To one side of the Khmer Temple on the top of Wat Phnom is a small shrine dedicated to the genie Preah Chau who is especially revered by the Vietnamese. She is guarded by spirits carrying iron bats. On the tile table in front are drawings of Confucius and two Chinese-style figures of the sages Thang Cheng and Thang Thay and in the interest of covering all possible bases on the left of the central altar is an eight-armed statue of Vishnu. The ease with which Asian cultures manage to syncretize religious ideas and belief systems is impressive. The limitless scope of both Buddhism and Hinduism allow for the comfortable accommodation of even the most European of religions, Christianity, prompting one (unnamed) theologian to have remarked, "Theological ideas are created on the European continent, corrected in England, corrupted in America, and crammed into Asia."
