"Cultivate a heart of love that knows no anger" - Cambodian proverb

One of my favourite things to do in Cambodia is visit the Buddhist Temples. I am not a religious person but they are beautiful and inviting places. Our favourite Temple to visit is Wat Ounalom. It is the most important Wat of Phnom Penh, and the center of Cambodian Buddhism. It was established in 1443 and consists of 44 structures. It was damaged during the Khmer Rouge years but has since been restored. The main complex has a stupa which contains what is believed to be an eyebrow hair of Buddha and an inscription in Pali.

Every time we have visited this Temple we have been blessed by monks and indulged in very interesting conversation with them. Last night we met Sareth Brak who started his own NGO called Raise and Support the Poor. RSP's aim is to provide education and skills to people which will enable children to provide for themselves in the future. The Temple was closed when we met Sareth but he took us into the monk living quarters, gave us the highest special blessing to bring us good luck in life and told us about all the work he is doing across Cambodia. He told me that he has worked with many student volunteers from the University of Guelph and McMaster University.

Here is the link to his facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Raise-and-Support-the-Poor/106380338708 (or you can search Raise and Support the Poor)

Here is a youtube video about him: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8-LMVUKSorc

He also has a website but said he doesn't know how to work it well so prefers people to find information on facebook: http://www.rspngo.org/

Sarath is also a trained Cambodian boxer and teacher. He spoke a lot to us about Yantra tattoos and how they are believed to be magic and bestow mystical powers, protection, and good luck. In Cambodia, the tattoo is used for self-protection and Cambodians believe a yantra has magical powers that ward off evil and hardship. The tattoo is particularly popular amongst military personnel and boxers. The tattoo is believed  to guarantee that the person cannot receive any physical harm as long as they observe certain rules.

Me standing with Sareth Brak*

Meeting Sareth Brak is one of the highlights of my time in Cambodia. He is an extremely well educated and intelligent person and I look forward to maintaining contact with him in the future.