The Temple Mounts of Man

We as a species have produced some pretty awesome things. The Egyptian Pyramids, the Templo Mayor, the Roman Coliseum, and the Mayan Temples of Tikal, Guatemala my father, brother, and I viewed back in 2001.

(http://www.mayatikal.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/04/tikal2.jpg)

The GMU group had the privilege to see a number of temples in Cambodia that match the vastness, design, and wonder of the aforementioned. The first was Angkor Wat.

This temple is a classic example of Khmer architecture with both Hindu and Buddhists influences and was built in the 12th century for King Suryavarman II as a place of worship and government. Slaves played a role in building all of these temples, which was par for the course,  but what I found most interesting was the level of detail and the placement of the structures to the west, which was unusual in this collection of temples. Most of the them were orientated to the east, but Angkor Wat is orientated to the west, in honor of Vishnu, the Hindu God. What I found most striking was the detail in the huge bas-reliefs, that ran around the perimeter in epic fashion.

No need for words, just respect of the skill of those who came before us.

The Ankor Thom has hundreds of faces inscribed in sandstone:

Ta Prohm is known for hosting numerous movies, including the aforementioned Tomb Raider.

It is being restored as the jungle reclaims it, and the largest saw I have seen was cutting the sandstone blocks typical to this area to be used for replacements.

The most interesting thing I ran into at Ta Prohm, was four young boys playing marbles in the dust of the ruins. Their mother was working, picking up trash the tourist had left behind and using a palm broom to sweep the dusty paths inside the walls of the temple.

They didn't ask for money, but for pencils. So in return for taking their picture, I gave them the a few treats, and the ink pens and mechanical pencils I had in my backpack, along with a number of erasers and a lesson in how to use them. They have never seen a mechanical pencil, but I wager it will be the talk of the school when they take it to class. It is good to know you can find kids have other interests at heart besides making making money.

After our adventures, I stopped by another temple to play a round of cards with a few monkeys...needless to say, I lost.

This was an advance civilization at the time, and created beautiful structures that reflected their success. I think it behooves us to learn from these temples to former success and recognize that much that has been built throughout the years has eventually fallen into history and disrepair. It makes me wonder if what we have built here will one day be history and what we will leave behind.

Feed the police...

I ran into a police officer outside of the Ta Prohm (The Tomb Raider) Temple. Google it (Ta Prohm, not Tomb Raider, unless it helps) please, if you don't know about it. I encourage us all to learn all the time. 

As an officer in the Siem Reap police force, his primary responsibility is to provide security for the tourists who move in and out of the world famous temple. I had the opportunity to talk with him a little about his life.

As a preface, Cambodia is just short of a police state, so this had the potential to be a bit intimidating. I use this story as an example:

We were driving into Battambong, when we were stopped by the police for "speeding." Our bus was allegedly clocked going 20 kph over the speed limit. In Cambodia, you generally pay fines on the spot. I had seen this in Phnom Penh, where police just stand by the side of the road, stopping scooters and cars, and the victims reach for their pockets, find currency to share, then go about their business. The bus driver and the group leader went over to talk with the officer, who had a card table set up right on the side of the street. Our dear professor and another student, wanting to pursue another "experiential learning opportunity," left the bus to witness the exchange. With the added population, the officer sent them all packing back to the bus. Instead of paying the fine on site, we were now required to go directly to the police station to "pay" our fine. Our minds began to race with the possibilities of what could be: a shake-down, search, possible arrest, incarceration, stuck in jail forever, etc. all came to mind. The bus driver ended up paying the fine of five dollars with no further injury, but the imaginations of what could have been lingered in our minds. The impression we had going in is the police and military generally operate with impunity. (For the record, our system essentially works the same way, we just pay the courts with a check and actually get points as well. I would much rather pay cash and make it go away.)

So, it may not have seemed to be the best idea to approach this officer, but he was sitting in a plastic chair near the exit, and I asked him how he was. I offer you a sketch of a Siem Reap police officer.

He has been working with them for 17 years. You would think working in public service would be lucrative in a country like Cambodia, but he is paid $50 a month. He studies English, and has to pay the teacher monthly ($15/mo). After his petrol purchase for the "old" scooter he has, he has about $25 left to house, feed, cloth, and recreate with his family. He has a wife, two teenagers, a boy and a girl. He does not want his son to be a police officer. His dream is to use his English to get a better job, so he can send his children to University. He has seen many people come and go from his post, and showed me a card of fellow American police officer he met, who turned out to be an "Officer Dan" from White Plains, NY. He was very proud to know a police officer from the US. 

He was pleasant, friendly, and was present during the shooting of the "Tomb Raider" in which he saw Angelina Jolie on a regular basis. He was unimpressed with her adopting Cambodian children. (This is common. It is virtually unheard of, and the government generally dislikes anyone other than Cambodians raising Cambodians. I wonder how she pulled that off.) John Cena will be there in the near future filming a movie as well, so all you wrestling fans get your tickets now.

