Buddhism (), specifically Theravada branch (), is the largest religion in Myanmar, and practiced by approximately 88% of the population. It is the most religious Buddhist country in terms of the proportion of monks in the population and proportion of income spent on religion.Cone & Gombrich, Perfect Generosity of Prince Vessantara, Oxford University Press, 1977, page xxii With approximately 48 million Buddhists, Myanmar has the third largest Buddhist population in the world, after Thailand and China. Adherents are most likely found among the Bamar, Shan, Rakhine, Mon, Karen, and Chinese who are well integrated into Burmese society. Monks, collectively known as the sangha (community), are venerated members of Burmese society. Among many ethnic groups in Myanmar, including the Bamar and Shan, Theravada Buddhism is practiced in conjunction with the worship of nats, which are spirits who can intercede in worldly affairs. Buddhists in Myanmar are governed by Burmese customary law.
Two popular practices are merit-making and vipassanā meditation. There is also the less popular weizza path. Merit-making is the most common path undertaken by Burmese Buddhists. This path involves the observance of the Five precepts and accumulation of good merit through charity (dana, often to monks) and good deeds to obtain a favorable rebirth. The meditation path, which has gained ground since the early 20th century, is a form of Buddhist meditation which is seen as leading to awakening and can involve intense meditation retreats. The weizza path is an esoteric system of occult practices (such as recitation of spells, samatha and alchemy) believed to lead to life as a weizza ( ), a semi-immortal and supernatural being who awaits the appearance of the future Buddha, Maitreya ( ).
Pre-modern history
Buddhism in the Mon and Pyu states
The early history of Buddhism in Burma is hard to decipher. Pali historical chronicles state that Ashoka sent two bhikkhus, Sona and Uttara, to Suvaṇṇabhūmi ("The Golden Land") around 228 BCE with other monks and sacred texts as part of his effort to spread Buddhism. The area has been recognized as being somewhere in ancient Southeast Asia, possibly in Thaton in Lower Burma or Nakon Pathom in Thailand.
An Andhra Ikshvaku inscription from about the 3rd century CE refers to the conversion of the Kiratas (Cilatas) to Buddhism.Niharranjan Ray (1946), p. 84 These may have been the Mon-Khmer speaking peoples of ancient Arakan and Lower Burma (i.e. the Pyu states and Mon kingdoms). 3rd century Chinese texts speak of a "Kingdom of Liu-Yang," where people worshiped the Buddha, and there were "several thousand sramanas". This kingdom has been located in central Burma.Ray, Niharranjan. Buddhism in Southeast Asia in "Indian and Foreign Review", Volume 10 1972, p. 19.
By the 4th century, most of Pyu had become predominantly Buddhist, though archaeological finds prove that their pre-Buddhist practices also remained firmly entrenched in the following centuries. According to the excavated texts, as well as the Chinese records, the predominant religion of the Pyu was Theravāda Buddhism.Aung-Thwin 2005: 31–34Htin Aung 1967: 15–17
Peter Skilling concludes that there is firm epigraphical evidence for the dominant presence of Theravāda in the Pyu Kingdom of Sriksetra and the Mon kingdom of Dvaravati, "from about the 5th century CE onwards", though he adds that evidence shows that Mahāyāna was also present. The epigraphical evidence comes from Pali inscriptions which have been found in these areas. They use a variant of the South Indian Pallava script.Skilling, Peter. The Advent of Theravada Buddhism to Mainland South-east Asia, Journal of the International Association of Buddhist Studies. Volume 20, Number 1, Summer 1997
The oldest surviving Buddhist texts in the Pāli language come from Pyu city-state of Sri Ksetra. The text, which is dated from the mid 5th to mid 6th century, is written on solid gold plaques. The similarity of the script used in these plates with that of the Andhra-Kuntala-Pallava region indicates that Theravada in Burma first arrived from this part of South India.Niharranjan Ray (1946), p. 44
According to Skilling the Pyu and Mon realms "were flourishing centres of Buddhist culture in their own right, on an equal footing with contemporary centres like Anuradhapura." These Mon-Pyu Buddhist traditions were the predominant form of Buddhism in Burma until the late 12th century when Shin Uttarajiva led the reform which imported the Sri Lankan Mahavihara school to Burma.Harvey 1925: 55–56
From the 8th to the 12th centuries Indian Buddhist traditions increasingly spread to Southeast Asia via the Bay of Bengal trade network.Frasch, Tilman. "The Theravaada Buddhist Ecumene in the Fifteenth Century: Intellectual Foundations and Material Representations" in Buddhism Across Asia, Networks of Material, Intellectual and Cultural Exchange, Volume 1 – Institute of Southeast Asian Studies (2014), p. 347. Because of this, before the 12th century, the areas of Thailand, Myanmar, Laos, and Cambodia were influenced by the Buddhist traditions of India, some of which included the teachings of Mahāyāna Buddhism and the use of the Sanskrit language.Baruah, Bibhuti. Buddhist Sects and Sectarianism. 2008. p. 131Gombrich, Richard Francis. Theravāda Buddhism: A Social History. 1988. p. 137 In the 7th century, Yijing noted in his travels that in Southeast Asia, all major sects of Indian Buddhism flourished.
Archaeological finds have also established the presence of Vajrayana, Mahayana and Hinduism in Burma. In Sri Ksetra, Pegu and other regions of ancient Burma, Brahmanical Hinduism was also a strong rival to Buddhism and was often in competition with it. This is attested in the Burmese historical chronicles.Niharranjan Ray (1946), pp. 73–74, 85. Prominent Mahayana figures such as Avalokiteśvara, Tara, Vaiśravaṇa, and Hayagriva, were included in Pyu (and later Bagan) iconography. Brahmanical deities such as Brahma, Vishnu, Shiva, Garuda and Lakshmi have been found, especially in Lower Burma.
