Saturday, May 9, 2009

Myanmar Religion

Myanmar is a well know country  is south east Asia.  a  large seciton of the total population of Myanmar follow Buddism.  Buddhism is the national religion of Myanmar. As a  result about 85 % of the total population of  Myanmar are Buddhists. But the  Buddism  in  Myanmar  has been  influenced by a  number of  other things.  Like  Thai  Buddhism the Buddhism  Practiced in Myanmar too  has a strong  link  with  spiritism.  You  are sure  to  find the practice  of  Buddhism  in Myanmar quite interesting.

Burma  or Myanmar is the first country in Southeast Asia  where the words of Lord Buddha were spread.  Bt  the  first   millenium  AD the words of Budhism reached Myanmar  with the Indian merchants. These Indian Merchants entered the delta  of  Ayeyarwaddy for doing  trades with the  country people.  And  these  merchants first  taught  the people of  Myanmar  about Buddhism. However, Budhism  has  become  popular  and  emerged as a dominant  religon in  Myanmar  only after King  Anawratha became  the  king of  the  Buremese Kingdom in Bagan.  He was  converted to Buddhism by  Shin  Arahan  who  was a  mon  missionary. 

In  Myanmar you will find two different schools of  Buddhism. They are  Teravada and Mahayana.  It is just like  Roman Catholic and Protestants  in Christianity. Teravada  Buddhism  is  often termed as the  orthodox Buddhism.  The  Teravada Buddhism  is the  most  prominent  form of Buddhism you can see in  Myanmar. There  are a  number of pagodas and shrines  in different parts of myanmar. These temples, shirnes  and pagodas  are  regularly visited by the  followers of  buddhism.  A  number  of Buddist festivals  also  take  place  in this country with joy and gusto. 

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