Buddhism is the official state religion in Cambodia. Throughout the first six weeks of our SST stint in Phnom Penh, we had the opportunity to engage a broad spectrum of lecturers, including a professor of philosophy (one of the up and coming philosophy scholars in the nation we were told) who explored with us a “distinctive, contemporary Cambodian philosophy” as it is developing in this Buddhist context. What was perhaps most interesting was his inability to in fact speak to any defining characteristics of this said philosophy - at once surprising and plausible.

This, I think, this inability to name or define, speaks to and about this philosophy. This says much about the face of Cambodian philosophy today. What exactly it describes is still difficult to articulate and observe, but perhaps it speaks in glimpses at a variety of levels: to the lack of formal philosophical study and discussion and the suspicion of philosophy in general by the public, all making broader thought and trends more challenging to categorize; to the lack of a large or developed (in our conventional sense, anyway) academic or scholarly elite, and the survival mentality that has consumed so much of the large working class for so long; to the way this culture shuts its mouth, saves face, doesn’t confront or address or speak freely or voice strong opinions or depths of emotions, and instead smiles brightly and offers generously, but not of the most intimate things… or so it seems to me… … and perhaps it speaks to the nature and role of religion in this place… which I’m continuously gaining new perspectives on.

I’ve had a longstanding infatuation with Buddhism – with concepts of mindfulness and simple, meditative living, with the spirit of peaceful contemplativeness that feeds the good lives, the beautiful presences of wise ones. I’ve been enticed by words of those such as Thomas Merton (a Christian), in conversation with his friend Thich Nhat Han (a Buddhist), and have been convinced that my traditions can learn a lot from Buddhism, that my practices and ideals need to be enriched and rounded out by these principles.

I’m still convinced of these things, of these opportunities for shared beauty and insight and learning and faith. There’s still a little part of me that wishes I was Buddhist – but it’s quite shrunken and mostly lingering for those people who can’t get past the dirty face of Christianity they see plastered and abused and co-opted out of the transformative light it should offer. But in this new space I’m also reminded of some realities which frequently slip my mind – the reality, for example, that as with any tradition or philosophy there are varying degrees of devotion and practice, that interpretations and manifestations and the consequences thereof are diverse and often in conflictual conversation with each other, that even though there’s a vibrant and visible religious “class” here (think monks in saffron robes), if you will, this does not mean that many individuals, laypeople, are necessarily “religious” or “spiritual”…

And so I’m left wondering… will we ever defy the cyclical grind that continues to institutionalize our practices and traditions, leaving them bare and rote for the majority of people? Leaving them susceptible to a damaging, extremist, misinterpretation? Is there a place to discover where such is not the case? Or am I perhaps misreading Cambodia? And how does this particular reality, this sort of nominally Buddhist context shape the Christian church here, play into its growth, into its theological developments?