Therawada Buddhism in Myanmar

There are two main schools of Buddhism, Theravada, practiced chiefly in Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia and Laos; and Mahayana, practiced in China, Tibet, Japan and Korea.

Theravada, which means the Way of the Elders, was the original school and Mahayana, which emerged later, differs in many aspects.

Throughout the 1^st century A.D. to the 10th century A.D., the land of present day Myanmar was inhibited by the Pyus and the Mons. In 1044, King Anawrahta of Bagan unified the land and the First Myanmar Dynasty was founded. Under the spiritual guidance of Shin Arahan, a distinguished Mon monk from Thaton, he introduced Theravada Buddhism into his empire, which stretched from the Indian border in the west to part of Thailand in the south.

In recent years, Myanmar has attained special eminence as the host for the Sixth Buddhist Council, held in Yangon from 1954 to 1956. It is also known as the source of major systems of Vipassana meditation that have spread throughout the world. The propagation of Buddha Sasana (teachings) is carried out through scriptural learning and the practice of Vipassana meditation especially by the 400,000 Myanmar Buddhist monks 400,000 and thousands of monasteries, hundreds of meditation centers and some Buddhist universities.

Myanmar is known as "the land of pagodas" thanks to a series of devout Myanmar kings and their citizens who built countless religious monuments and shrines throughout the ages, and out of Buddhist belief that acquiring good kamma (karma) or merits will make one attain Nibbana (Nirvana), the final deliverance.

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