Knowledge in Esoteric Khmer Buddhism

Knowledge in Esoteric Khmer Buddhism


by Ven. Santidhammo

There are two kinds of knowledge distinguished by the Khmer: traditional knowledge and modern knowledge. The Cambodian tradtion, and Theravada in general, placed high value on ‘received knowledge’ rather than ‘speculative knowledge’ and ‘innovative knowledge’ so highly valued by the west.

Khmer tradition valued “knowing by heart” that emphasized memorization of text, meditation on the letters of the text. The texts were recited by heart by monks, and this is still a highly emphasized practice throughout Cambodian communities today. Traditionalists are critical of monks who cannot perform this service. The traditional practice of morning and evening chanting in honor of the Triple Gem, the Patimokh, are strictly observed. [Texts and prayers of such chants include: Kirimeanon, Girimananda; Eiseikili, Isigili; Mohasamay, Mahasamaya; Prumacak, Brahamacakka; Thoammacakka, Dhammacakka.]

What does it mean “to know” the text?

In traditional Khmer Buddhism, special status was associated with primarily meditative prowess which was understood to endow the monk-adept with extraordinary powers or iddhi.

They did not especially value the scholarly, intellectual, speculative knowledge valued by the west, and modernist educational reforms imposed by the French.

The French-inspired modernists emphasized rationalist, scriputralist, demythologized Buddhism. They deemphasized cosmological texts, particularly of the jatakas past lives of the Buddha.

The modernist reformers, following French scholarly traditions, reacted against the pedagogical tradition of rote memorization and recitation of texts, instead emphasizing the translation and interpretation of texts and sermons, between Pali and the vernacular, so that both monks and lay people not only took part in the performance of texts, but more importantly, understood the content of what was being read, preached and recited.

The new emphasis on scriptural Pali texts and monastic behavior, instead of the traditional emphasis on meditation practice and mystical attainment, provoked reaction from the “traditionalists” because it undermined the old values of the “folk,” the “people,” putting emphasis on formal monks.

It undermined the notions of sanctity associated with the older palm-leaf manuscript traditions that featured jatakas and abhidhamma, and yantra (tantra).

The old traditional forms of knowledge were based on Khmer language, the very script of which is sacred in itself to the Khmer tradition, allowing knowledge to plant seeds within the heart/mind, sprout, and grow.

The French introduced textual criticism and scholarship, and advocated a sort of  “pure” “original” Buddhism, as found in the Pali Text, promulgated by the Pali Text Society based in Sir Lanka. This movement created the impression of “uncovering a pure” Buddhism; and that het popular contemporary  Buddhism that the people found around them was “corrupted, decayed,” and therefore  needed to be reformed. The modernist reformers of elite, scholarly Buddhism ensued.

When Buddhist texts were translated from Pali into Khmer, the translators used the common language which stays closer to the ordinary speech, for the purposes of preaching. This indicates the populism of the Theravada movement in Cambodia; whereas the Buddhist reformers emphasized the “high” language for the purposes of scholarship or royalty.

Traditional Buddhism was interested in cosmography rather than psychology. They emphasized community rituals and practices for personal cultivation. The western-inspired modern reforms neglected the cosmological dimensions, and ritual aspects of Buddhism; and moved toward an emphasis on individual, rationality and morality.

The Theravada Buddhists of Cambodia attempted to accommodate modernism while preserving the essence of Buddhism. Their response to the pressure of modernity moved from the traditional interpretations to the modernist interpretations:

·         Cosmology > psychology

·       Community practice > individual practice

·         Jataka stories > academic scholarship

·         Merit making> meditation

·         Superstition> reason

·         Folk/populist>elite

·         Vernacular>Pali

·         Commentaries> suttas

***

Traditional Text Traditions

“Khmer texts were traditionally preserved either in palm-leaf manuscripts or accordion-style  folded paper manuscripts inscribed with ink or chalk. Since few opportunities for education existed outside the monastery, literary and writing were closely linked to religious practice. Writing in itself was highly valued and spiritually potent. Manuscripts were produced with great care, surrounded by rituals for preparing the palm leaves and ceremonies and regulations that had to be observed by monks who inscribed them. Finished manuscripts were consecrated, and the presentation of a manuscripts to a monastery required a ritual ceremony, such as the presentation of spread cloth for wrapping the texts or the donation of robes to the monk-scribe in order to effect the passing of merit to the donor of the manuscript. The quality and efficiency of the manuscript depended in part on the beauty of its written words, which in turn reflected the mindfulness of the monk who inscribed it, since in many cases, written syllables of the teachings were considered as microcosmic representations of Buddha. The production of the manuscript was thus an act of devotion whose quality could be judged according to its clarity, lack of writing errors, and aesthetic character. Imbued with these elements of the Buddha and the Dhamma, of merit and devotion manuscripts were venerated as aural texts, meant to be heard, conferring merit on their listeners and on the monks who read or chanted them, and as written texts, venerated in and of themselves for their written nature. Ideologically committed to new technologies of textual translation and print dissemination, modernists rejected these traditional methods associated with manuscript production as well as other older practices, ritual conventions, and ways of  transmitting knowledge connected with the manuscript culture of learning.” [Hansen, How to Behave.]

