Myanmar (Burma)

Situated adjacent to India, China, and Thailand, the Southeast Asian country of Myanmar, previously known as Burma, was the region referred to as Suvarnabhumi (“Golden Land”) in the Buddhist Jatakas. With a population of more than 47,758,000, about 89% of the people profess Buddhism. Christians and Muslims constitute 4% each, and the rest practice different religions. The religion of Myanmar has been influenced chiefly by Indian Buddhist and Hindu traditions. The spread of Buddhism also was due to close cultural contact with Sri Lanka.

The account of the advent of Buddhism in Myanmar before the Common Era period can be gleaned from legends, traditions, and literary sources. It was believed that Gautama Buddha (567–487 BCE) himself visited the region. Two merchants from the Utkala region in the eastern coast of India (roughly corresponding to parts of modern Orissa), Tapussa, and Bhallika had installed three hairs of Gautama Buddha in the stupa (“reliquary mound”) at Yangon (former Rangoon), where the magnificent Shwedagon Pagoda was constructed. The missionary activities of Emperor Asoka (who ruled from 273 to 226 BCE) resulted in the spread of Buddhism in Myanmar.

The commercial contact between Myanmar and northeast India, Bengal, and Orissa witnessed the coming of traders with the message of Buddhism. There also were regular visits of Buddhist scholars between Myanmar and India. Archaeological excavations in Myanmar have yielded Buddhist monuments with square bases and a drum-shaped superstructure as well as images of bodhisattvas and Buddha Dipankara. For centuries, Buddhism dominated the life of the people of Myanmar along with elements of Hinduism. The influence from India was closely interwoven with ancient beliefs of the local people. The king was proclaimed as an avatar (incarnation) of Vishnu. Images of Brahmanic gods such as Vishnu, Brahma, and Siva were found in various locations in Myanmar. Whereas in the Indian tradition, Buddha is an incarnation of Vishnu, the reverse is true of Myanmar.

As noted above, Sri Lanka's relations with Myanmar in medieval times also shaped the religious life of Myanmar. The Sri Lankan king Vijayabahu I (1065–1120 CE) requested Anawratha (1044–1077 CE), the ruler of Myanmar, to deputize monks for restoring the sangha, or Buddhist community, in Sri Lanka. King Kyanzitta (1084–1113 CE) made revisions of the Tripitaka, basing it on the version from Sri Lanka. He also visited Bodh Gaya in India and helped in repairing its Buddhist shrines. The king tried to bring about the assimilation of different religious traditions prevalent in Myanmar. Close ties between the two regions continued. In the mid 15th century, thousands of monks of Myanmar were being ordained in the Sri Lankan form of ordination. Gradually, the art, architecture, and literature of Myanmar were influenced by the Theravada Buddhism of Sri Lanka.

Religion has played an important role in the life of the people of Myanmar, where Buddhist monks and nuns have been in the vanguard of efforts to uphold democratic rights under the current dictatorship. The military junta's brutal suppression of religious protestors has been widely condemned.