Buddhism was introduced to Cambodia between the 13th and 14th centuries, and most Cambodians today practice Theravada Buddhism. Between 1975 and 1979 the majority of Cambodia's Buddhist monks were murdered by the Khmer Rouge and nearly all of the country's wats (more than 3000) were damaged or destroyed. In the late 1980s, Buddhism once again became the state religion and today young monks are a common sight throughout the country. Many wats have been rebuilt or rehabili­tated in the past decade and money-raising drives for this work are seen on roadsides across the country.The Theravada (Teaching of the Elders) school of Buddhism is an earlier and, according to its followers, less-corrupted form of Buddhism than the Mahayana school. The Theravada school is also called the 'southern' school, as it took the southern route from India through Southeast Asia while the 'northern' school proceeded north into Nepal, Tibet, China and Vietnam. Because the southern school tried to preserve or limit the Buddhist doc­trines, the northern school gave Theravada Buddhism the derogatory name Hinayana, meaning 'Lesser Vehicle'. The northern school considered itself Mahayana (Great Vehicle) because it built upon the earlier teachings.The ultimate goal of Theravada Buddhism is nirvana or 'extinction* of all desire and suffering to reach the final stage of reincarnation. By feed­ing monks, giving donations to temples and performing regular worship at the local wat, Buddhists hope to improve their lot, acquiring enough merit to reduce the number of rebirths.Every Buddhist male is expected to become a monk for a short period in his life, optimally between the time he finishes school and starts a career or marries. Men or boys under 20 years of age may enter the Sangha as novices. Nowadays men may spend as little as a week or 15 days to accrue merit as monks.