The goal of this thesis is to document, explain and sketch a philosophy to eliminate the Khmer people's suffering through a Buddhist way to peace transforming the war-torn Srok Khmer (Cambodia) into a Santiphum Khmer (a term which I personally coined: Santi = peace; phum = village, zone: Khmer Zone of Peace). It is argued that the current philosophy and practice of 'balance of power' must be replaced with the practice of Buddha's Four Noble Truths. The thesis begins by uncovering the cause of Khmer suffering, namely the centuries old absolute and corrupting power of the Khmer state. Its devaraja cult based on the god-king concept, coupled with Hinayana Buddhism and Hinduism, increased the willingness of the elite to rule by force. The Khmer people consequently were subdued into accepting suffering as the essence of their lives and Karma. As the Hindu devaraja's empire expanded, the gap between the rulers and the ruled widened, and Mahayana Buddhism gradually replaced Hinduism as the philosophy of rule. However, the Khmer people continued to embrace Hinayana Buddhism, principally because it taught them that there was no god or god-king, thus justifying rejection of an increasingly corrupt ruling class. It also taught that attaining nirvana was the only way to eliminate their suffering: this enabled them to reject slavery and the pursuit of material wealth. Thus the Khmer people became unwilling to fight to preserve the empire against successive Thai and Vietnamese invasions, and French colonialism. This history of Khmer suffering did two things. First, it produced soul-rending self-doubt among the Khmer people themselves. Second, it prepared the twentieth century Khmer leaders philosophically to embrace the realist 'balance-of-power' theory, which led to force and counter-force strategies being employed by the many Khmer factions. The thesis concludes that Khmer suffering can be eliminated if the balance of power theory is replaced by nonviolent Buddhist principles. To avoid the perpetual recurrence of Khmer suffering, short-term goals coercively pursued must be replaced by long-term cooperative strategies aimed at enhancing the quality of Khmer life.