In my experience, no matter where you go, people seem to be the same. They work hard, are glad to have a job, and are primarily interested in leaving a better world for their children. Halfway around the world, a friendly man showed up to work, talked nice with the visitors, and made a friend. Remember that the next time you think things are different halfway around the world. 

Love for sale, appetizing yummy love for sale...

17/01/11

On the road back to Phnom Penh

Commerce.

Ponies. Scooter Repair Shops. Pineapples. Petrol. Lumber. Bamboo. Fanta. Timber. Bricks. Cell Phones. Auto Repair Shop. Beauty Shop. Firewood. Gravel. Fish pens. Propane tanks. Baby Ducks. Dog. Watches. Water. Cigarettes. Second Hand Petrol. Internet Service. Tarantellas. 

Tires. 22-inch Rims for the tires ("I mean, them tens. They're tens, but I keep 'em clean."). Dirt. Heavy Equipment. Their parts. Furniture. Empty Petrol Tanks. Culverts. Bananas. Bikes. Oil. Hula Hoops. Crickets. Flowers. Coconuts. Chicken Feet. Liquor. Bread. Sand. Eggs. Dental Work. Chips. Baskets. Motorcycle Helmets. Wrapping Paper. Mirrors. Laundry Service. Concrete. Foam. Beds. The Cambodian People's Party Offices.

No Monkeys...yet. Paint. Those little round things with ribs in them that spin on top of buildings for ventilation (don’t know what they are called). Granite Countertops. Ceramic Tile. Cacti. Stone Benches. Buddhist Prayer Shrines. Steel Barrels. Pharmaceuticals. Xerox Copiers.Sandals. Shoes.

This is what drives the Cambodian economy. Anything you can get your hands on that has value. There is nothing you cannot sell, including people and political influence.

There are a number of items available for purchase when traveling. The toughest sellers are children.

They ask you to buy: “Pineapple, sir, one dollar. One dollar for pineapple, sir?” Their sad eyes draw you to them at first, and you want to buy anything and everything from them. Then, the charm begins to fade. You begin to realize that Cambodia offers a good lesson in the survival of the fittest.

The hustle here is universal. Whoever gets to you first wins, so they do everything they can to get to you first. “Nice scarf for your girlfriend. Your mother want nice bracelet?” Once you begin to speak with them, however, the game for the less successful breaks down. When that happens, they get frustrated or angry.  After a while, you begin to see through them. They do this every day, all day, trying to make a buck. Everyone is a potential customer. In the law of averages when it comes to survival, the only thing is the hard sell.

The real smart ones have their script and they look for the weakest link: someone who feels sorry for them. They have an answer cleverly, without hesitation. And so they come, relentlessly. Tirelessly. Aggressively. It begins to be fun if you enjoy the banter after a while. “My mother doesn’t like bracelets,” I tell one. “She will like this one, it’s the best.” “I don’t have any money,” I tell another young girl. Her response, “No money, no honey,” and then walked away to barter her wares to another not quite as “clever” as myself.

We had seen that phrase on a T-shirt up the road earlier in the day at Angkor Wat, one of the seven wonders of the world...ironic to say the least...

I realized this was something of a pop culture reference, and the girl walked away as if she meant it. I almost felt bad for myself, and had to remember I was successfully married and my wife loves me for more than my money. It is all fun and games till you are hustled by a child. This is the way it works here. Poked, prodded, and generally manipulated, you will begin to question the very fabric of your being and what the desire for goods, services, and money has done to all of us.

Something from nothing...

12/01/11

A roomful of Americans and monks – Battambong

We are all learning, even the young men in their orange vestments.

They are solemn, serious, but still young, and they giggle as often as any of the usual high school students in the U.S. Buddhist Monks and their Nun counterparts receive the ultimate respect in Cambodian society. Even when they minister in prison, they are greeted with a gift of food in honor of their presence, and the rooms are silent as they speak because they are the teachers. They teach of peace, health and sex education, AIDS/HIV awareness, and the teaching of the Buddha and the earth. The Buddhist University we visited is preparing these young people for a new world of teaching and development. Two thirds of the Cambodian population is under the age of 30, so the next generation will truly be the new deciders.

This young man wants to study abroad…but their education system is still behind most international standards, so according to Bob, even if they graduate with a diploma, they aren’t quite prepared for the normal, “western” university experience. Anybody want to come over and teach English for a year?

Asleep on the edge...

