Chanroeun Pa

(a letter to a Cambodian Newspaper)

Dear Editor,

I am quite interested in your articles on the scandal of a defrocked monk, Neth Khai who allegedly recorded videos of naked women in public shower of a pagoda in Phnom Penh.

I often see this kind of scandal of the ordinary, high ranking and famous Cambodian Buddhist monks in the newspapers and magazines. However, it seems to me that such case has been increased and there is no appropriate solution to this crisis.

A case of defrocked Neth Kai represents the lack of a proper education and the decline of the value and practice of Buddhism amongst the Buddhist leaders themselves. It is quite obvious that we cannot generalize things as a Khmer proverb, “A spoiled fish will ruin all the other fish in the basket”. However, Neth Kai is an example of how a Buddhist monk challenges himself with materialism, desire and technology. There are many discussions on Buddhist monk, modernization and technology in Cambodia. And many questions are still unexplained.

In fact, technology and modernization are neither good nor bad for the monks. It depends on how these stuff are used for. In stead of using technology such as mobile phone, internet, Email, computer and so forth to flirt woman or commit other unwholesome acts, Buddhist monks should take advantage from technology as means to upgrade own education. They should also use technology to promote the teaching of Dharma to lead and direct the public to the right direction.  The precious seed of Dharma will grow beautifully on the soil of high technology and it should be planted in a more relevant way. Surely, it will be more fruitful to fulfill the spiritual hunger of this broken world.

It is remarkable to note that there is a new trend that more and more Westerners are more interested in Buddhism and taking up it as their religion because they have found its practical values as a way of life and a suitable mean to deal with many life crisis. Sadly, on the contrary more and more Cambodians both inside and outside Cambodia seems don’t really value and embrace Buddhist ethics and principles and get themselves diluted and are taking up other cultures as their new way of life.

Socrates said, ‘Unexamined life is not worth living’. And there is a call for proper education and disciplines, self-realization and self-reformation in day-to-day life. And there is also a need to rethink about the meaning of being Buddhists in Cambodian society. As matter of fact, Buddhism or the Dharma does not corrupt, only individual Buddhist followers do. And no one can destroy Buddhism besides the Buddhists themselves. The lack of a good role model and the corruption of the spiritual leadership will lead to the corruption of the future of the nation.

]]> http://camcape.org/?feed=rss2&p=225 0 http://camcape.org/?p=219 http://camcape.org/?p=219#comments Fri, 04 Jun 2010 03:45:33 +0000 admin http://camcape.org/?p=219

សូម​​ស្តាប់​កិច្ច​សន្ទនា​រវាង​លោក​ ​ប៉ា ច័ន្ទរឿន​ នាយក​ប្រតិបត្តិ​​នៃ​​មជ្ឈមណ្ឌល​ទស្សនវិជ្ជា​អនុវត្តន៍​និង​​សីលធម៌​​កម្ពុជា​ ជា​មួយ​នឹង​​លោក​ ឃុន​​ អាឡិច​​ វិទ្យុ​អេប៊ីស៊ី​អូស្រ្តាលី​ ស្តី​ពី​ភាព​ចាំ​បាច់​នៃ​​សីលធម៌​​នៅ​​ក្នុង​​សង្គម​កម្ពុជា​។

An Interview between Mr. Chanroeun Pa (the Executive Director of CAMCAPE) and Mr. Alex Khun (ABC Australia) on the Necessity of Ethics, January 3, 2010 (listen to the Interview- MP3)​

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World Philosophy Day 2009, devoted this year to dialogue between cultures, is an excellent opportunity to reflect on relations of exchange, transfer and movement between men and women, ideas and concepts.

In the run-up to 2010, declared by the United Nations General Assembly the International Year for the Rapprochement of Cultures, it is more important than ever before to examine the current foundations for the free flow of discourse and practice, out of which world cultural diversity is woven.

