Ream National Park, 5-minute drive from Sihanoukville International Airport, is a model tourism and vacation area developed by the Cambodian government. Little known fact is that it is also the former site of the ancient kingdom of Funan and the birthplace of Cambodia's first ancient dynasty.
Legend has it that in the 1st century A.D., the Prince Kaundinya I of India's West Sea Kingdom and Princess Soma of the Bunong tribe fell in love with each other because of the war, and this beautiful love story also opened the prelude to the history of Cambodia, and the Funan Dynasty was created and established. After centuries of development, the Funan Dynasty opened up important sea routes to China, India and Rome, witnessing the splendor and prosperity of the Maritime Silk Road.
Subsequently, through several generations, the descendants of Queen Soma established the Angkor Empire in Siem Reap from the south to the north, which gave birth to a wide range of Khmer nationalities and absorbed Indian Buddhism as the state religion, giving rise to the Khmer's own Hinayana Buddhist culture, which has realized the artistic treasures of Cambodia's classical architecture. Today, more than 95% of the population in Cambodia still believes in Buddhism, and it is the country with the highest density of Buddhist population in the world.
Status of Buddhism in Cambodia ——
In Cambodia, Buddhist beliefs and culture are deeply rooted in people's hearts. Buddhist temples are located all over the country, and when you walk on the street, you can see monks wearing orange robes and holding yellow umbrellas at any time and anywhere. It is worth mentioning that the white temple in the middle of the Cambodian flag is Angkor Wat, which symbolizes the ancient civilization and spirit of Cambodia, red represents the nation, white represents Buddhism, and blue symbolizes the royal family, which is in line with the Cambodian national motto "Nation, Religion, King".
In addition, Buddhism has an important role in the social life of Cambodia, and the monasteries are not only the centers of religious activities, but also the centers of local education and book collection. Cambodian male Buddhists, from the king down to commoners, have to be ordained as monks for a few days at a time, or for the rest of their lives.
Due to the traditional Buddhist education, the five precepts and the eight fasting rules are deeply rooted in people's hearts, and there are relatively few crimes in the society, and people's daily marriages and funerals are accompanied by certain Buddhist rituals. Generally speaking, Cambodian people will go to temples to donate money and goods during the festivals of the Buddhist calendar and take baths at the same time; when they are sick, they will go to temples to burn incense; and when they get married, they will go to temples to find monks to do calculations. Therefore, the status of Cambodian monks is very high.
Buddhist Beliefs in Cambodia ——
Cambodia follows Hinayana Buddhism, which emphasizes frugality and promotes the "Cycle of Birth and Death" and "Self-Liberation". In Hinayana Buddhism, the word "Hinayana" means small vehicle, and in Hinayana Buddhism, it is possible for a small number of people and other living beings who strictly follow the precepts of Buddhism and the ancient Buddhist scriptures known as the Tathagata to reach the world of bliss.
Hinayana Buddhism attaches great importance to scripture, preaches good causes and bad effects, and opposes large-scale construction of temples. Hinayana Buddhism believes that all beings are equal and that there are no classes. Therefore, the Cambodian people consider it their duty and responsibility to believe in and protect Buddhism as a way to help their country develop and progress.
Impact of Buddhism on the Cambodian people ——
In the course of its long history, ancient Cambodia has experienced suffering and hardships, and what has settled down after a thousand sails is the invaluable spirit of open-mindedness given to the Cambodian people by Buddhism.
As Buddhism advocates the goodness of human nature, living with the heart and not caring. This also causes the Cambodian people under the breeding of Buddhist beliefs, the nature of goodness and simplicity, pay attention to "timely happiness", to foreign cultures to hold a tolerant and open attitude, and "Khmer smile" as a lotus flower swinging between the waves of the heart, so that every Cambodian face, are overflowing with innocent and beautiful smiles. The "Khmer Smile" is like a lotus flower swinging between the waves of the heart, making every Cambodian face full of innocent and beautiful smiles, and the future of Cambodia will be more and more beautiful.
SNC: A Base for Meditation Culture ——
Ream, the blessed land that carries the queen's temperament and spiritual endowment, also has a strong Buddhist culture.
With the support of the Cambodian government, Lixin Group takes the protection of the natural ecology of the base as the premise and the linked development of Sihanoukville region as the leading culture, taps into the local characteristics and relies on the advantageous resources in the surrounding area to form a new commercial and economic city of Cambodia with international influence, a Belt and Road Southeast Asia industrial hub and a global ecological cultural and tourism destination, which is a collection of tourism and sightseeing, leisure and vacation, eco-experience, commercial finance and entertainment – SNC.
The SNC, with a total planning area of about 40,000 acres, has divided the entire site into nine different functional zones on the basis of fully integrating the natural topography and terrain.
Through precise research and planning, SNC, relying on the background of Cambodian Hinayana Buddhism and the unique and scarce natural and cultural resources of Sihanoukville, will build one of the zones as a Southeast Asian meditation culture base integrating Hinayana Buddhism culture, study, meditation and tourism, where the Founding Father's Memorial Hall will be constructed to create a cultural and tourism town, a meditation culture base, and other tourist attractions. Relying on the cultural history, modern history, Buddhist culture and other humanities and historical resources, as well as mangrove forests, golden coastline and other natural ecological resources in Sihanoukville, it will create the most beautiful tourism card of Cambodia in the new era, so that more international tourists will know about Cambodia's Buddhist culture.
In the long river of history, Cambodia has gone through changes, and what has been precipitated is the gentle and calm temperament from Buddhism. Under the cultivation of Buddhist culture, Cambodian people are simple and kind, just like the birth of Buddha, the attainment of enlightenment, and nirvana, Sihanoukville is also going through nirvana, entering into a new era of high-speed development, and composing a glorious new chapter.
