Cambodian Buddhism

About this book

"The study of Cambodian religion has long been hampered by a lack of easily accessible scholarship. This new work by Ian Harris thus fills a major gap and offers English-language scholars a book-length, up-to-date treatment of the religious aspects of Cambodian culture. Beginning with a coherent history of the presence of religion in the country from its inception to the present day, the book goes on to furnish insights into the distinctive nature of Cambodia's important yet overlooked manifestation of Theravada Buddhist tradition and shows how it reestablished itself following almost total annihilation during the Pol Pot period." "Cambodian Buddhism: History and Practice synthesizes an enormous range of scholarship (most of it in French), complemented by the author's own fieldwork in modern Cambodia. The result is a wide-ranging, well-documented, and comprehensive account of a neglected Southeast Asian tradition."--Jacket.