Buddhism in Cambodia

Buddhism in Cambodia

Monks and nuns praying in a pagoda near Phnom Penh
Total population
c. 17.1 million (98%) in 2023[1]
Regions with significant populations
Throughout Cambodia
Religions
Theravada Buddhism
Languages
Khmer, Pali language and other languages

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Key figures Moggaliputta-Tissa Mahinda Sanghamitta Tissa Buddhaghoṣa Buddhadatta Dhammapāla Parakramabahu I Sāriputta Thera Anawrahta Ram Khamhaeng Sumangala Thera Anagarika Dharmapala Mongkut Vajirananavarorasa Ledi Sayadaw U Nu U Nārada Mahasi Sayadaw U Ba Khin S. N. Goenka Mun Bhuridatta Ajahn Chah Maha Ghosananda Kripasaran Mahapragya Pragyananda K. Sri Dhammananda Narada Mahathera Asoka Weeraratna Walpola Rahula Jayatilleke Kalupahana U Dhammaloka Nyanatiloka Nanamoli Nyanaponika Bhikkhu Bodhi Ajahn Sumedho Ajahn Brahm Analayo Varanggana Vanavichayen Dhammananda Bhikkhuni Ayya Tathaaloka Ayya Khema Kee Nanayon Dipa Ma
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Buddhism in Cambodia or Khmer Buddhism^[2] (Khmer: ព្រះពុទ្ធសាសនានៅកម្ពុជា, UNGEGN: Preăh Pŭtthôsasânéa noŭ Kâmpŭchéa) has existed since at least the 5th century. In its earliest form it was a type of Mahāyāna Buddhism. Today, the predominant form of Buddhism in Cambodia is Theravada Buddhism. It is enshrined in the Cambodian constitution as the official religion of the country. Theravada Buddhism has been the Cambodian state religion since the 13th century (except during the Khmer Rouge period). As of 2019 it was estimated that 97. 1 percent of the population are Buddhists.^[1][3]

The history of Buddhism in Cambodia spans a number of successive kingdoms and empires. Buddhism entered Cambodia via two different streams. The earliest forms of Buddhism, along with Hindu influences, entered the Kingdom of Funan with Hindu merchants. In later history, a second stream of Buddhism entered Khmer culture during the Angkor empire when Cambodia absorbed the various Buddhist traditions of the Mon kingdoms of Dvaravati and Haripunchai.

For the first thousand years of Khmer history, Cambodia was ruled by a series of Hindu kings with an occasional Buddhist king, such as Jayavarman I of Funan, Jayavarman VII, who became a mahayanist, and Suryavarman I. A variety of Buddhist traditions co-existed peacefully throughout Cambodian lands, under the tolerant auspices of Hindu kings and the neighboring Mon-Theravada kingdoms.