Misplaced Pages

Bour Kry

Article snapshot taken from Wikipedia with creative commons attribution-sharealike license. Give it a read and then ask your questions in the chat. We can research this topic together.
Cambodian Buddhist monk (born 1945)
This article has multiple issues. Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page. (Learn how and when to remove these messages)
This article includes a list of references, related reading, or external links, but its sources remain unclear because it lacks inline citations. Please help improve this article by introducing more precise citations. (January 2024) (Learn how and when to remove this message)
This biography of a living person relies on a single source. You can help by adding reliable sources to this article. Contentious material about living people that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately. (November 2024) (Learn how and when to remove this message)
(Learn how and when to remove this message)
Bour Kry
បួរ គ្រី
Samdech Preah Sangkhareach Bour Kry at Wat Khemararam
TitleSangharaja
Personal life
Born (1945-01-11) 11 January 1945 (age 79)
Battambang, Cambodia, French Indochina
NationalityCambodian
Religious life
ReligionBuddhism
SchoolTheravada
LineageDhammayuttika Nikaya
Dharma namesCandagiriko
ចន្ទតិរិកោ
Senior posting
PredecessorTep Leung
This article contains Khmer text. Without proper rendering support, you may see question marks, boxes, or other symbols instead of Khmer script.

Samdech Preah Sangkhareach Bour Kry (Khmer: សម្ដេចព្រះសង្ឃរាជ បួរ គ្រី; born 11 January 1945) is the seventh and current Supreme Patriarch of the Thammayut order of Cambodia.

Early life

Bour Kry was born in Battambang and was ordained as a Buddhist monk in 1963. His early years in the monkhood were devoted to the study of the Pali Canon. In the following years, he was given the spiritual post of Secretary of the Mekon and appointed to the head of a monastery on the Thai-Cambodian border.

Exile in France

The rise to power of the Khmer Rouge in 1975 began a grim and violent period for the country, and the existence of the Cambodian Sangha was put in critical danger. Bour Kry managed to flee, arriving in France in 1976. In 1977, he founded the Association Bouddhique Khmer (Khmer Buddhist Association) with a small group of expatriate monks and laypersons. The growth of this religious community in the following years led to the establishment of Vatt Khémararam at Créteil, a suburb of Paris, in 1980. Bour Kry's continued support for the Southeast Asian refugee community saw the foundation of Secours Bouddhique International (International Buddhist Assistance), a humanitarian organization independent of the monastery, in 1982.

Royal nominations

Prince Norodom Sihanouk appointed Bour Kry to the rank of Spiritual Eminence (Khmer: សម្តេចព្រះអង្គគ្រូ) in 1987. Following the signing of the Paris Agreement in 1991, King Norodom Sihanouk further appointed Bour Kry to the head of the Cambodian Buddhist Dhammayuttika order with the title of Supreme Patriarch (Khmer: សម្តេចព្រះសុគន្ធាធិបតី).

Social and religious activities

Bour Kry in a funerary procession of the late Norodom Sihanouk

After 1991 Bour Kry returned regularly to Cambodia to assist in the reconstruction and redevelopment of Buddhist schools and monasteries. The number of Dhammayuttika monasteries has since grown to over 150. The Preah Sihanouk Dhammadhiraj Buddhist Institute was founded in 1995 with the goal of education and professional training for Cambodia's poorest youth, the revitalization of Buddhist teachings, and the introduction of Cambodian youth to Khmer culture and traditions.

Bour Kry has been involved in addressing the spread of AIDS, participating in international discussions on the topic and encouraging the role of the monastery in disseminating health information. He has also been active in spreading information concerning drug and cigarette dependence in Cambodia.

Titles

As the Supreme Patriarch of the Dhammayuttika Nikaya, Bour Kry's full official title is Samdech Preah Aphiserei Sukonthea Mohasangreacheathipadei (Abhisirī Sugandhā Mahāsangharājādhipati) (Khmer: សម្តេច ព្រះ អភិសិរី សុគន្ធា មហាសង្ឃរាជាធិបតី). This title means 'Of Higher Merit and Pure Virtue, Great Supreme Patriarch Leader'. In letters with King-Father Sihanouk, an abbreviated title is used in the valediction: Samdech Preah Sangreach (Khmer: សម្តេច ព្រះ សង្ឃរាជ).

See also

References

  1. "King-Father Norodom Sihanouk of Cambodia -". www.norodomsihanouk.info. Retrieved 2024-01-19.

Further reading

External links

   Topics in Buddhism   
Foundations
The Buddha
Bodhisattvas
Disciples
Key concepts
Cosmology
Branches
Practices
Nirvana
Monasticism
Major figures
Texts
Countries
History
Philosophy
Culture
Miscellaneous
Comparison
Lists
Buddhism in Cambodia
Temples
Mahayana
Maha Nikaya
Dhammayuttika Nikaya
Architecture
Chedi
Cave temples
Sculpture
Notable Buddhists
Notable figures
Maha Nikay
Thomayyut
Education
Culture
Politics

flag Cambodia portal

Categories: