September 25, 2025
PHNOM PENH – Cambodia is one of the oldest nations to inherit Buddhist philosophy and culture, in this case since the 5th and 6th centuries, during the Funan and Chenla eras. In the 13th century (1181-1219), King Jayavarman VII (1181-129) constituted Buddhism as the primary state religion during the Angkor era.
The teaching and philosophy of the Buddha have profoundly developed into the ideology of the Khmer people. Moreover, King Jayavarman VII embraced the ten royal virtues of Buddhism to be a good king, and is perceived as one of the greatest kings in Khmer history.
Since the 13th century, Buddhist teachings have been strongly connected with the social, political, economic, cultural and environmental domains of Cambodian governance in almost every era throughout history, with the exception of the Khmer Rouge era, under the leadership of Pol Pot.
Prior to independence from France in 1953, Cambodia introduced a modern constitution in 1947, which transformed Cambodia into a constitutional monarchy for the first time in its history. King Sihanouk created a Socialist Community which embraced the ideology of “Buddhist socialism” or “Khmer socialism”, acknowledging Buddhism as the religion of the state.
Due to internal turmoil and the transition of various regimes, for almost two decades, the Cambodian monarchy was damaged, until the Paris Peace Agreements were initiated in 1991, leading to the national elections of 1993 and re-establishing a new constitutional monarchy.
The Cambodian Constitution Monument in Phnom Penh was unveiled in 2024. PHOTO: STPM/THE PHNOM PENH POST
The new constitution reignited the Khmer traditional political system and enduring culture by establishing Buddhism as a state religion and declaring the King as head of state.
In the Cambodian constitution, there are several articles, such as Article 4, Article 43 and Article 68, which show a connection with Buddhism. Article 4 declares that the Cambodian national motto is “Nation, Religion, King”.
Religion is referred to as Buddhism, as clearly proclaimed in Article 42: “Buddhism shall be the religion of the State”. It explicitly demonstrates that Buddhism is a symbol of national identity and unity.
Furthermore, Article 68 of the constitution has been documented to promote and develop Pali schools and safeguard Cambodia’s Buddhist institutions, which is a united Sangha, which means the ordained community of followers of Buddha’s teaching, consisting of both the Mahanikay and the Thammayut sects.
This provision showcases the strong support and obligation of the state to promote Buddhist education in Cambodia. In this aspect, the concept of Buddhist constitutionalism is employed to codify the Cambodian constitution to preserve Buddhism and protect the Sangha.
The introduction of Buddhism and monarchism in the 1993 constitution reignited the traditional Khmer political systems which place a high value on the role of Buddhism and monarchic principles, providing the significant role of the Sangha and the concept of the virtuous Buddhist King (Dhammaraja) in modern Khmer politics.
Article 13 specifically expresses the significant role of the Sangha in the Council of the Throne or advising the governance. The Highest leaders (Samdech Sanghareach) from the Mahanikay and the Thammayut, along with seven other members, including the president and first and second vice-presidents of both the Senate and the National Assembly, and the Prime Minister, are to select a new King when the old King passes.
The Sangha also possess the right to vote for their political party as enshrined in Article 34. More importantly, the monastic order is structured hierarchically as a pyramidal ecclesiastical structure, in which provincial chief monks (Mekun) are appointed by one of the two highest leaders (Sanghareach), in consultation with the Ministry of Cult and Religion. The heads of monks at individual monasteries (Chau adhikar) are selected at the local level but controlled by a provincial bureaucracy.
In this sense, Sangha in Cambodia confers legitimacy on rulers and is also the pure source of legitimate opposition against leaders who misbehave against Buddhist principles in governing the country.
The Sangha, through the institution of the monarchy, has participated in tracing social and economic development programmes and identifying political evolution and social tensions.
With the acceptance of Buddhism and monarchism as the supreme components of the state in the national constitution, Khmer political traditions and monarchical principles, which are profoundly rooted in the Buddhist concept of a “righteous ruler”, are adopted to choose a ruler or King.
Since ancient times, it has been recognised that possible successors are be ordained as monks. This is a vital part of their training for effective leadership because the King has to adhere to the virtue of Buddhist teachings. Notably, King Norodom Sihanouk was presented as a “Great Righteous King” (Dhammika Mahareach) in the 1947 Cambodian Constitution, and he referred to himself as “King-Monk”.
He established his realm as a socialist Buddhist state, aiming to apply Buddhist principles in the national programme of cultural and economic revitalization. Simultaneously, Article 8 of the 1993 national constitution regards the King as the symbol of the unity and eternity of the nation, whose role includes being the protector of national independence, sovereignty, the integral territory of the Kingdom, and the rights and freedoms of all citizens, as well as the observance of international treaties.
That means the King upholds the Buddhist principle of governing ethics.
Beside this, the concept of human rights stipulated in the UN Charter and the equivalence of all Khmer citizens regardless of race, language, colour, sex, religion and political tendency (Article 31), along with freedom of belief and sacrificed religion (Article 43), are aligned with Buddhist principles of compassion (karunā), nonviolence (ahiṃsa), non-discrimination (appakkileseñca) and tolerance (adhivāsanā).
In addition, according to Article 46, human trafficking and prostitution, which disproportionately affect women and girls, are prohibited because they are against Buddhist principles and women in Cambodian culture are treated as the highest among genders.
Furthermore, in the Right Livelihood (samma kammantā) of the Noble Eightfold path (ariya aṭṭhaṅgika maggā), there are five principles of a Buddhist state that should be formulated in a national policy, known as the “Buddhist economy”.
These five are forbidden: Business in weapons, business in human beings (slavery and human trafficking), business in meat, business in intoxicants and business in poison. These are forbidden due to the fact these businesses can increase suffering among all living beings.
Additionally, Article 54, which strictly prohibits the construction, utilisation or storage of any nuclear, chemical and biological weapons, is also connected to the Buddhist teaching that are based on non-violence and compassion.
More importantly, Chapter IV on the political system of the Cambodian constitution of Articles 52 and 53, illustrates Cambodia’s neutral and non-aligned stance in global politics to protect an independent, sovereign, integral and territorial nation.
Cambodia implemented a policy of peaceful co-existence, mutual interest and cooperation with its neighbouring states and other nations around the world.
Cambodia can be seen as a global example of a nation which practices Buddhist thoughts that are based on the Middle Path, compassion, and loving-Kindness (Karuna and Metta), and Dharma, with interdependence. In the Cambodian context, it can been observed that Buddhist thought has had a profound impact on society and plays a vital role as translator to interpret international conventions into local context.
Tan Sen is a Master’s Degree candidate in International Relations at Shanghai University, China. The views and opinions expressed are his own.