Cambodia Reflections - Buddha; No Thanks

Please keep in mind some of the things I will comment on are my opinions based on the observations while I was in Cambodia. I am not an expert on their government or on Buddhism. I am a firm believer in the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the freedom it brings. What I observed and what was shared with me while in Cambodia are just that...observations. I believe that Buddha is nothing more than an idol, a symbol of a false religion. I also believe that Jesus wants to see every person in bondage to false gods of all descriptions set free and in fellowship with our Heavenly Father. This is not a message of hate. It comes from a place of love. Before you accuse me of not knowing everything about Buddhism...I admit that I know little of it, but I observed generations of impact on precious people. It really broke my heart to see the grip this belief system has on this country.

I want to add that I went to this country still seeing Buddhist as a peaceful, loving movement. I was surprised by what I witnessed. There are many movements social, political, and religious that look like one thing and when you look closer you see oppression or hate. I saw deep, unflinching oppression while in Cambodia. These are the things that stood out to me.

Strike 1

It was explained to us that the monks we saw out and about were going to the business to ask for money and in return give a blessing. My husband is Italian and it seems a requirement that every Italian family is familiar with the Godfather. In the second Godfather movie, you see how Vito got his start. Another gangster is offering “protection” for a fee in the neighborhood. Of course if you don’t pay you really need protection. Long story short…the monks collecting money in return for a blessing reminded me of the mafia gangsters extorting money from their own communities. This irritated me.

Strike 2

I asked about how a person came to be a monk in the Buddhist religion. As it turns out it is expected and a high honor for the first born to become a monk but evidently anyone can submit themselves to become a monk. The flip side to this, is that the eldest is expected to take on all the wrongs, the curses for his family. I did not get much additional explanation but that seems cruel to me.

Strike 3

Outside each Buddhist family home and business you see these altars. (They may be called something else within the religion, but altar makes sense to all of us.) They have gold on them…whether gold leaf or actual etched gold in these altars…there is gold and in the really fancy ones jewels and such. These are for the ancestors. (I have to apologize - all I imagine when I see them is the Disney movie Mulan, it is my only point of reference folks.) People are going without food, literally starving to death…but they have their tribute to their ancestors.

Strike 4

There is a lot of talk about curses in the Buddhist community. We spoke with several Buddhist that were terrified to upset the spirits and be cursed. Everything is a balancing act. If I do this I have to do something else to make up for it. Sister Regina roughly explained this concept of trying to maintain balance. It looked like she was dancing for a Bollywood movie, but it is very true. This balancing act is impossible. The peace we think we see in Buddhist is more likely them concentrating on how not to screw up in that moment. (Makes those multi-armed and legged statutes make a little more sense…you need more limbs to balance all those curses and such.)

Strike 5

I mentioned in one of my posts about not going to Angkor Wat. I was always under the impression this was a historic site, not an active temple. Not only is it an active temple, there are evil activities transpiring at these sites because of the belief of ancient power there. That is certainly bad enough, but have you ever looked at the iconography, the symbols used in Buddhist culture?

Even the imagery has an evil appearance. We can start with all the stinking snakes, but that would show complete bias on my part for hating snakes. The pictures of the gods and the glyphs used in their art is very disturbing. How can you have a peaceful faith when everything is so tormented? Again, I am not an expert but I know how uneasy my spirit was seeing these images. Even the smaller temples within the city had such violent and tormented imagery. I was mad that this oppression held so many people tightly in its grasp and I felt sorrow for the lack of peace and joy in their lives.

In Christ we have hope, joy, and love…love is the very foundation of all things. There is not a requirement to earn what Christ offers us. It is a gift. Our greatest struggle is often receiving the gift. Praise God we do not have to be fearful of a belief in reincarnation. There is so much freedom in Christ. I wish I could get everyone to realize this and experience it for themselves.