Mainstay of Cambodian American Culture: Healing and Buddhism

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Mainstay of Cambodian American Culture: Healing and Buddhism

The Cambodian Buddhist Temple in Silver Spring, Maryland. The Cambodian Buddhist Society, where Master Chum teaches many students, is based at the Temple. Photo by Edwin Remsberg, Courtesy of the Maryland State Arts Council

Author: Christine Su    
Grades: 11-12

Suggested Amount of Time: 60 minutes
Area of Study: Community Building and Healing

Compelling Question

  • How did Cambodians build communities to thrive and heal in the United States?

Lesson Question

  • How has Buddhism, including the wat and sangha, contributed to healing Cambodian Americans’ trauma from the Khmer Rouge regime and other issues? 

Lesson Objective

Students will be able to identify and explain how Buddhism, including the wat and sangha supported the healing process of many Cambodian Americans. 

Lesson Background

“In pre revolutionary Cambodia, the Buddhist temple (wat in Pali, the holy language of Theravada Buddhism; vat in Khmer) was a central fixture in Khmer villages, where it functioned not only as a religious shrine but also as a school, refuge, and social center. Buddhist holy days and life-cycle ceremonies punctuated the Khmer calendar and gave religious meaning to the stages of life.  Buddhist norms of conduct were important guides for daily behavior” (Smith-Hefner, 1999, 21). Read or have students read in class the brief book review by Ivanescu, C. 2020. Khmer identity: a religious perspective. https://www.iias.asia/sites/default/files/2020-11/IIAS_NL40_27.pdf  IIAS Newsletter #35, International Institute for Asian Studies, Leiden. 

Image Citation: Council, M. S. A. (n.d.). Cambodian Buddhist Temple, Silver Spring, Maryland. Flickr. https://www.flickr.com/photos/artscouncil/12123819103

Historical Thinking Skill

Activist Dimension - History is a means to establish deeper connections between the past and present. This extends beyond simply understanding modern-day issues. This deeper connection asks us to be reflective about the world, our community, and ourselves so that we are working towards a more just and equitable society.

Students will consider how Buddhist temples in the United States preserve historical connections to Cambodian traditions.

For additional guidance around ethnic studies implementation, refer to the Ethnic Studies Model Curriculum (2022) https://www.cde.ca.gov/ci/cr/cf/esmc.asp.

Readings
  • Khmer identity: a religious perspective 
  • Monk Sees US Pagoda as Central to Cambodian Community
  • “Religion.” 
  • Carrying the Burdens of loss and change, immigrants adapt 
Video
  • “Sacred Minnesota“
Photos 
  • Worship and Offering
Handouts

 

  1. Cultural Energizer

  • Prompt students to think of their safe space.  Examples of this could be their room, a garden, the beach, a library, a religious site. Ask students to identify and explain why this is their safe space.
  • Have students share with a peer and then have a whole class share out.

 

  1. Vocabulary Building

  • Define the following key terms as a class: wat, sangha, Buddhism, Khmer Rouge. 
  • Key terms and notes should be made accessible to students via a classroom word bank or individual student notes. 
  • (Optional) For additional scaffolding, students can complete a Frayer model vocabulary chart for each term. This may include: the term, definition, five adjectives related to the word, a visual representation, and historical relevance to Cambodian culture.
  • (Optional) The following image gallery can be shown to help students contextualize the vocabulary terms: Folder “Offering and Worship.”  (https://ucdavis.box.com/s/bj8two6q0n46x7xg8x5zmceqqotz7z48)

 

  1. Anticipatory Activity - Quote Analysis:

  • Teacher should guide students to reflect on the quote from Smith-Hefner and review by Ivanescu: “In pre revolutionary Cambodia, the Buddhist temple (wat in Pali, the holy language of Theravada Buddhism; vat in Khmer) was a central fixture in Khmer villages, where it functioned not only as a religious shrine but also as a school, refuge, and social center. Buddhist holy days and life-cycle ceremonies punctuated the Khmer calendar and gave religious meaning to the stages of life.  Buddhist norms of conduct were important guides for daily behavior.”  (Smith-Hefner, 1999, 21)
    1. Given the information about the “wat” in the quote above, students should reflect on the following questions and have a whole class discussion: 
      1. Why do you think that the Khmer Rouge targeted the monks for execution and forbade Cambodians to practice Buddhism? 
      2. Do you think that in recreating their lives in the U.S., that rebuilding the wat and the sangha took priority?  Why or Why not? 

