Abstract

Through a qualitative case study of the Khmer Pagoda of Canada and its visual media, this thesis examines the significance and meaning of the Khmer Temple and its religious imagery for members of the Cambodian Buddhist community. This research study involved formal and informal interviews, participant observation as well as a review of literature related to Khmer and Buddhist views on art and education. Study participants explain how this Theravâda Buddhist Temple and its visual media reflect the traditional and contemporary Cambodian Buddhist culture and religion. They describe the significance of the Temple and its artifacts for themselves, their families and the Cambodian community in Canada as a whole. These participants explain how the Temple and its imagery have contributed to their own learning process. Finally, they discuss a Khmer Buddhist perspective of education through the visual arts. The interview participants indicate that the Khmer Buddhist Temple and its visual media are meant to preserve the Khmer culture and Buddhist teachings through education as well as to remind them of their lives before leaving Cambodia. The successful production of Khmer Buddhist imagery requires respect for traditional models and their strict imitation. This is because all meaningful visual forms contain implicit values and morals. All education, and particularly education in art, is always considered as an education in morality.