The Khmer Rouge and the Buddha's prophecy

Warrior Blood said...

I did read about Buddha's Prophecy; here is a version which match the Khmer Rouge era:
"There will be a very noisy thunder coming from the east. The overseer of the country will cross his arms and cry, shrimps lay their eggs on top of mountains, and white crows patiently wait under reeds. Bodhi trees are about to take roots, poisonous cobras make their nests, buffaloes are in hiding so they can hone their horns, and Garudas (Mythological bird) fly and search to destroy their nests. Birds lay eggs in waters, crows carry Phlè Lvear (cherry-like fruit) and scatter them all over the country. At the sight of the fruits people pick them up for savings. Only in the future will the truth be revealed to them. Angry gray monkeys practice fighting techniques, only when they see trotting horses will they go hiding; long neck white herons are showing off, claiming they know exactly how many fish there are in the water. Herons are hunting non-stop in the vast plain, disregarding the fearless roar of a lion, as they catch fish in the water without pity. Female tigers hunt in the cemeteries, hiding and waiting for Buddhism to come back. Only when thunders roar in all directions, will tigers come out of the forest.This is near the Mid-Way of the Buddhist Era".

Due to shortage character allowed in the comment section, otherwise I would share the translation meaning of the riddle. It is subject to controversy.

Here is the interpretation from what I have read:

The “very noisy thunder coming from the east” as the Khmer Rouge launching a major offensive on the Lon Nol’s regime from the Vietnam direction. Shrimps laying eggs on the top of mountains are out of the ordinary, reversing all facts of life like the Khmer Rouge doing everything completely out of the norm. White crows represent good people as opposed to black crows that represent the Pol Pot’s people. Therefore, the phrase “white crows patiently wait under reeds” would indicate that the people were waiting for the Lon Nol’s government to collapse. The sentence that said “poisonous cobras make their nests” would mean that the Pol Pot’s people started to win the war and held on to their occupied territories. “Garudas fly and search to destroy their nests” would mean that airplanes were flying and searching to bomb and destroy the Khmer Rouge. The next riddle about the crows carrying “Phlè Lvear” (cherry-like fruit) and scatter them all over the country),” has been interpreted among some Cambodian communities as the era where the Khmer Rouge committed their atrocities. In order to understand this riddle, it is necessary to understand the meaning of the word Phlè Lvear first. The fruit is round with a smooth exterior appearance. It looks very appealing to the eyes. Its size is about that of a Bing Cherry. Its color changes from green-yellow to red when it is ripe. When the fruit is opened up, gnat-like insects fly out of it. Traditionally in Cambodia, when one calls a person pretty like a Phlè Lvear, it means that the person is beautiful only on the outside but very rotten in the inside. Therefore, “Crows” is interpreted as the Pol Pot’s people because they dressed up in black like a crow; “carry Phlè Lvear” is interpreted as the Khmer Rouge (who are Red Khmer like a ripe Phlè Lvear) who sound and act very friendly and compassionate externally, but in reality they are evil to the core; “and scatter them all over the country” is interpreted as the Khmer Rouge carrying their evil missions and brainwashing the people all over the country.
“At the sight of the fruits people pick them up for savings” would indicate that at first when the Khmer Rouge entered Phnom Penh people were welcoming them. “Only in the future will the truth be revealed” means that the Khmer people would find out about the true intentions and characters of the Khmer Rouge only later on. “Angry monkeys practice fighting techniques, only when they see trotting horses will they go hiding” would seem to indicate that the Khmer Rouge were preparing to fight against the Vietnamese but they would flee the moment they saw the enemy’s tanks and fighting forces . “Female tigers hunt in the cemeteries” would probably mean the wives were looking for their dead husbands who were executed by the Khmer Rouge. “Hiding and waiting for Buddhism to come back” would indicate that people were longing to practice Buddhism again.

As demonstrated in the above riddles, it is impossible to interpret the true meaning of the messages if the events have not yet happened.
--------------------------------
Anonymous said...

Two things are certain, the first two of the four predictions came true. That is something that can't be contested. This prediction was made far in advance of Khmer loss of Kampuchea Krom. Prey Nokor of Kampuchea Krom had its root dated back since the first kingdom of Funan in 1st century. It was he cradle of Khmer civilization. In 1949, Prey Nokor, along with 26 other provinces of Kampuchea Krom came crashing down. In 1949, France yanked it out from the hands of Khmer and gave to Vietnam to create a new nation of south Vietnam. This was very devastating for all Khmer. It was beyond the control of Khmer king and the Khmer politicians of those days. It was a curse that meant to be. A part of Khmer was separated. This was the first part, then came the second part. Phnom Penh was dissolved as in eroded away, or no longer has life. In April 17, 1975, Khmer Rouge regime took control of the city. A population of over half a million were being forced evacuated to the country side leaving no one behind. What was to follow in the next for 4 years were unimaginable orgy of killings that reduced the Cambodia populations to about 8 millions. Khmer hit bottom hard. The third prediction is still remain to be seen. At this time, Thailand appears untouchable. If the prediction is correct, it will be a matter of time. What will this mean for the nation of Thais? One thing for sure, there are many signs of cracks within the government systems. The level of polarity is greater. And the final prediction may bring peace and happiness for the nation of Angkor. Cambodia appeared to have gone through the worst. We hope the curse is being lifted. Not too many nation in world have gone through many centuries of downfall and live to tell the story about it.