In Cambodian Buddhist practice, healing is often approached through a tapestry of rituals that weave together Theravāda doctrine and older indigenous understandings of spirits, power, and the natural world. Monks commonly perform paritta chanting, reciting protective suttas while blessing water that may be infused with flowers or herbs. This consecrated water is then sprinkled over the afflicted person or given to drink, expressing both Buddhist ideas of merit and purification and an older animistic sense of water as a carrier of sacred potency. The same logic underlies house and body purification rites, in which monks chant in the home and move through the space while sprinkling blessed water, seeking to cleanse it of intrusive or malevolent forces thought to cause illness or misfortune.

Another important strand of healing practice centers on objects that have been ritually empowered. Monks inscribe yantra diagrams or Pali letters on cloth, metal, or paper, then bless these as amulets to protect against illness-causing spirits and adverse karma. White sacred threads (sai sin), similarly consecrated through chanting, are tied around the wrist, neck, or even house posts to bind and safeguard the life force. In some contexts, protective tattoos (sak yant) associated with monasteries extend this logic directly onto the body, where magical diagrams and formulas are believed to strengthen resilience against sickness, misfortune, and harmful beings. All of these practices reflect a meeting point between Buddhist scriptural authority and indigenous protective magic.

Healing is also sought through direct engagement with the spirit world, interpreted through a Buddhist lens. Monks may conduct exorcistic or spirit-removal ceremonies when illness is attributed to malevolent entities, using Buddhist mantras and visualizations alongside techniques rooted in older spirit communication. Related to this are spirit-appeasement rites directed toward ancestral or local guardian spirits, in which Buddhist chanting and merit-making are combined with offerings to neak ta and other beings believed to have been offended. Illness, in such cases, is understood as arising from disturbed relationships with both karmic forces and the unseen inhabitants of the land, and ritual feeding or appeasement becomes part of the healing process.

Finally, these spiritual rites are frequently intertwined with traditional Khmer medicine. Herbal remedies prepared by indigenous healers or by monks themselves are blessed through chanting before being applied, so that plant-based efficacy and ritual empowerment work hand in hand. Families may sponsor merit-making ceremonies, dedicating the resulting merit to the sick person and, at times, to ancestors or local spirits, thus addressing moral, karmic, and relational dimensions of suffering. In this way, Cambodian Buddhist healing does not sharply separate physical, spiritual, and social realms, but treats them as interdependent fields to be harmonized through chant, offering, symbol, and the disciplined presence of the monastic community.