The Ceremony
The Monk, Ven. Ngim Phan Saosamkhan, invited us to his village in the Kampong Cham province in Combodia. He had organised a three day buddhist ceremony to inaugurate a much needed bridge he had commissioned for this rural community. He and his colleagues had invited 777 monks and many other guests from all over the country. During the ceremony they generously provided food for the monks, the guests and all the community. In this village there is a square which had once been considered a sacred place, where people had gathered to learn and pray. Due to horrendous and tragic events that has taken place during Combodia's extremely sad history, it had become a place believed to be haunted. During the ceremony a Bodhi tree was planted, as one had once thrived there. The aim was to make this square once again a place for peace and community. The Bodhi tree can be translated as 'wisdom-tree', it symbolises liberation and enlightenment, as it was under a Bodhi tree that Siddhartha became Buddha. These photos are moments captured around this beautiful ceremony and the replanting of the Bodhi tree for reconciliation.