On June 1, a handsome new building in traditional Khmer style was opened to house

the Buddhist Institute of Cambodia. Adjacent to the Hun Sen Park, the Institute will

serve as both a repository of sacred texts and a research center for Buddhist studies.

Founded in 1930, the Buddhist Institute succeeded in translating from Pali into Khmer

the entire 110-volume Triptaka. After a 20-year lapse, the Institute was reestablished

in 1993 with the support of the Japanese Buddhist organization Rissho Kosei-Kai and

the Heinrich Boll Foundation of Germany.

In March 1995, the Cambodian government donated a hectare of land for a new building

site. Construction was begun in May 1996 at a cost of $492,532, donated by the Rissho

Kosei-Kai Foundation.

Designed by Ly Chin Torng, a Cambodian architect from France, the main building is

a graceful cream-colored octagonal structure, fronted by a triple-tiered entrance

roof and crowned by a spire. Here are housed administrative offices, computer, photography

and audio-visual rooms, the publishing house for Kampuchea Suricha magazine, and

a study center. Matching wings house a conference room and a library with 3,000 religious

volumes in Khmer and 2,000 in English and other languages.