12/01/11

Lunch break

The meals here are too much. They (the guides Paeng, Sophat, and Hoeung) often order for us. Today’s lunch consisted of sliders and fries, fried rice, fish, spaghetti with vegetables (corn, green beans, onions), chicken in spicy sweet pineapple sauce, and fresh fruit for dessert. To put it another way, we all thought the sliders and fries would be plenty.

As we stuffed ourselves, across the way a number of construction workers took advantage of their lunch break to rest in the building in progress across the street.

OSHA – No such thing. Safety ropes. Nope. Hard Hats. Nada. Welcome to Cambodia…sleep tight.

Kettle, black. Black, kettle.

12/01/11

Someone told us of the smoking pot…

…and I did not, but the pot was smoking…

Oh the water, oh the water

12/01/11

The Water – Battambong

Critical to life, water sustains us all. In Cambodia, it is a major artery for transit of materials.

It’s a great way to pass the time as well. The country is still learning how to protect its most precious resource from itself through self-imposed environmental degradation and the lack of infrastructure to protect it from human waste. All drinkable water must be purchased in plastic bottles…if you have the money. Think about that.

Peace and love man

12/01/11

Dhammayietra Center for Peace and Nonviolence – Battambong

Bob Maat is a peace activist who has lived in Cambodia for 31 years. He came here in 1979 to do refugee outreach and never left. It is strange to see the thin 57-year old “Polish” white boy from Cleveland, in this environment, but he seems to fit right in. He studies the Buddha here with the monks, speaks Cambodian and English, and walks everywhere, unless he is offered a ride on the road. He never asks for one. One conversation with him and you will feel at peace.

The temples at the Dhammayietra Center for Peace and Nonviolence speak for themselves.

Their purpose as the Buddha said: “I teach only two things – suffering and the end of suffering.” Dhammayietra and the monks serve in the annual Peace walk, help people living with HIV/AIDS and caring for those dying at home, helping young peacemakers through study and volunteerism, and ministering to prisoners who seek a new path. They deliberately seek out areas where there is conflict and suffering.

The walk they make is a metaphor for life as a journey. We cannot stop conflict or fix or cure suffering, but the idea is we “walk” with those who do suffer, letting them know they are not alone and seeking ways to ease the pain. The Venerable Maha Ghosananda founded Dhammayietra on the basis of these ideas.

Bob’s “office” is a small, open temple with two rooms, one on each side. We entered the porch area, and surrounding us were peace posters, photos, quotes, and heroes from all over the world. 

This was a powerful walk into the heart of what troubles Cambodia from the inside out. Torn by years of war and conflict, it is a country broken and trying to heal. No one has been immune to the effects of war in this community. We heard stirring first hand stories of the effects of the Khmer Rouge and their breaking apart of families from a monk, the Venerable Vy Sovichea, who lost four members of his family and he has given his life to the pursuit of peace as a Buddhist monk. He runs the Center, and is responsible for it’s progress.

We then heard the tearful story of Sek Sarom, who has first hand seen the devastation of the war as a child in a refugee camp on the Thai border with Cambodia. Cambodia was stretched between two enemies during the reign of the Khmer Rouge; Vietnam from the East, which used the Khmer Rouge as a proxy army during their gradual decline, and Thailand to the west, who was competing for resources and labor with Vietnam. Thailand utilizes cheap labor and other commodities from Cambodia, but wanted nothing to do with refugees, so they set up camps along the mountainous, northweset border and forced the Cambodians to live there rather than seek refuge in their country. Sek Sarom met Bob as a child, and saw the disappearance of many family members at the behest of the Thai army. She was unable to finish her story because of her tears, and the room was filled with the emotion of many of us who had finally heard too much pain and suffering.

Bob Maat could be mistaken for a “peace-nick” or a hippie because of his language, but his disheveled appearance belies a wise, experienced, Western intellectual who has taken on the calling of the Buddha. He practices Buddhism, eating two meals a day: one at breakfast and one before noon. The three days we were with him he had his peace walk T-shirt and tie-line pants on. An ancient pair of flip-flops adorn his feet, and they are worn from his many miles of walking, which he does so willingly. He is very well-known about the town of Battambong as the “crazy American” and he embraces that role in a jovial and peaceful demeanor. One garners a sense of peace and purpose when speaking with him.

I told Bob about Chea Vanaths talk about “balance” I discussed earlier, and his suggestion for me was to embrace silence. I have a ruckus in the head, as some of you know, and I have been seeking to reconcile my concern for the future with the realities we are facing. The idea of finding a middle space between war and peace, joy and pain, suffering and healing, appeals to me. I see my response should be one of action to counter those I do not believe in with those I do: to lift up, to support, to conserve, and most of all, to listen. Bob explained that to listen, one needs to pursue silence. He also suggested I pursue it immediately and often, and the balance I seek would find me.

So I leave you with this silence, and ask you to reflect on your “enemies,” friends, and loved ones. Peace be with you, today and always.