New Christians Celebrating Christmas in Cambodia

By: Olivia Harlow

Produced & Edited by: Olivia Harlow 

At last Sunday’s annual Christmas-themed church service at the Phnom Penh Church of Christ, Christmas lights decorated the stage, teens reenacted the Bible’s Nativity scene, and a preacher dressed as Santa flung candy into the air.

The congregation was packed with hundreds of Cambodians and several expats. One of the attendants was 24-year-old Phally Ken.

Ms. Ken, who started attending church services in 2013 and was baptized this July, is one of many Cambodians who recently converted to Christianity and celebrated Christmas for the first time this year.

“This Sunday is the first time Christmas has meaning to me,” said Ms. Ken, adding that although she’s attended church for two years, this is her first “real” Christmas. “This year I feel it, I am thankful for it.”

Cambodians gathered after school at the Phnom Penh Church of Christ on Christmas at a party that included various games, dancing, and a massive Christmas feast. 

To celebrate, Ms. Ken—who currently works full-time as a hotel receptionist and part-time as an English teacher—made paper snowflakes with her students, bought herself champagne and chocolates, and attended multiple Bible studies this week with friends.

Additionally, on Christmas Day, she attended a party at church, with dancing, games, a huge feast and a gift exchange.

Ms. Ken said she used to be Buddhist, and that when she first started attending church, she was still unsure of her religious beliefs. She explained that because she comes from a family with “no love”, the compassion she found in the church helped her to feel whole.

After speaking with different pastors and studying the Bible more closely, Ms. Ken said that she became convicted.

Sothea Ket—unlike Ms. Ken, who no longer visits pagodas or practices Buddhism—said that although he too attends the Phnom Penh Church of Christ and considers himself Christian, he also still believes in Buddhism.

“Both Christianity and Buddhism are the same in some ways. It’s interesting. For me, it’s not picking which one is better. It’s whichever one helps me and gives good advice for my life,” he said, adding that he feels rejecting Buddhism altogether is ignoring his cultural roots. “These people who are pure Christian become Western. You know, Asian culture is Buddhist.”

Uong Vibol—former pastor and founder of the National Christian Churches Network Council of Cambodia—doesn’t religiously practice Buddhism, but agrees that it’s important to appreciate its cultural aspects.

Cambodians teens participated in a dance contest at the Phnom Penh Church of Christ's Christmas party. 

“I think it’s part of Cambodian culture. We are Christian, but still Cambodian,” he said, adding that he believes practicing in worship is much different than practicing culturally. “For me, as a learner and seeker, although Buddhism is not the true God, he is a good philosopher and a good teacher.”

In recent years this attitude towards Buddhism and Christianity in Cambodia has become much more accepted, yet according to Khon Dara—Deputy Director of Ministry of Cult and Religion—only about 2 percent of Cambodia’s population identity as Christian.

That said, Mr. Dara explained that very few churches—all within Phnom Penh city limits—existed in Cambodia in the 1990s, and today there are over 1,397 registered churches nationwide.

According to Mr. Vibol, the number of Christians has also increased since the 1990s, when only about .075 percent of Cambodians were Christian.

Mr. Vibol has been an active Christian for 30 years now and said that recently he’s personally witnessed about two or three people be baptized in his church community each month.

“More people open their heart and understanding today, especially young people,” he said, adding that he sees children and teens getting more involved in youth groups and Bible studies. “They come to understand Christianity, sharing the Gospel, and they still have a choice. They choose it.”

Even though the number of Cambodian Christian believers remains relatively small, their faith is strong.

“I am not broken in heart anymore,” said Ms. Ken, adding that she used to not know the meaning of happiness. “I was born again. God is so awesome. He can do everything.”

Israel's Buddhist Community Makes Strides, One Mindful Step at a Time

By: Chad Weisman

Produced & Edited By: Andrew Davis 

         In Tzfat, the birthplace of Jewish mysticism, a Kazakhstani transplant named Shlomo Tal teaches the Judaic tradition to American students. He identifies as an observant Jew.

