Today’s A Journey
through Aesthetic Realms
will be presented
in Khmer and English,
with subtitles in Arabic,
Aulacese (Vietnamese), Aulacese (Vietnamese),
Chinese, English,
French, German,
Hungarian, Indonesian, Hungarian, Indonesian,
Japanese, (Khmer,)
Korean, Mongolian, Persian,
Portuguese, Russian,
Spanish and Thai.
Halo gracious viewers,
welcome to A Journey
through Aesthetic Realms
on Supreme Master
Television.
Today we will present
the final part
of our two-part program
on the magnificent
Royal Palace of Cambodia.
In the first part, we visited
the grand Throne Hall,
the main building
for royal ceremonies.
Next to the Throne Hall
on each side are
the Bronze Palace,
which houses royal regalia,
and the Elephant
Waiting Hall, where
the ancient kings mounted
the gentle pachyderms,
as an auspicious
beginning to
ceremonial processions.
Today, the Hall serves
as a holding place for
musical instruments and
other parade equipment.
Our knowledgeable
Royal Palace Tour Guide,
Mr. Chea Sothearith,
continued his
fascinating introduction.
The building behind me
is called Preah Tineang
Sam Ran Phearum.
It means
the Elephant Waiting Hall.
So His Majesty the King
and the Queen,
or Royal Family would
like to wait for elephants
inside this building,
and the elephant is
also waiting for the King
next to this pole.
That is the balcony
for the King and Queen.
He came out
and stood on the balcony
and mounted on the back
of the elephant.
But recently, His Majesty
the King doesn’t like
using elephants because
he practices religion.
His Majesty the King
right now looks
more compassionate
to the animals
and the people,
so that is why
he doesn’t like riding
elephants anymore.
He practices religion
very strongly in his life.
His Majesty
King Preah Bat Samdech
Preah Norodom Sihanouk
is devoted to
the pure-hearted citizens
of his nation, who love
to see him in person.
The Moonlight Pavilion
is the ethereal structure
from which His Majesty
watches processions
and addresses
his faithful people.
I would like to show you.
Behind me
there is a nice pavilion.
It is called
Chanchhaya Pavilion.
In English it means
Moonlight Pavilion.
It is used for holding
banquet receptions
for dignitary guests
for His Majesty the King
when very important people,
for example
a head of state, president,
or king or queen
from another country,
during their stay
and visit in Cambodia.
His Majesty
the King of Cambodia
always welcomed them
by opening this building
for banquet receptions.
And particularly,
the building is built
in open air.
You can see,
without walls, just pillars,
because it is designed for
the moonlight – we could
see into the hall easily –
and particularly used
for His Majesty the King
to meet the people because
during special events,
for example,
Independence Day,
His Majesty the King
always appears
in the public
so the people can visit
or look at the King
with their own eyes.
What often
surprised visitors is
a European structure called
the Napoleon III Pavilion,
located between
the Throne Hall and
the Silver Pagoda complex.
In fact, it was the first
permanent structure
in the Royal Palace,
presented to His Majesty
King Norodom
as a friendly gift
by French Emperor
Napoleon III in 1876.
The building is now
a museum, displaying
photographs of royal and
historical significance.
South to
the central compound is
the Silver Pagoda complex.
It is a royal temple
consisting of
the famous Temple
of the Emerald Buddha,
numerous stupas
dedicated to past kings
and members of royalty,
a statue of His Majesty
King Norodom on a horse,
a human-made hill,
a library, an open hall
for reciting scriptures,
and a long encompassing
mural of Reamker
covering the walls
of the entire complex.
Behind me,
this is the temple
which is called
Wat Preah Keo Morokat.
It refers to the
Emerald Pagoda because
we have one big statue
of the Emerald Buddha
that has been enshrined
inside the pagoda.
But the tourists prefer
to name Silver Pagoda
because of what
they have seen inside.
This is the front door
of the Silver Pagoda,
and this middle door is
used for the King, Queen,
or Royal Family, who
came to practice religion,
especially to pray inside.
So during the Buddhist
days, the King, Queen,
and the Royal Family
always come to pray and
open these middle doors
for the Royal Family.
The side doors
are used for ministers.
And these pagodas are
built purposely for religion,
for serving
Buddhist ceremonies
for the royal families.
But nowadays
Buddhist monks and
the Buddhist people also
come to visit the palace.
And they can make time
to pray inside this pagoda
because this is
the most important and
very honorary pagoda
in Cambodia
and the biggest pagoda.
We can say it is
the most important pagoda
among thousands
of pagodas in Cambodia.
After these messages,
we will find out more
about the Silver Pagoda
in the Royal Palace
of Cambodia.
Please stay tuned
to Supreme Master
Television.
Welcome back to
A Journey through
Aesthetic Realms
on Supreme Master
Television.
Among
the resplendent structures
of the Royal Palace,
the Silver Pagoda
is known for housing
the Emerald Buddha and
thousands of silver tiles
that cover its floor.
On exhibition are over
1600 treasures of cultural
and religious importance.
There are a lot of
silver tiles that cover
the whole floor inside.
So totally
there are 5329 tiles.
Totally there are
about 6 tons of silver
inside this pagoda.
