THE ROLE OF THE PAGODA IN THE SPIRITUAL LIFE OF THE KHMER IN THE MEKONG DELTA

Author Name: Nguyen Chi Hai

Volume/Issue: 01/11

Country: Vietnam

DOI NO.: 08.2020-25662434 DOI Link: http://www.doi-ds.org/doilink/04.2021-97113485/UIJIR

Affiliation:

1. Department of National Defense Education, An Giang University, VNU-HCM, Vietnam

ABSTRACT

Theravada Buddhism has been with the Khmer in the Mekong Delta for a long time, it is due to the close harmony between the philosophy of Theravada Buddhism and the customs of the Khmer community, which Khmer pagoda is the symbol of that combination. The article aims to present the results of traditional Khmer cultural studies from the perspective of the pagoda. The Khmer pagoda in the Mekong Delta region is a cultural center of the Khmer people. The pagoda is a place to combine cultural activities with folk rituals, religious rituals. The pagoda is a traditional school to teach Khmer people about knowledge, morality, and craftsmanship. The pagoda is like a museum about Theravada Buddhism, the village art museum, it is also a place for the Khmer to lean on the soul while living and sending ashes when dead. The pagoda was the place to organize various forms of community cultural activities, festivals, folk games, and cultural performances of the Khmer. Especially, before the upheaval of history, globalization trend, the intrusion and impact from many directions the outside, the pagoda in each village as a “stronghold” to protect and preserve the capital the traditional culture of the Khmer people.

Key words: Theravada Buddhism, pagoda, Khmer, spiritual life, Mekong Delta.