment.

The organization of education for economic goals as done nowadays has caused the educational system to stray further and further from Buddhism and forced the state to take closer hold of the reins of education.

The truth of that activity and proper way to do those activities according to Buddhism or Khmer Buddhist rituals

1. Bon Makha Puja in March conduct in the full moon day of 3rd lunar month to commemorate the day of 2,500 Bhikkhus (they were all enlightened and directly ordained by the Buddha) met fortuitously on the full-moon day, and Sakyamuni expounded the PATIMOKHA, the rules of the order at the Veluvana temple.

2. Bon Chol Chnam Thmey (Sangkran) or Khmer New Year in April conduct in mid-April, Buddhist New Year based on lunar calendar of 5th month. Khmer New Year festival allows everyone to concentrate on the experiences of past year life to sort them out as precious lessons for the new coming year. This occasion also celebrate Khmer Tradition including traditional games, folk dances and other performances.

3. Bon Visakha Puja in May conduct to homage and honor the Sakyamuni Buddha’s Birthday, Enlightenment, and Parinibbana on the full moon day of 6th lunar month.

4. Bon Chol Vasa in July conduct to support the Buddhist monks for his 3 months of rain-retreat or Buddhist Lent to fully study and practice the Dhamma.

5. Bon Pchum Ben Day in September conducts to remembering relatives who have passed away as well as to earn merits for themselves by observing Dhamma and offering materials to their parents, elders and pure people such as Buddhist monks.

6. Bon Chenh Preah Vasa or Pavoranakam in October conduct to appreciate the fulfillment of Buddhist monks and laypeople that completed their 3 month rain-retreat practice of the Dhamma.

7. Bon Kathina Dana or Saffron Robes Offering during October conduct to offer Saffron Robes to Buddhist monks who have successfully graduated their 3 month rain-retreat of Dhamma practices during Vasa. This offering is limited by an exact time because laypeople can conduct only one month counted from the first day of Buddhists out of Lent.

8. Money-Flower Gathering or Fund-raising in December conducts to raise fund to use for community improvement as well as help those destitute conditions, poor families and orphans in Cambodia.

Khmer Buddhist of life

Khmer Buddhist they believe to the kamma/ Vipāka (action and result) good kamma and bad kamma. They believe that, if do good receive well, do evil receive evil. They lived with the simple of life. They follow the middle way or the teaching of the Buddha.  They participated in all formal village festivals, ceremonies, marriages, and funerals. They also might have participated in ceremonies to name infants and in other minor ceremonies or rites of passage. Monks did not lead the ceremonies, however, because that role was given to the achar, or master of ceremonies; the monk’s major function was to say prayers of blessing. They were often healers and, in traditional Khmer culture, they were the practitioners whose role was closest to that of modern psychiatrists. They might also have been skilled in astrology. The monk traditionally occupied a unique position in the transmission of Khmer culture and values.

Buddhism has played an essential role in the lives of’ Khmers, both rural and urban. The core teachings of Lord Buddha put emphasis on good deeds, accumulation of merits and peacemaking. Observing the ten precepts or the eight precepts and the five precepts is how Khmer people dedicate their souls and meritorious deeds to their country. From the past until present day, Buddhist monasteries have served many functions such as social, spiritual, moral, cultural and educational services. In addition, monasteries provide retreat centers for the old people, recreational centers, meeting places, rest areas for travelers, orphanages, and funeral homes. Buddhism has contributed to building Khmer culture, diversifying its characteristics for Khmer people in their daily lives.

Advantage of education and un-advantage of education

 Having Buddhist an education is as having principle of life. The advantages of having Buddhist education is to develop oneself and to promoting the quality of human beings. The peoples are good people in society. Because Buddhism teach to peoples only a good way and good deed to useful for daily life.  Education can change people who are doing know before, to know more and learn more things. People who are don’t known before to know more things. Having education is as dispel darkness. We are accumulating the merit for oneself and wisdom. To correct human behavior, moral, good conduct and peace makes living in societies. To makes a person be encourage in the groups of people.  Having an education will allow you a better chance of getting a job that pays an above minimum wage. Learning is the most powerful tool in the world. The more you know the better you get along in the world. Unless you have a decent education jobs will be scarce and you will struggle for the rest of your life trying to make ends meet. Youth these days need to know the consequences of not finishing high school. School drops will attend is the Hard School of Knocks. Which are the bad experiences in life that will occur if you don’t know? Ignorance which means not knowing will occur if you don’t stimulate your mind with what’s important.

To survive you must have knowledge and money.  Education is wonderful and with every turn of it you learn something interesting.  For an example of how you can help others by what you know, but also learn from others. It keeps your mind active and on the ball. As we age (and we all do) unless you keep your mind active you will have a poor quality of life. Knowledge keeps you alive and young. There is also the knowledge of life. Some people who have never had the opportunity for a fine education can be wiser than the ones that have a good education because they have learned much from life the hard way. Education is wisdom and having an education and closing your eyes and heart around you is the first turn to ignorance of the mind.

Conclusion

Buddhist Education in Cambodia is to show the culture and traditional of Cambodian. And the purpose is to promoting the quality of human beings, human resource, and human rights. We need to improve human mind and to be good members of people in societies. It’s reducing to the poverty and destitution. All education in Cambodia that unique is to control the human behavior and human mind, do not to do any evil, and always to do good things, be good people for oneself and others in societies.

Learn more things, know many things in life and dispel darkness of life, to living with the meaningful life. Education is the way to dispel of darkness. In all Buddhist education in Cambodia are to cultivate of human mind and need the value of peoples in societies. It’s responsible of their duties of living being in society. The purpose is to correct oneself and be responsible own self before doing something. Should have principle of life, when you living with others in society. Education is the best for all peoples in the world. If you live without education as you live without knowledge and wisdom. Because education is the root of life or the way to show you that what is should be adopt and what is should be avoid. When you understand your life will be free and not be confuses in your life.