Philosophy, along with the other social and human sciences, can help us renew the debate on how to engage in this dialogue, which could be defined as a dynamic chorus of social and cultural relationships and interactions open to the plurality of the world. As societies increasingly learn how to live in multicultural environments, we need to shed light on our joint capacity to bring together individual and collective imaginations.

Since its creation in 2005, this Day has rallied researchers, intellectuals, students and philosophy teachers from around the world to examine a wide range of topics. It has also provided the general public with an interdisciplinary and plural open forum for discussion and debate.

This year, from 16-19 November, the Russian Federation is hosting the international component of World Philosophy Day in Moscow and Saint Petersburg. I would also like all our partners around the globe – universities, research institutes, UNESCO Chairs, National Commissions, the International Council for Philosophy and Humanistic Studies (ICPHS), International Federation of Philosophical Societies (FISP), and International Institute of Philosophy (IIP) – to join us in our efforts.

To nurture philosophical debate on cultural dialogue today means, first and foremost, restoring the challenges of diversity, dignity and human rights to the heart of the international agenda. Let us lead this debate with confidence.

ទាញយកឯកសារ Download the book (PDF)

Thanks Yu Ban, Malaysia Buddhist Friends, for the contribution of this book.

Original post http://www.cambosastra.org/?p=538

source: www.aap.org.au

For this year’s 2009 edition of World Philosophy Day, celebrated since 2005, the Russian Federation is at the honor as a host of the international celebration of the Day, which will take place from 16 to 19 November in Moscow and in Saint Petersburg. Various other activities will also take place at UNESCO’s Headquarters in Paris as well as in numerous countries in all regions around the world.

Ever since its inauguration as a “Philosophy Day at UNESCO” in 2002 and particularly since its institutionalization in 2005 as a “World Philosophy Day”, this celebration of philosophy has inspired much enthusiasm. With its aim to bring philosophy closer to everyone, academics, students and the general public alike have all shown great interest in this activity that offers new opportunities and space for philosophical reflection, critical thinking and debate.

The Russian Federation is this year’s host of the international celebration of the Day, which will take place in Moscow and Saint Petersburg from 16 to 19 November. The general theme chosen by the Russian hosts for this international event is “Philosophy in the Dialogue of Cultures“ – a theme that will gather for discussions and debates philosophers, students, academics, diplomats from Russia but also from other countries in the world. This celebration will precede the commemoration of 2010 – International Year for the Rapprochement of Cultures proclaimed by the General Assembly of the United Nations.

Several activities are also planned to take place at UNESCO’s Headquarters in Paris, namely:

• Launch of publication Philosophies d’ailleurs, edited by Roger-Pol Droit, 10 November 2009;
• Symposium and debate on the occasion of the launch of the publication “Les Grecs, les Arabes et nous : Enquête sur l’islamophobie savante” (“The Greeks, the Arabs and us: an inquiry on erudite Islamophobia”), Fayard Editions, “Ouvertures”, edited by Irène Rosier-Catach, Alain de Libera, Marwan Rashed, Philippe Büttgen and Barbara Cassin, 12 November 2009;
• Colloquium on Pierre Clastres, organized by the Collège international de philosophie, 18-20 November 2009;
• International Congress on John Stuart Mill, organized by the Collège de France and the University of Paris VII, 19 November 2009;
• 9th Meeting on New Philosophical Practices, organized by the Association Philolab, the IUFM of Créteil (Institut Universitaire de Formation des Maîtres/ Academic Institute for Teacher Training) and the magazine Sciences Humaines, 18-19 November 2009.

Finally, in UNESCO’s Member States, a variety of activities organized by different partners, including National Commissions, UNESCO Field Offices, universities, associations, research centres, specialized NGOs and institutes, will gather numerous philosophy enthusiasts, namely philosophy students, teachers, professors and researchers.

Contact

For more information regarding World Philosophy Day, please contact the Human Security, Democracy and Philosophy Section of UNESCO.  E-mail: philosophy&human-sciences@unesco.org