The Well-known Monk

In March 11, 1883, a son of farmers was born with an outstanding talent.His name was Chuon Nath, the late Supreme Patriarch Kana Mahanikaya of Cambodia. As a master of Buddha’s teaching, he was very intelligent and well known around Buddhism circles, as well as, Khmer language’s conservation. He dedicated his life to conserving our language, and he achieved a great deal in his efforts, such as putting Khmer language in the form of Khmer dictionary for the first time and writing the national anthems, Nokor Reach and Savada Khmer. He is the most respected monk, known as Samdech Sangha Raja Chuon Nath through his movements, including the protection and conveyance of Khmer history and identity.
In the early twentieth century, Chuon Nath organized some reformist movements in order to develop a rationalist – scholastic model of Buddhism. These movements were so important for Cambodia to keep our language’s identity, culture, and nationalism. Chuon Nath translated Pali and Sanskrit languages into modern Khmer language, which is used in our modern society. Without him, the Cambodian people would have difficulties in studying language because ordinary people cannot understand Pali and Sanskrit languages well, and only the monks would.
Additionally, Chuon Nath was probably the most knowledgeable monk who had derived many understandable words from difficult Pali and Sanskrit words. Another contribution was his effort to prevent the French from using the Roman alphabets to write the Khmer language. When Cambodia was a French colony, France intended to replace the Khmer language with its own language. It was compulsory for us to learn French starting from primary school. This was established by the France while it ruled Cambodia for approximately 90 years. Fortunately, with much hard work of our knowledgeable scholars, Cambodia could protect the Khmer language and use it as a formal one. We are very proud and happy to use our own language rather than French.
Nowadays, we officially use Chuon Nath’s dictionary in terms of formal written forms. For example, it plays an important role in writing a formal letter, book, or any documents in the constitution. Moreover, it is also used for school curriculum. All the students throughout the whole country have an obligation to learn “Pong Savada Khmer” and “Nokorreach.”
“Pong Savada Khmer” is an anthem about the nationality of Khmer. It teaches us about Khmer and about general concepts of the Khmer people. “Nokorreach” -Royal Kingdom (see the inscription in Khmer below) is the national anthem of Cambodia adopted in 1941 and reconfirmed in 1947, around the time of independence from France.
Overall, what we gained from Chuon Nath’ works is a great honor for Cambodia, so we highly respect and appreciate him. Everyone should know Samdach Chuon Nath, the monk who contributed a great deal for the Buddhist religion and Cambodia’s educational system.