Dhammayuttika Nikaya - Dhammayuttika Nikaya in Cambodia

Dhammayuttika Nikaya in Cambodia

In 1855, the Khmer King Norodom invited Preah Saukonn Pan, also referred to as Maha Pan, a Khmer monk educated in the order of Thailand's now King Mongkut, to establish a branch of the Dhammayuttika order in Cambodia. Maha Pan became the first Supreme Patriarch of the Cambodian Dhammayuttika lineage, residing at Wat Botum Vaddey, a new temple erected by the king specifically for the Dhammayuttika monks. The Dhammayuttika Nikaya in Cambodia benefited from royal patronage, but it was also sometimes regarded with suspicion due to its ties to the Thai monarchy.

The Dhammayuttika order in Cambodia suffered greatly under the Khmer Rouge, being particularly targeted because to its perceived ties to monarchy and a foreign nation, in addition to the Khmer Rouge's general repression of the Buddhist hierarchy in Cambodia. Between 1981 and 1991, the Dhammayuttika Nikaya was combined with the Cambodian Mohanikay in a unified sangha system established under Vietnamese domination. In 1991 King Sihanouk returned from exile and appointed the first new Dhammayuttika sangharaja in ten years, effectively ending the policy of official unification. The Dhammayuttika continues to exist in Cambodia, though its monks constitute a very small minority. On issues such as the role of monks in HIV/AIDS treatment and education, the current sangharaja, Bour Kry has adopted a more liberal position than the Mohanikay head Tep Vong, but is less radical than that of certain Engaged Buddhist elements of the Mohanikay order.