New Remain of Buddha Arrives In Cambodia

Tin Sokhavuth

Thousands of Buddhist monks and Buddhist followers gathered at Athareus pagoda on top of Oudong hill to celebrate the arrival of what to be believed as the new remain of Buddha. (Photo: supplied)

Seng Somony, spokesman for the Ministry of Religions and Cults, told Khmer Times on Monday that thousands of Buddhist monks and Buddhist believers were gathering at Athareus pagoda on top of Oudong hill to welcome the arrival of what to be believed as another remain of the Lord Buddha, the founder of Buddhism.

“On Sunday, I and other representatives from our ministry went to Athareus pagoda. But not for the celebration to welcome the arrival of what to be believed as another remain of the Lord Buddha, it was for the inauguration of a new monastery. At that time, we saw a lot of people gathering over there for the arrival of what they believed to be the remain of the Lord Buddha,” said the spokesman.

However, Mr. Somony said that the government did not aware about this news at all, so no one could confirm whether the remain was from our real Buddha or not.

Nevertheless, the celebration of the arrival of the remain and the inauguration of the new monastery happened at the same time without conflict, and many people enjoyed both events.

“Both events happened smoothly at the same time. We saw monks from Sri Lanka participate in our inauguration of the new monastery too,” added Mr. Somony.

Although the celebration of the arrival of the remain was not officially recognized by the government, Mr. Somony said that the government respects the freedom of belief for all citizens, as inscribed in the Human Rights, on the condition that the belief was not harmful or against the law.

According to Mr. Somony, Cambodia has already an official remain of the Lord Buddha since 1951 when Indian government signed an agreement with Cambodian government, led by the King Father Norodom Sihanouk, to deliver a remain of the Lord Buddha to Cambodian people.

The spokesman also said that, in Cambodia, 95% percent of the population was Buddhist believers, the rest were Christians, Muslim, and Taoist etc. He added that despite many religions coexisting in the country, there was no conflict of faith at all – all Cambodian people from different religions live together in a very peaceful manner.

Experts say after his death, Buddha’s remains were cremated, and it became Buddhist tradition. Buddha’s remains after the cremation were distributed to many Buddhist countries around the world. The passing away, or the final nirvana, of the Buddha happened in 483 B.C on a full moon day in the month of May. This event is known as “Vesak.”

The Buddha or “enlightened one” was born with the name Siddhartha Gautama in a large clan called the Shakyas in Lumbini (today Nepal) in the 6th century B.C. His father was king who ruled the tribe.

Regarding Buddha’s teaching, the Dalai Lama is one of the greatest preachers of Buddhism. As for him, the big question about Buddha’s teaching is how to live happily, and free from suffering.

“From the moment of birth, every human being wants happiness and does not want suffering. Neither social conditioning nor education nor ideology affect this,” wrote the Dalai Lama on his website.