This program offers Khmer people living in North America a warm and supportive space to connect with their Buddhist heritage through chant and song. After building a foundation in daily chants in Khmer, Pali, and English, our focus will be on the distinctly Cambodian Buddhist practice of reciting melodic and highly expressive “Dharma songs” (thoa bot or smot). Visit www.trentwalker.org/dharma-songs for some examples of the Dharma songs that we will be learning.
No prior experience of chanting or singing is necessary, and there is no need to know Khmer. We welcome Cambodian-identified adults of all ages to join for four days of chanting, meditation, lecture, discussion, and community building. Along the way, we will reflect together on questions of music, culture, language, and heritage.
Trent Walker, a former monk who has studied the Cambodian Dharma tradition for nearly twenty years, will co-lead the program with Chenxing Han, a speaker, educator, and long-time advocate for Asian American Buddhist communities. This program is being offered on a dana basis at the request of Khmer attendees from prior programs they have co-led at BCBS. This is made possible through a generous gift from the Hemera Foundation.
Program Format: This program will primarily focus on chanting, with periods for small and large group discussions/reflections, some lecture presentations and Q&A, and silent meditation in the mornings.