Monks to be Evicted from Pagoda

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ot mien kampf
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Monks to be Evicted from Pagoda

Post by ot mien kampf »

http://www.khmertimeskh.com/news/25684/ ... om-pagoda/

Monks living at five monasteries and the food offering hall at Wat Ounalom were to be evicted yesterday and their residences torn down in place of a new offering hall, according to an announcement made by the supreme patriarch.


The announcement was made in a letter saying residents from monasteries 18, 32, 33, 34, and 36 were to vacate in order for demolition to start.


“May all respected monks, grandpas and grandmas move out from the monasteries as mentioned above or from your temporary living place in order to reserve the place for the construction of a food offering hall that will be started on June 1,” the letter said.


The letter said the order won’t be responsible for any loss of personal belongings as a result of the “relocation.”


Bhikkhu Bun Heng, 34, from Ratanakiri province who had been living in monastery 34, said the majority of the monks living in the five monasteries were ethnic minorities from the northeastern provinces such as Ratanakiri, Mondulkiri and Steung Treng.


“In 1996-97, the chief monk in my monastery asked the venerable supreme patriarch to allow minority ethnic monks from the northeast of the country such as Tompoun and Jarai ethnic minorities to come and stay in this monastery to be able to study the Lord Buddha’s teachings in depth,” he said.


He said these monasteries also allowed the minorities to stay to study at the various universities in the capital, and without them, many would not be able to afford food or rent.


Bhikkhu Heng believed the order was essentially a forced eviction notice and would result in residents being forced to move into other already overcrowded monasteries.


“The letter tells us to find a place to live by ourselves or contact the pagoda’s commission to help find a place to live. So it means that they will put us in the existing crowded monasteries,” he said.


Despite the notice saying the evictions would take place yesterday, no action appeared to have been taken, accept for construction tools and materials being transported to the old food hall as an ominous sign to residents.


Bhikku Heng said he believed the monks would not move out of the monasteries as they represented the northeastern branch of Buddhism in the Kingdom. However, he said he expected they would be able to find a peaceful resolution with authorities.


“We will tell the authority that we came legally to live here, we did not do anything wrong. For me, I came to live here since 1999, with all required legal papers as well as other monks. We will ask them to allow us to continue to live in this place,” he said.


Bhikkhu Heng said he was confused by the letter, questioning the need to build a new food offering hall when one was already present at the temple.


During initial meetings about the demolition of the monasteries it was revealed that the land would be used to build a garden rather than a food hall, which has only exacerbated the issue.


Built in 1443, Wat Ounalom is the seat of the Cambodian Mohanikay religious order where the supreme patriarch of the order resides. The current supreme patriarch of the Mohanikay religious order is Tep Vong.


The pagoda was damaged during the Khmer Rouge era, but was restored once the regime fell. The most important building is a stupa that contains what is believed to be an eyebrow hair of the Buddha and an inscription in the Pali language.
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