In Cambodia I am somewhat involuntary. I love Myanmar and would have been very happy a 3rd time again there. Unfortunately, the military has couped and the situation is unclear in 2023.
I assumed that I would find a monastery here where I could practice vipassana. But the tradition here is very different from Myanmar and also Thailand. One of my teachers Akincano, once explained the background of the hospitality towards lay people in the monasteries in Myanmar. The British colonialists wanted to appropriate the lands of the monasteries in Myanmar because they officially belonged to no one. The large plots of land of the monasteries were not registered in the land register. No one from Myanmar would have dared to steal land from a monastery. The British occupation forces had plans to change this and sell the land cheaply. Buddhism as a monastic system was seriously threatened. As a defense, the monks brought laymen into the monastery and taught them everything, fearing the worst.
The British could not cope with the impassable terrain and the stubborn mountain people with their 20 different languages, so they concentrated more on India and Myanmar ensured the survival of the Buddhist culture. This historical threat has had the positive effect that Theravada in Myanmar is the most lay-friendly in the world. Only Myanmar has an unlimited meditation visa. If you wish you can meditate in a monastery there for the next 20 years, the monasteries simply extends your visa endlessly without any fees. You are equal to the monks in terms of practice and teaching and practice with them. You eat with them, stand in line to eat in front of the monks – a gesture of hospitality.
Ok all this I had learned and appreciate in 3 months in Myanmar and had something similar in Cambodia expected. But it is far from it. Already in December in Dresden I learned from Wnag a martial arts trainer from Cambodia – living in Dresden – that you can not meditate in the monasteries in Cambodia, also not the locals.
It needs to ordination, otherwise you can only come as a tourist and take photos.
ufff …
A longer web search on the topic of „meditating in Cambodia“ did not bring a single article on the subject – this confirmed what Wang said. Even Akincano, who is very well connected and has been a monk in Thailand for a long time, could not give me any contacts.
So I decided then just to get to know the country – the flights were already booked.