         “I try to follow all sides of Jewish Law,” he said. “But the way I practice it is an expression of the inner side of Torah, the Kabbalah.”

A Kabbalah bracelet. Western celebrities are often photographed
wearing them. Photo © Judicawebstore.com

         Interest in Kabbalah has grown in concert with the flow of Eastern culture into the fabric of Western life. Young Israelis, secular and observant, commonly seek spiritual experiences in Eastern lands, however the impact of this phenomenon is yet to be seen.

         Tal describes the “awakening of New Age [beliefs] in Israel,” as a fad. “It’s mostly people who don’t invest in spirituality, but treat it like a trend or cool thing. His own trip to India centered entirely on Jewish practice.

         “People that go for some type of spiritual experience are getting to know their soul and getting closer to our tradition, too.”

 Tal has not experienced any dissonance between Jewish meditation and Eastern techniques.

Jewish Buddhist

         The term ‘Jewbu’ (a portmanteau with obvious derivatives) was coined in 1994, 21 years after the death of Israel’s first prime minister. Though David Ben-Gurion never called himself a Buddhist, the self-proclaimed ‘Jewish Atheist’ was a noted student of meditation techniques.

         

A lotus, a symbol of Buddhism, peacefully sits on a pond.
Photo © National Geographic

Jews account for one-third of America’s non-Asian Buddhist population; yet Buddhists in Israel only amount to 0.1 percent of total citizenship.

         “You don’t see the real interest,” said Donna Peretz of the Community of Mindfulness in Israel (CMI). “I can’t say the Israeli mind is open to it.”

         Peretz adopted Zen in 1997 after a series of workshops conducted by Thich Nhat Hanh, a Vietnamese monk. Mindfulness meditation has had a profound effect on her life. 

         “Buddhism has the solution and the way to help people see each other’s pain,” she said. “It’s a real value in Buddhism, listening and loving speech.”

         As a matter of doctrine, there is no contradiction between one’s Buddhist practice and pre-existing religious beliefs. Buddhism has power to disrupt divisions by facilitating the solidity of Being. On the battleground of “the world’s most intractable conflict,” it is easy to see how Eastern perspectives can become part of the conversation.

         “We are separated by names like Buddhists, like Jews, like Muslims,” said Thich Nhat Hanh. “We hear these words and we see a kind of image; we feel alienated; we don’t feel communication. They have set up many things for us to be separated from each other and make each other suffer.”

         As a young man, Baruch Shalev served in an elite Special Forces unit.

         “When someone comes to kill you or someone else next to you,” he said, “you cannot talk about love in that moment. You have a responsibility because life is precious, and it doesn’t matter who the other person is. All life is from God, Hashem [The Name].”

         Shalev was Ariel Sharon’s advisor on alternative energy after a long career in plastics and consulting. In retirement he is a full-time Dharma teacher.

         “If you sow incitement, you will have killing,” he said. “If you have education, coexistence and recognizing people’s well-being, then that’s what you will receive.”

         In the eyes of Ofer Cohen, a student of Daniel Waxman’s Zazen practice in Tel Aviv, “Compassion is what is common in Judaism and Buddhism. They are both real life beliefs; they present to the believer the actualization of belief in daily life.”

Spiritual Differences
  

        Buddhism and Judaism are not in perfect alignment. In 2011, Yad L’achim (an Orthodox Jewish group) declared the worldview to be in violation of the first three commandments. They decried the construction of a Tibetan Buddhist center in southern Israel.

        However such discrimination is uncommon in the State of Israel. Many, including Donna Peretz, embrace an understanding of Buddhism that helps them deal with the stress of life during wartime.

        “Every time the [attack] alarm went off I was panicking; I had anxiety. That’s when I used my mindfulness. I had a minute and a half to rush from my apartment to the shelter. During that [time] I was practicing mindfulness, breathing, and calming myself.

        “When I entered the shelter there was a young family with four children. The children didn’t know what was going on, and they were very happy to see me.”