Contemporary Cambodian Buddhist Traditions: Seen from the Past

Thompson, Ashley

Abstract

Attentive to the oxymoron of its title, this chapter looks for insight into the contemporary moment through an extended examination of traditions, or symptoms, rooted in the past. Accordingly, the chapter explores a series of transformative periods of Cambodian history as a means of sketching a description of the distinctive traits of contemporary Cambodian Theravada Buddhist traditions. These include the assimilation of Buddhism with the state embodied by the monarch, (dis)investment in language, temples as sites of sociopolitical organization or disruption as it were, and the recurrent denaturing of Buddhism even, though not only in attempts to restore the religion’s supposed authenticity.

Citation

Thompson, A. (2016). Contemporary Cambodian Buddhist Traditions: Seen from the Past. In M. Jerryson (Ed.), The Oxford Handbook of Contemporary Buddhism. Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199362387.013.32

• Acceptance Date: Mar 22, 2025
• Publication Date: Dec 5, 2016
• Deposit Date: Feb 26, 2016
• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Book Title: The Oxford Handbook of Contemporary Buddhism
• ISBN: 9780199362387
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199362387.013.32