A Guide to Understand Architecture, History and Practice Culture - A Visit to Golden Pagoda in Phnom Penh

The pagoda is a traditional Cambodian school to teach Khmer people about skill and knowledge, morality, and peace, the way to live with peace.

Last Saturday, I went to Phnom Penh pagoda.

Following the journey of history and culture, people usually said when you pray with flowers and given flowers for monks, the next life you will born great, beautiful as the flower. This is a belief from Cambodian that I have heard since I was young. Even though there isn’t any proof to support the idea, people continue to pray with flowers. Personally, I think flower is good, when we pray we can smell the fragrant of flowers which make our mind fresh and enables to think positive.

Buddhism is one of the biggest and most popular religions in my region and also all over the country. So, people built many statue and more collection of things related to Buddha. Well, there are many pagoda during Songkum Reas Niyum era, and more design than now in some area. We can see how people use their own imagination to think of that unique stuff. I would say I haven’t been to all different pagoda in each province, but I would love to visit somewhere that is quite, like mountain pagoda.

A Buddha statue triggers and reminds one of his or her vows to preserver his or her spiritual as well as meditation practice. More than 96% of Cambodia’s population is Buddhist and many ancient sites are still used for worshiping. At some temples you’ll find monks practicing Buddhist rituals.

At the same time, Buddha statues builds up within oneself and motivates to overcome the negative emotions of fear, most Cambodia pray before they do a test greed, and focusing the attention on the reality of the materialistic world.

Today, a lots of local people come to pagoda, most of them wearing white. In general it’s allowed to take photos or make videos, unless there are signs that tell you otherwise. Since I live here, I never see people would skip pagoda in big Khmer event, so it tell that people are always respect and practice their culture. In addition to being the location where religious celebrations and practices was held.

The pagoda is the biggest building, located in the center of the Takhmao Town. Locals use the words Wat or Prasat to refer to a temple or a pagoda. In the middle of the pagoda, a woman selling flowers. People go to buy her flowers and give to monk.

Ask the locals and they may be able to tell you more than 100 things that THEY do or don’t do when visiting a temple or pagoda, but don’t worry: they wont expect you to know or follow all of them. There are however a number of things they do expect from you like driving your vehicle, motorbike or bicycle because there is a parking lot and space to park.

One of the many regulations and vows for monks is that they are not allowed to touch women. But if there is accidental touching during a blessing with a bracelet, there is no problem at all. Men are allowed to touch monks, but a chummy hug is too much of a good thing.