The reason we have
a lot of silver inside
because they are
from the former currency,
the coins, when we stopped
using coins around 1930.
And His Majesty the King
collected the coins
from the people
and his own coins
and he sent to France
to melt it down, so
that is why the temple is
covered with silver tiles.
We have
a lot of Buddha statues
that mostly are made of
gold, silver, platinum,
besides
the Emerald Buddha.
The Emerald Buddha
is the biggest
and remains in the world
as the most expensive,
most priceless Buddha
in the world of Buddhism.
And we have
one more Buddha.
Maitreya Statue is
the statue made of gold,
90 kilograms.
And there are
a lot of diamonds
encrusted on the statue.
There are 2086 diamonds
on the body of the statue.
There are 25 carats
appear in front of
the headdress of the crown,
with the chest probably
about 20 carats, and the
belly about 20 carats too.
So totally we have
2086 diamonds and almost
more than 5000 items
displayed inside,
mostly Buddha statues.
The property inside,
His Majesty the King
told the nation
that they are now
the national treasure.
It does not belong
to the Royal Family.
So His Majesty the King
wants the people to
take care of this property
for the Kingdom
of Cambodia.
In front of the pagoda
stands a statue of
the legendary His Majesty
King Norodom
mounted on a horse.
A wise action
of His Majesty
over a hundred years ago
is credited with bringing
the nation on the road of
peace and independence.
This area is the front
of the Silver Pagoda.
So we have the statue
of King Norodom
sitting on the horse.
But he is in the dress of
the Emperor Napoleon III.
His Majesty
the King Norodom had
become a very close friend
to Napoleon III.
So Napoleon looked after
the country and finally
gave back independence
to His Majesty the King
Norodom Sihanouk on
the 9th of November, 1953.
So, His Majesty the King
Norodom Sihanouk
obtained independence
from France
very peacefully.
The interior surface of
the Silver Pagoda complex
is a continuous mural
gallery of Reamker,
the Cambodian version of
the Indian epic Ramayana.
Behind me
there is the fresco;
it was painted in 1904.
This is the detailed story
of Ramayana telling about
the prince and princess.
The prince,
his name is Rama,
and Sita is the princess.
It is said Rama
is one of the incarnations
of Buddha also.
So this is also related
to Buddhism
and Brahmanism.
This painting
started from1904 and
painted the way around
the whole compound,
642 meters long,
by Cambodian artists.
There were about 42 artists.
The Royal Palace
of Cambodia is truly
a repository of treasures.
It is the crystallization of
the wisdom and creativity
of the Cambodian people.
The advancement
of Khmer civilization
cannot be separated
from the grace of
many wise kings,
virtuous sages,
and enlightened masters.
It is a land rich in tradition
of past generations,
imbuing the people
with purity and
a sense of spirituality.
With deep appreciation
for the nation’s
glorious culture,
Supreme Master Ching Hai
has also shown
her care and love for
the Cambodian people.
Between 1994 and 1995,
Supreme Master Ching Hai
donated
7,000 tons of rice
to the flood and drought-
affected Cambodians.
Her contribution
to Cambodia throughout
the years since 1994
amounts to greater
than US$2.1 million.
The funds have been
used for irrigation,
drilling wells, building
schools and temples,
conducting professional
training and taking care
of orphaned children.
Crop seeds
were also donated.
Appreciative Cambodians
constructed
the Ching Hai River
to facilitate irrigation,
remembering always
her loving assistance.
In 1995, during a 7-day
retreat in Cambodia with
our Association members
to pray for world peace,
Supreme Master Ching Hai
visited
the Royal Palace upon
the official invitation
of His Majesty
King Norodom Sihanouk.
During this wonderful
occasion,
Supreme Master Ching Hai
presented His Majesty
with her self-designed
Celestial Jewelry and
Celestial gown, along
with a Longevity Lamp.
She praised His Majesty
for his humility and love
for his people.
She also prayed
that the Buddha
would bless Cambodia
for a brighter future.
In return, His Majesty
offered
Supreme Master Ching Hai
a special silver urn
representing
the spirit of Buddha
and applauded her
for preserving
the beautiful tradition
of glorifying the Divine
and for her
selfless contributions
to the Cambodian people.
Supreme Master
Ching Hai
expressed her feelings
of oneness with
the gracious citizens
of the nation and her
belief in a flourishing
future for Cambodia.
I believe that this country
will become
stronger and stronger
because Cambodian people
are very kind.
Cambodia has
a very spectacular past.
I feel like
I'm at home here.
I treat Cambodians
like my own people.
I feel very close to them.
They look at me as if
we've known each other
for a long time.
There's no difference
between us.
It was our great pleasure
to have the opportunity
to visit the beautiful land
of Cambodia.
Our thankfulness,
Mr. Chea Sothearith,
for your informative
presentation of
the splendid Royal Palace.
May the gentle
Cambodian people
thrive evermore in a kind
and sustainable world,
with Buddha’s
immense blessings.
Kind-hearted viewers,
thank you for joining us
for today’s edition
of A Journey through
Aesthetic Realms
on Supreme Master
Television.
Up next is
Vegetarianism:
The Noble Way of Living,
after Noteworthy News.
May virtuous and
noble traditions be upheld
to bring tranquility and
splendor to our planet.