Monasticism
Buddhist monks, who are venerated throughout Burmese society, are approximately 500,000 strong. Nuns form an additional 75,000. Monks belong to one of two primary monastic orders (ဂိုဏ်း gaing:) Thudhamma Nikaya (88% of Buddhist monks) and the more orthodox Shwegyin Nikaya (7% of Buddhist monks). It is important to note that Burmese monastic orders do not differ in doctrine, but in monastic practice, lineage and organizational structure.
Other minor monastic orders include the Dwara Nikaya in Lower Burma, and Hngettwin Nikaya in Mandalay, both of which have a few thousand member monks. There are a total of 9 legally-recognized monastic orders in Burma today, under the 1990 Law Concerning Sangha Organizations. There are also a number of esoteric Buddhist sects that are not recognized by any authority and incorporate non-Buddhist elements like alchemy, magic and occultism.
The overwhelming majority of Burmese monks wear maroon-colored robes (sometimes ochre), unlike in neighboring countries like Thailand, Laos and Sri Lanka, where monks commonly wear saffron-colored robes.
Read more about this topic: Buddhism In Burma
Famous quotes containing the word monasticism:
“Christianity as an organized religion has not always had a harmonious relationship with the family. Unlike Judaism, it kept almost no rituals that took place in private homes. The esteem that monasticism and priestly celibacy enjoyed implied a denigration of marriage and parenthood.”
—Beatrice Gottlieb, U.S. historian. The Family in the Western World from the Black Death to the Industrial Age, ch. 12, Oxford University Press (1993)