Wats

by Anthea Haryoko


Scattered throughout Siem Reap, Buddhist Wats have remained for centuries, long before the French arrived, some still surviving in spite of the brutal Khmer Rouge regime, natural weather and erosion. Today, approximately 4,100 Wats remain throughout the country.

In layman's terms, Wats are multi-tiered Buddhist monastery temples. However, in essence, the name refers to sacred Buddhist monks' quarters. Within its complex, it houses a temples containing large statues of Buddha and also places to teach classes on moral behaviour and principles according to Buddhist teachings. Majority of the Cambodian citizens are Buddhist. The country's population has approximately 13.4 million people, out of which 93 percent are either Hinayana or Theravada Buddhists.

Along the Siem Reap River where its brown waters flow through the centre of town, my new friend and student guide, Kosal and I make our way to Wat Preah Prom Rath. The gates of this Wat are not hard to miss. There are rich red and gold carvings on its gates and Buddhist flags line the complex.



As we walk around, Kosal spots an elderly monk dressed in simple black shorts and a 'krama' slung over his shoulders, sitting before a large stature of Buddha. Kosal tells me to take off my shoes, so we both do, in spite of niggling fears that someone may make off with them. Then, Kosal bows three times before the statue to pay his respects as we pass it. The monk we met tells us we can call him Lon, and kindly offers to show us around.

We stop at the tall grey six-tiered Wat and I turn to Kosal to translate my questions. Lon explains that inside contains broken pieces of a golden statue of Buddha. It was built by a noble monk named Tem Tam during the 1930's, who at the time was the director in the province. This particular Wat I learnt, was built by King Ang Chan Raja during the late 15th and early 16th centuries. Reflecting the deep respect the people have towards Buddhism, many of them even gave up their land in order to build the Wat just for him. Today, the Wat is freely open to the public.



At each of its four sides, there is an intricately carved "giant", as Kosal puts it, to guard its contents. Further above, are Apsara dancers, which I gather during the time I've been here, are popular figures for carvings in Wats. Many of the designs in Cambodia are similar to that of Thailand. Kosal patriotically explains to me a little known fact that most of these similar designs actually result from the Thais "stealing" them from Cambodia. However, I felt that it was a slightly sore point and a sensitive subject for the Khmer people and did not want to challenge him or press him for more information.

I inquired of the time during the Khmer Rouge regime, where they banned the
practice of all religion. Kosal informed me that in consequence with this action, thousands of monks were displaced and forced into manual labour while many of Cambodia's precious Buddhist legacy - Wats and monasteries, were also destroyed throughout the country. It is estimated that around 50,000 monks were massacred during this dark period. Lon also informed us that the Khmer Rouge did indeed try to knock down this Wat to get to its golden contents, but were ultimately unsuccessful. However, not many Wats in Siem Reap were destroyed. Recently, new wats are being built in the centre of town.

In the Wat Preah Prom Rath complex, there is a temple which houses yet another colossal statue of Buddha. Again Kosal pays his respect before it. The temple holds a few secrets. You only have to walk behind to find another statue, but this time it is lying down on its side as if relaxing by the beach. Lon mentions that it is to symbolise the death of Buddha. As i walk back towards the front, i notice 2 rusty pieces of metal lying on the ground. As it so turns out, they are relics from the past: guns used in the time of Ang Chan Raja.

In front of the complex is a statue of a long boat. I asked Lon about this particular statue. It tells a story of Changhan Hoy, a monk who took his boat (of the same name) from the Tonle Sap lake to Phnom Phen in the Longvek province in the south. Story has it that the speed of the boat was so fast, that the rice he brought back didn't have time to cool and was still warm in his bowl. He would do this everyday, but on one particular day, a big fish came and crushed his boat in half sending one side to the north and the other to the south in the Kampong Chhnang province.The Buddha lying down within this temple is meant to represent this story.

Further across is a school that teaches english and Buddhism. It is just a humble class room containing about 15 or so students. I happened to walk into the middle of an english class and interrupted them but they brightly smiled as I took a picture and excused myself for my rudeness. Many of the Wats in Siem Reap also hold schools. One such example is Wat Damnak, where many of our sessions during this study trip was held. Wat Damnak houses the Center for Khmer Studies and the Life and Hope Association.

The LHA itself teaches children English and various other languages by foreign volunteers from all over the world including Korea and our very own Malaysia, and 10 of its 48 monks. A session with LHA made us aware that they hope to empower the children to grasp a brighter future by exposing them to the English language,
which has become essential in order to benefit from Cambodia's booming
tourism industry.

To end my visit, I paid a small donation to Wat Preah Prom Rath as a token for providing me with such rich background material for my story and gratefully thanked Lon for being our guide. As we walked back, I feel truly amazed at what you can find in Siem Reap, if you only took the time to look.