 

  1. Interaction with first source: 

  • When interacting with the sources, it’s best for students to create a note catcher. Suggested note catcher format: Bubble Map. In the center, students can write the lesson question: How has Buddhism, including the wat and sangha, contributed to healing Cambodian Americans’ trauma from the Khmer Rouge regime and other issues?  Optionally, students can utilize a flow chart map, tree map, brace map, or other. 
  • As a class, watch the video: “Sacred Minnesota” (https://www.pbs.org/video/cambodians-build-a-temple-to-heal-trauma-38458/) 
  • Once the video is complete, the teacher should model how to add details to the bubble map. For example, teachers can add details such as: builds community, infuses Khmer cultural art, keeps culture alive, brings peace, etc.

 

  1. Interaction with second source: 

 

  1. Interaction with third source: 

  • Students will independently read: “How Cambodian Americans Heal the Cycle of Intergenerational Trauma” (optionally: students can listen to the article) 
  • Students will continue to add to their note taker with any new information.
  • Have students share with a partner their new notes, and then have a class discussion. 

 

  1. Cultural Production: 

  • Students will choose from one of the following assessment options. As students write, there are additional sources in the Works Cited and Supplementary Sources sections that they can draw inspiration from. 
    1. Poem - Students will write a creative poem that pays homage to the importance of Buddhism, including wats and sangha, to the Cambodian community. The poem should include the vocabulary terms and have cultural relevance to the lesson content. Healing should remain a main theme.
    2. Playlist - Students will identify five songs that best reflect the value of Buddhism, including wats and sangha, in the Cambodian community. The songs do not have to be Khmer/Cambodian songs. However, students should think about the healing process related to Buddhism. Each song should include a three to five sentence description as to why it was chosen and how it has cultural relevance to the lesson content. Healing should remain a main theme.

Students will choose from one of the following assessment options: 

  • Poem - Students will write a creative poem that pays homage to the importance of Buddhism, including wats and sangha, to the Cambodian community. The poem should include the vocabulary terms and have cultural relevance to the lesson content. 
  • Playlist - Students will identify five songs that best reflect the value of Buddhism, including wats and sangha, in the Cambodian community. The songs do not have to be Khmer/Cambodian songs. However, students should think about the healing process related to Buddhism. Each song should include a three to five sentence description as to why it was chosen and how it has cultural relevance to the lesson content.

Engagement: Consider the following method to support with lesson  engagement:

  • Vary activities and sources of information so that they can be:
    • Personalized and contextualized to learners’ lives
    • Culturally relevant and responsive
    • Socially relevant
    • Age and ability appropriate
    • Appropriate for different racial, cultural, ethnic, and gender groups

 

Representation: Consider the following method to support with multiple means of representation:

  • Pre-teach vocabulary and symbols, especially in ways that promote connection to the learners’ experience and prior knowledge
  • Provide written transcripts for videos or auditory clips

 

Action and Expression: Consider the following method to support in presenting their learning in multiple ways:

  • Use story webs, outlining tools, or concept mapping tools

 

For additional ideas to support your students, check out the UDL Guidelines at CAST (2018) http://udlguidelines.cast.org.

Emerging: Consider the following method to support with emerging students:

  • Speaking: Provide sentence frames for pair interactions
    • In response to a prompt, the teacher offers a sentence frame orally and/or in writing to support expression of student thinking. Frames are adjusted based upon specific grammatical structure, key vocabulary, content learning, and language proficiency level descriptors, etc. Frames are a temporary scaffold that require modification.

Expanding: Consider the following method to support with expanding students:

  • Speaking: Use varied presentation formats such as role plays
  • Students demonstrate understanding of events or characters through roleplay. In a choreographed tableau, ​a group of models or motionless figures represents a scene from a story or from history, slowly transitioning from one scene to another. When tapped on the shoulder, the posing performer addresses the audience to say who they are or what they’re doing in the tableau. Speaker returns to pose before the performers morph into the next pose. 

 

Bridging: Consider the following method to support with bridging students:

  • Speaking: Confirm students’ prior knowledge of content topics 
  • With a focus on meaning­-making, students are prompted to think about what they already know in effort to help them learn something new.
  • Students find connections between familiar vocabulary related to content learning, explaining how their words are connected. (Our words are connected/linked/related because __________.)

 

For additional guidance around scaffolding for multilingual learners, please consult the following resources:

  1. Visit a Cambodian Buddhist temple in the area where you live (if possible). Make note of your first impressions: what strikes you about the temple itself? What types of things are inside the temple? Whom do you see there? What are people doing? (This could be a class activity, depending upon time and proximity of a temple). 
  2. Interview a Cambodian American on his/her/their thoughts about the role of Buddhism in Cambodian American life, individually and collectively.

