In August I am planning a trip to Cambodia, one of the great countries where Theravada is preserved.
Here is a link about the trip Venerable Subhuti took to Cambodia last year.
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I attach a book that Nina Van Gorkom wrote in 2000 about her trip there with Sujin Boriharnwanaket.
Dhamma in Cambodia-Copy-Copy.pdf (408.1 KB)
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You should definitely visit the big pa-auk monastery. It is very big and also like a tourist attraction too. The chief donor (mostly only one donor) who is referred to as mahāupasika, is donating a 2.5 KG pure gold Buddha Statue to a sri lanka cettiya this weekend. Many merits for her!
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I arrived in Phom Phen yesterday with my family - skyscrapers everywhere, so different from my first trip almost 25 years ago.
Still human nature never changes and these structures, in any country, are no indication of wisdom.
In Phnom Penh for the next few days Sujin Boriharnwanaket is speaking on and discussing Abhidhamma and the development of saitpatthana.
In the first session over 500 people attended and it shows the appreciation for deep Dhamma. I think that is an indication of wisdom.
I gave a short opening talk and then a senior Bhikkhu who knows Sujin spoke and then the discussion started ( over 3 hours).
On the panel was Sujin and also Buth Savong a well known Dhamma teacher - who was the original facilitator when Sujin last visited in 2000.
In the talk yesterday, among many topics, Sujin spoke about citta- how it is the chief in experiencing. Normally there is immediate interest in the object of citta, or the cetasikas which arise together with citta: So citta although arising every moment is not known. However there needs to be understanding of the nature of citta otherwise its ephemeral nature won’t be seen.
She also spoke about sacca parami and that we need to be truthful about our understanding. The Dhamma is incredibly subtle and takes a long time to properly comprehend. Overestimating our level of understanding means we miss the profundity - and so will go wrong.
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I hope you can get a chance to visit pa-auk in Cambodia… It is a great place to see.
I’ll try to get you a contact number
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I wish but we fly out tomorrow as the children start a new school year next week and stopping over in Bangkok on the way. Today 3 long Dhamma sessions with the last one scheduled to end at 8pm.
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