Buddhism in the Bagan Kingdom
The Myanma people (Burmans) also adopted Buddhism as they came into contact with the Pyu and Mon civilizations. Initially, Burmese Buddhism was dominated by an eclectic Buddhism called Ari Buddhism, which included Mahayana and Vajrayana elements as well animist practices like nat worship and influences from Brahmanism.Cœdès, George (1966). The making of South East Asia. University of California Press. p. 113. .Niharranjan Ray (1946), pp. 148–150
The Bamar adoption of Buddhism accelerated in the 11th century during the reign of king Anawrahta (Pali: Aniruddha, 1044–1077) who transformed the Bagan Kingdom into a major power in the region through the conquest of the Irrawaddy river valley, which included the Mon city of Thaton. During his reign, Mon Buddhist culture, architecture and writing came to be largely assimilated into the Bamar culture.Than Tun (1956) pp. 6-7
Though later historical chronicles (like the Sāsanavaṃsa) state that Anawrahta conquered Thaton in order to obtain the Buddhist scriptures and that a "pure Theravada Buddhism" was established during his reign, it is likely that Theravada was known in Bagan before the 11th century. Furthermore, Bagan Theravāda was never truly "pure" as it included local animist rites, Naga worship and Brahmanical rites associated with Vishnu officiated by Brahmin priests.Than Tun (1956) pp. 52–62.
Anawrahta implemented a series of religious reforms throughout his kingdom, attempting to weaken the power of the Tantric Mahayana Ari monks (also called "Samanakuttakas") and their unorthodox ways.Coedès 1968: 149–150Niharranjan Ray (1946), p. 150 Burmese historical chronicles state that Anawrahta was converted by a Mon bhikkhu, Shin Arahan, to Theravāda Buddhism.Coedès (1968), pp. 149,156,166. The king may have been worried about the influence of the forest dwelling Ari Buddhist monks and sought a way to subvert their power. The Ari monks, who ate evening meals, drank liquor, and presided over animal sacrifices and sexual rites, were considered heretical by the more orthodox Theravāda circles of monks like Shin Arahan.Lieberman 2003: 115–116Htin Aung 1967: 32–37Aung-Thwin (2019) p. 37.
Anawrahta banished many Ari priests who refused to conform and many of them fled to Popa Hill and the Shan Hills.Harvey 1925: 26–31 Anawrahta also invited Theravāda scholars from the Mon lands, Sri Lanka and India to Bagan. Their scholarship helped revitalize a more orthodox form of Theravāda Buddhism, with a focus on Pali learning and Abhidhamma philosophy.Htin Aung 1967: 36–37 Anawrahta is also known as a great temple builder. Some of his main achievements include the Shwezigon Pagoda and the Shwesandaw Pagoda.
However, Anawrahta did not attempt to remove all non-Theravāda elements from his kingdom. Indeed, Anawrahta continued to support some Mahayana practices.Buswell, Robert E. Jr., ed. (2013). Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. p. 43. . He allowed and even promoted the worship of the traditional Burmese nat spirits and allowed their worship in Buddhist temples and pagodas, presumably as a way to attract and appease the population and gradually have them accept the new Buddhist religion.Harvey 1925: 33
Therefore, the spread and dominance of Theravāda in Burma was a gradual process, taking centuries and was really completed only in the 19th century. Hinduism, Ari Buddhism and nat worship remained influential forces in Burma at least until the 13th century, though the royal court generally favored Theravada. The Ari practices included the worship of Mahayana figures like Avalokiteśvara (Lawka nat), Tara and Manjushri. The worship of Brahmanical deities, especially Narayana, Vishnu, Ganesha and Brahma, as well as the nats, also remained popular.Aung-Thwin (2019) p. 36.Niharranjan Ray (1946), pp. 148 These gods were worshiped in their own temples (such as Vaisnava Nathlaung Kyaung) as well as at Buddhist temples.Niharranjan Ray (1946), pp. 149
Burmese Theravada did not ignore these practices and, in some cases, incorporated them into the Theravada pantheon. Thus, the worship of Lokanatha was accepted in Burmese Theravada as well as the worship of a list of 37 Nats that were royally sanctioned.Niharranjan Ray (1946), pp. 150–151 The influence of these various religions is still felt in folk Burmese Buddhism today, which contains several elements of nat worship, esotericism, Mahayana and Hinduism. The Weikza tradition is particularly influenced by these unorthodox elements.
It seems that Bagan Theravāda was mainly supported by elite city dwellers, with over 90 percent of religious gifts being given by royalty, aristocrats, military officers and temple artisans. Meanwhile, the peasants in the countryside tended to be more associated with the animistic nat based religion.Lieberman (2003), pp. 117–118
At its height, the Bagan Kingdom became an important center of Theravāda scholarship. According to Lieberman:At the great capital itself and some provincial centers, Buddhist temples supported an increasingly sophisticated Pali scholarship, part of an international tradition, which specialized in grammar and philosophical-psychological (abhidhamma) studies and which reportedly won the admiration of Sinhalese experts. Besides religious texts, Pagan’s monks read works in a variety of languages on prosody, phonology, grammar, astrology, alchemy, and medicine, and developed an independent school of legal studies. Most students, and probably the leading monks and nuns, came from aristocratic families.Lieberman (2003), p. 115