Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
ities, and significant numbers of Kayin, Kachin, Chin and Naga still profess Christianity to
this day.
Surprisingly, Buddhism has never been the official state religion of Myanmar except for
a brief period in 1961-62. Nonetheless, the identification between state and Buddhism has
always been strong. Early Burmese kings traditionally saw themselves as patrons and up-
holders of the faith, while in more recent years Myanmar's ruling generals have traditionally
made much of their temple-building projects and other religious activities in an effort to dis-
tract attention from their murderous rule.
Theravada Buddhism
Myanmar follows the
Theravada
(the “Law of the Elders”) school of Buddhism, the older
and more conservative version of the religion which also predominates in Sri Lanka, Thai-
land, Cambodia and Laos (in contrast to the later and more eclectic Mahayana Buddhism
followed in China, Japan, Korea, Vietnam and elsewhere). As the older of the two main
schools, Theravada claims to embody the Buddha's teachings in their original form. These
teachings emphasize that all individuals are responsible for their own spiritual welfare, and
that any person who wishes to achieve enlightenment must pursue the same path trodden by
theBuddhahimself,givingupworldlyconcernsanddevelopingspiritualattainmentsthrough
meditation and self-sacrifice. This path of renunciation is, of course, impossible for most
members of the Theravada community to follow, which explains the importance of
monks
in Myanmar (and in other Theravada countries), since only members of the
Sangha
are con-
sidered fully committed to the Theravada path.
Nats
Despite its adherence to the “pure” form of Buddhism, the religion in Myanmar still shows
the influence of other eclectic beliefs pre-dating the arrival of the Theravada faith. Most not-
able is the countrywide practice of
nat
(spirit) worship, still particularly prevalent in rural
areas (although educated urban Burmese often dismiss the tradition as folk superstition).
Burmese
nats
come from a variety of sources including local animist nature spirits, folk deit-
ies (such as
Mai Wunna
, the flower-eating ogress of Mount Popa), Burmanized versions of
major Hindu gods and
nats
related to real-life historical figures (such as Min Situ, the
nat
spirit of Bagan's King Alaungsittu) - all of whom merge in a bewildering historical and
mythological melange. Some have followers nationwide; others may be linked to a single
area, or even a single village.
The survival of the
nats
as an essential element in modern Burmese Buddhism owes much
to King Anawrahta, the great religious reformer of Bagan, who first established Theravada
Buddhism as the national religion. Realizing the hold that the
nats
had over his people, An-
awrahta chose to incorporate them into his new-look Buddhist faith in an attempt to encour-
age the Burmese to follow the new Theravada doctrines. Some of the most important of My-
