Samdech Sangha Raja Chuon Nath | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Personal | |
| Born | March 11, 1883 |
| Died | September 25, 1969 |
| Religion | Theravada Buddhism |
| Nationality | Cambodian |
| School | Mohanikaya Order |
Chuon Nath, was a major reformer of Cambodian Buddhism (sometimes referred to as Khmer Buddhism). As head of the Mohanikaya Order, Nath was a scholar of both Sanskrit and Pali and was fluent in the languages of Laos, Burma and Thailand (in addition to Cambodian).[1] Along with the monk Huot Tath—and through the help of the archeologist Louis Finot
Biography
editIn 1912 Chuon Nath and fellow Camodian monk Huot Tath (1891—1975) were taught Sanskrit by an Indian peanut peddler.[2] The two later studied with the archeologist Louis Finot at the EFEO in Hanoi, with whom they obtained permission to publish all kinds of Buddhist texts. This was noteworthy in that previously the publishing of Buddhist texts was highly restricted in the country, with any publication first requiring approval from the head of the two dominant Buddhist orders as well from the council of Ministers.[3] At EFEO the two monks met the female French Indologist Suzanne Karpelés. Karpelés had come to Hanoi in 1923, and one of her missions was to rehabilitate the integrity of Khmer Buddhism manuscripts. Both Choun Nath and Huot Tath would later emerge as strategic allies in this quest, the two men helping to revitalize Khmer Buddhism.[2]
Notes
editReferences
edit- Herbert, Patricia (1989). South-East Asia: Languages and Literature, a Select Guide. Honolulu, HI: University of Hawaii Press. ISBN 0824812670. OCLC 19512831.
{{cite book}}: Unknown parameter|coauthors=ignored (|author=suggested) (help) - Robson, Kathryn (2005). France and "Indochina". Lanham, MD: Lexington Books. ISBN 0739108409.
{{cite book}}: Unknown parameter|coauthors=ignored (|author=suggested) (help) - Sri Ram, N. (2003). Theosophist Magazine January 1958-August 1958. Kessinger Publishing. ISBN 0766152197.