Hansen describes the texts as a sort of talisman. “Khmer families, individuals, and monks who owned texts viewed them as sacred objects to be used and maintained for ritual and most important was that, in their minds, texts presented to temples were meant to generate merit: to remove texts donated for this purpose was unthinkable.”

This is why monks concealed the texts from non-Buddhist French colonialists. And also explains why they resisted so strongly the book-print culture imposed by the French and modernist monks.

“A monastery, like the kingdom, was better off – stronger and purer – if it possessed texts. A prevailing view of texts was of physically potent objects that affected the spiritual wellbeing of the individuals who handled them; their exact contents were of lesser importance. Texts were understood to be sacred in much the same way as relics, which embody physical elements of the Buddha. Being in physical proximity or contact with texts, touching them, seeing them, or hearing them, connected one with the Buddha and his teaching devotionally. These acts generated merit first, and led to greater intellectualized forms of understanding only as a secondary aim, if at all; rather, devotional acts generated a different kind of insight, more akin to meditational understanding…”

Penny Edwards said:”Due to their long-standing use as the tangible vehicles of Buddhist teachings or dhamma, palm-leaf manuscripts became objects of sacred power in their own right in the Buddhist societies of Southeast Asia.”

“The preparation, transfer, and maintenance of Buddhist manuscripts involved acts of consecration, dedication, and presentation centering on the notion of the manuscripts intrinsic and accumulated merit.”

Writing in and of itself was highly valued and spiritually potent…surrounded by rituals preparing palm leaves, and ceremonies and rituals had to be observed by the monks who inscribed them.

Esoteric Texts:

Khmer Buddhist writings are ritualistic and experimental rather that doctrinal, theoretical, didactic. They are esoteric, apparently “unorthodox” Theravada. They were designed to be taught under an adept. Francois Bizot “has revealed the existence of non -orthodox Buddhist meditational practices that have been largely secret.”

“The texts underpinning the tradition are often obscure, are clearly symbolic, and may be subjected to multiple interpretations. They have much to say about ritual and frequently contain mantras in Pali. The tradition is clearly old and certainly predates the reform movements of the nineteenth century.”

The Saddhavimala was in important Cambodian text studied by Bizot and Laguarde, a text which relates that the seven books of the Abhidhamma are the creative force behind the body and mind of all things. The oral recitation of the Abhidhamma is very powerful, particularly the Mahapatthana, the final work. Each of the seven books is connected with a day of the week and a part of the body.

Mahadibbamanta, an undated Pali-language palm leaf paritta text, inscribed in Khmer characters and probably of Cambodian origin, housed in the National Museum of Bangkok. The text represents tantric esotericism in Theravada tradition. “It consists of 108 verses, an auspicious number also mentioned in the work itself. One of the unusual features of the text is that it describes a mandala of the eight chief disciples of the Buddha. It also includes a mantra hulu, hulu, hulu sva haand some verses of benediction (siddhi gatha) which glorify a range of deities, including the earth-goddess, the Buddha, Hara, Hirihara, and Rama and the nagas. The Mahadibbamanta manta equates the Buddha with various major and minor divinities and concludes with an assurance of the magical efficiency of the texts recitation, particularly in countering enemies…the work is not uncharacteristic of the Pali Theravada literature that had circulated in Cambodia for several centuries.” [Harris.]

The major traditional cosmological texts in Cambodia are the  familiar root texts of the boran (ancient practice):

·         Traiphum – the “Tree Worlds”. The text is a version was published in Phnom Penh by Japanese Sotasha Relief Committee in 1996 with an introduction by Michel Tranet.

·         Traiphet – a Khmer text dating with the origin of the world. It is a treatise dealing with Brahman legends

·         Traiyuk – is the three world stages (1^st, 3^rd, 4^th).

·         Traita – is a treatise dealing with the second world stage

·         Traiwet.

“The arrival of the French and gradual imposition of the conditions of modernity on the Buddhist sangha had a profound impact on all aspects of Cambodian culture, particularly in the field of writing. Traditional literary activity was one of the immediate casualties, as monks turned away from the laborious and ritually circumscribed techniques associated with traditional manuscript production to adopt writing in European-style notebooks. In time, many turned to printing, and the old copyists craft with its merit-making underpinnings began a dramatic decline. In addition, an archaic and essentially magical vision of the universe, in which inscribed Khmer characters are assigned occult powers, was largely undermined….It is rare today to find monks who have any confidence in reading traditional cosmological works, such as the Traiphum, which once formed the core of the Khmer literary cannon.” [Harris.]

“The sacred physical and devotional  aspects of textuality  were in many respects diminished and altered with the transition to print culture that occurred during the 1920s…”

During the modern reforms of the 20th century, the modern textual criticism made a distinction between the physical text, and the authentic potency of understanding the authoritative meaning of the text, to order the conduct of the monk. This provided “purification” if understanding and conduct.

By 1929, the struggle between printed books and inscribed palm leaf was resolved, and printed books became more accepted. The “modernist” group became more ascendant in the Khmer Sangha. The new monks “modern dharma” shifted away from production of texts for entertainment/celebration purpose, performance, devotion, merit making, toward edification, education, instruction for ethical conduct, understanding of Buddha’s teaching (right view), and was concerned with accessibility.

As the scholastic Buddhism gained ascendency, the esoteric traditions receded into the background in Cambodia.