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Theravada
Buddhism is the religion of virtually all of the ethnic
Khmers, who constitute about 90% or more of the Cambodian
population. Buddhism originated in what are now
north India
and Nepal during the sixth century B.C. Theravada Buddhism
is a tolerant, non-prescriptive religion that does not
require belief in a supreme being. Its precepts require that
each individual take each individual take full
responsibility for his own actions and omissions.
Buddhism
is based on three concepts: dharma (the doctrine of the
Buddha, his guide
to right actions and belief); karma (the
belief that one’s life now and in future lives depends
upon one’s own deeds and misdeeds and that as an
individual one is responsible for, and rewarded on the basis
of, the sum total of one’s acts and act’s incarnations
past and present); and sangha, the ascetic community within
which man can improve his karma. The Buddhist salvation is
nirvana, a final extinction of one’s self. Nirvana may be
attained by achieving good karma through earning much merit
and avoiding misdeeds.
A Buddhist’s pilgrimage through
existence is a constant attempt to distance himself or
herself from the world and finally to achieve complete
detachment, or nirvana. The fundamentals of Buddhist
doctrine are the Four Noble Truths: suffering exits; craving
(or desire) is the cause of suffering; release from
suffering can be achieved by stopping all desire; and
enlightenment – buddhahood – can be attained by
following
the Noble Eightfold Path (right views, right
intention, right speech, right action, right livelihood,
right effort, right mindfulness, and right concentration),
which constitutes a middle way between sensuality and
ascetism. Enlightenment consists of knowing these truths.
The average layperson cannot hope for nirvana after the end of this life, but can by complying, as best he or she is
able to, with the doctrine’s rules of moral conduct-hope
to improve his or her karma and thereby better his condition
in the next incarnation.
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