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By
: May Titthara, Picture by : Touch Sinath.
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Relatives bring food to the
monk for offering to deceased member(s) of the
family.
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October
is the month when Cambodian people celebrate the
festival of Phchum Ben. Together with Khmer New
Year in April, Phchum Ben is the most important
festival in the Khmer religious calendar. Cambodians
have faithfully observed the festival every year
for as long as anyone can remember.
The word 'Ben' in Khmer means to collect; 'Ben'
also means to cup or mould cooked rice into portions.
To 'Ben Baht' means to collect food to give to monks.
The word 'Phchum' means to congregate or to meet
together. Regardless how busy they may be during
the fifteen days of Phchum Ben, Cambodian people
try not to miss a visit to the pagoda to dedicate
food and offerings to the dead.
The festival's final day, October 6th, is the actual
day of Phchum Ben, when people traditionally meet
together at the pagoda, said the Venerable Ly Sovy
of Lang Ka pagoda.
By doing this, Cambodians show respect for their
ancestors. Everyone goes to the pagoda every year
to honor this tradition, and nobody complains.
"According to [Buddhist] belief, people feel
sorry for and remember their |
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relatives who
have passed away," Ly Sovy said. "They may be
their parents, grandparents, a sister, a brother, daughter
or son."
Om Sam Ol, a monk at Steung Meanchey pagoda, explained
more about the beliefs behind the festival: "During
Phchum Ben, souls and spirits come to receive offerings
from their living relatives," he said.
"It is believed that some of the dead receive punishment
for their sins and burn in hell - they suffer a lot and
are tortured there," he added. "Hell is far
from people; those souls and spirits cannot see the sun;
they have no clothes to wear, no food to eat," Om
Sam Ol continued. "Phchum Ben is the period when
those spirits receive offerings from their living relatives
and perhaps gain some relief. Relatives consecrate and
dedicate food and other offerings to them." |
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Various types of offering that
people bring to the temple to appease wondering
spirits.
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Left: Offerings with
paper cuttings of a human figure are for wondering
spirits.
Right: Sometimes, people simply leave food
in the open for wondering spirits all the same.
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"Everyone
goes to the pagoda because they don't want the spirits
of dead members of their family to come to seek
offerings at pagodas in vain. It is believed that
wondering spirits will go to look in seven different
pagodas and if those spirits can not find their
living relatives' offering in any of those pagodas,
they will curse them, because they cannot eat food
offered by other people," the monk said.
"When the living relatives offer the food to
the spirit, the spirit will bless them with happiness",
he added.
According to the monk, legend has it that Phchum
Ben came about because relatives of King Bath Pempeksa
defied religious customs and ate rice before the
monks did during a religious ritual. After their
death, they became evil spirits.
He explained that later when a monk known as Kokak
Sonthor gained enlightenment and became a Buddha
on earth, all those evil spirits went to ask him
"when can we eat?"
The Buddha said "you have to wait for the next
Buddha in the Kathakot Buddhist realm. In this realm,
evil spirits cannot eat."
When the next monk, Kamanou, achieved enlightenment
and became a Buddha, all the evil spirits came again
to ask the same question, and he gave the same answer
as the previous Buddha.
Later another monk, Kasakbour, achieved enlightenment
and became a Buddha, and the hungry evil spirits
again asked him the same question. The Buddha told
them the same thing - to wait for the next Buddha.
The final Buddha, Preah Samphot - also known also
as Samanakkodom - said to the evil spirits, "Wait
for your relative, King Bath Pempeksa, to offer
merits and dedication. When the dedication is made,
the food will be yours to eat."
King Pempeksa finally made an offering, but he did
not dedicate the offering to the spirits of his
relatives. All the spirits that were related to
him cried that night. And when King Bath Pempeksa
went to the Valovan pagoda to visit the Buddha,
he was told by the Buddha that, "All the spirits
of your relatives are crying, demanding food. The
spirits should get food in the realm of Kathakot.
Although you offered food and did good deeds, you
did not dedicate the |
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| food and good deeds
to them." So King Bath Pempeksa made another dedication
and offering, and this time he dedicated the food and
merits to his relatives. The evil spirits received the
dedication and were finally reborn into paradise. |
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Left: People go to the
temple early to pray to the Buddha before the
start of any ritual.
Right: Relatives of the dead placing cooked
rice into a row of pots to offer to the spirits.
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