Britt, K. (2020c, May 11). English learner toolkit of strategies. California County Superintendents. https://cacountysupts.org/english-learner-toolkit-of-strategies/

California Department of Education. (2022). Ethnic studies model curriculum. https://www.cde.ca.gov/ci/cr/cf/esmc.asp 

California Department of Education & English Learner Support Division. (2012). California English Language Development standards (Electronic Edition) kindergarten through grade 12 (F. Ong & J. McLean, Eds.). California Department of Education. https://www.cde.ca.gov/sp/el/er/documents/eldstndspublication14.pdf

California Educators Together. (n.d.). ELA / ELD framework. https://www.caeducatorstogether.org/resources/6537/ela-eld-framework

CAST. (2018) The UDL guidelines. http://udlguidelines.cast.org

Im, S. 2011, July 25. Monk Sees US Pagoda as Central to Cambodian Community. Voice of America. https://www.voacambodia.com/a/monk-sees-us-pagoda-as-central-to-cambodian-comunity-126115903/1355500.html .

Lee, J.H.X. 2011. “Religion.” J.H.X. Lee & K. Nadeau (Eds.), Encyclopedia of Folklore and Folklife. ABC-CLIO. https://drive.google.com/file/d/1VLs80Vm5z2iM0z0O1U7R8TqXWAVWnpT_/view?usp=sharing 

Levin, C., & Holt, L.R. (Directors). 1991. Rebuilding the Temple [Film]. Florentine Films. https://www.folkstreams.net/films/rebuilding-the-temple

PBS. 2021, March 10. Cambodians Build a Temple to Heal Trauma [TV series episode]. In Sacred Minnesota. PBS. https://www.pbs.org/video/cambodians-build-a-temple-to-heal-trauma-38458/ 

San Diego County Office of Education. (n.d.). Providing appropriate scaffolding. https://www.sdcoe.net/educators/multilingual-education-and-global-achievement/oracy-toolkit/providing-appropriate-scaffolding#scaffolding

Sexias, P. & Morton, T. 2013. The big six: Historical thinking concepts. Nelson Education.

Tulare County Office of Education. (n.d.). Strategies for ELD. https://commoncore.tcoe.org/Content/Public/doc/Alpha-CollectionofELDStrategies.pdf 

Wiscombe, J. 1989, December 10. Carrying the Burdens of loss and change, immigrants adapt. Press-Telegram. Part 1. Beyond the Killing Fields.pdf

Supplementary Sources

Students who would like a primer/overview on Buddhism might take the time to read/watch: “A Short History of the Buddhist Schools” https://www.worldhistory.org/article/492/a-short-history-of-the-buddhist-schools/ and https://gcdn.2mdn.net/videoplayback/id/11f99983b614b1b9/itag/346/source/web_video_ads/ctier/L/acao/yes/ip/0.0.0.0/ipbits/0/expire/3830527088/sparams/id,itag,source,ctier,acao,ip,ipbits,expire/signature/815FA67354F0A9F02B7DED1B265EA7EEB2094273.B7A50F43A1A252F048405424950C15B007B8D028/key/ck2/file/file.mp4 (shorter link: https://tinyurl.com/2pnu4vp5)

Selected photos from Cambodian Oral History Archive (reflecting U.S. -based Offering and Worship): https://drive.google.com/file/d/11wZGUURbZtZI8NQeGCIclX-5pDofEpLQ/view?usp=drive_link 

Douglas, T. 2005. Changing Religious Practices among Cambodian Immigrants in Long Beach and Seattle. In K. Leonard et al. (Eds.), Immigrant Faiths: Transforming Religious Life in America (2nd ed.). AltaMira Press. 

Hu, K. 2020. Cambodian American identity through the eyes of Jolie Chea. UCLA Center for Southeast Asian Studies. Available at: https://www.international.ucla.edu/cseas/article/230892. 

Lewis, D.C. 2001. From Cambodia to the United States: The Disassembly, Reconstruction, and Redefinition of Khmer Identity [Master's Thesis, University of Kentucky]. https://uknowledge.uky.edu/gradschool_theses/185 

Mortland, C. 2017. Cambodian Buddhism in the United States. SUNY Press.  

“Refugees Find Peace in Buddhist Temple.” August 9, 2021. TPT Twin Cities PBS. https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=333571841594268 

Smith-Hefner, N. 1999. “To be Khmer Is to Be Buddhist.” In Khmer American: Identity and Moral Education in a Diasporic Community.  University of California Press. 

Wachtel, J. (Director). 2022. Karmalink. Good Deed Entertainment. Available at: https://gooddeedentertainment.com/karmalink/ 

Model Curriculum

Cambodian American Studies

Standard(s)

HSS 11.11 RI.11-12.1 W.11-12.3

Grade(s)

Grade 11 Grade 12