Page 390 - The Rough Guide to Myanmar (Burma)

388 CONTEXTS Burmese Buddhism and traditional Beliefs
in Buddhism, meaning that people come to pay their respects at all times of the day
and night – early evening after work is particularly popular.
Worshippers often come bearing offerings of flowers, money and quaint paper
umbrellas, while also popular is the practice of rubbing fine slivers of gold leaf on
particularly revered Buddha images (the statue at the Mahamuni Paya in Mandalay, for
example, whose nether regions have now largely been buried under an estimated two
tonnes of additional gold applied by visiting devotees). Inside the temple the devout will
offer prayers, perhaps ringing one of the gongs with which all temples are equipped in the
hope that their prayer will be answered. Depending on which day of the week they were
born on, they will visit the relevant planetary post (see box, p.74) and wash its Buddha
image, dousing it in water once for every year of their age, plus once more for luck.

Burmese Buddhism and the occult
Running alongside the country’s orthodox Buddhist faith is a string of arcane and
outlandish beliefs. First and foremost is a strong belief in astrology: many Burmese will
consult an astrologer when planning, say, a new business or preparing to sit an exam.
The day of the week on which one is born is considered especially important.
Numerology is considered particularly significant. Ne Win’s disastrous 1987 currency
reforms (see box, p.372) can be blamed on numerology, while the ultra-auspicious date
of August 8, 1988 was chosen for the day on which the main thrust of the 8888
Uprising (see p.372) was launched; another rebellion was later planned for September
9, 1999, but failed to materialize. More recently, the 969 Movement (see box, p.387)
chose its name (whose three digits “symbolize the virtues of the Buddha, Buddhist
practices and the Buddhist community”) in overt numerological opposition to the
popular Islamic cipher 786, corresponding to the opening phrase of the Koran (the fact
that 7 + 8 + 6 = 21 being seen as proof by the 969 Movement that Muslims intend to
take over Myanmar during the current century).
Linked to numerology and also popular among many Burmese – including past rulers
Ne Win and Than Shwe – is yadaya, the practice of quasi-magical Burmese rituals,
prescribed by astrologers in order to ward off possible misfortune. Most yadaya rituals
simply involve a visit to the temple and making certain specific offerings and prayers
outlined by an astrologer, although some rituals can be considerably stranger – as when
Ne Win elected to shoot himself in a mirror in order to avert a possible assassination
attempt (see box, p.372). Yadaya is also said to have influenced affairs of state, both major
and minor. The decision in 1970 to change the side of the road on which traffic drives
from left to right, for example, is rumoured to have been taken to ward off political or
military attack from right-wing groups – even though this means that large numbers of
vehicles in Myanmar have their steering wheels on the wrong side right up to the present
day. Likewise, in 2010 when the country’s military leaders greeted the Thai prime
minister at Yangon airport dressed in women’s longyi, the influence of yadaya – in this
case an attempt to harness the distaff power of Aung San Suu Kyi – was again suspected.
Combining many of Myanmar’s weirder and more wonderful occult traditions is the
practice of weizza. A uniquely Burmese Buddhist cult, weizza (also spelled “weikza”)
attempts to evade the usual laws of karma through rituals including magic, meditation
and alchemy. Powerful practitioners of weizza, it is said, can live for centuries and
choose the exact moment of their next reincarnation, among other supernatural powers.
Weizza incorporates many traditional beliefs, including a local fascination with
zawgyi (wizards and alchemists) as well as elements dating perhaps all the way back to
Ari Buddhism. The modern form of the tradition emerged in the late seventeenth
century when Bo Bo Aung, a monk in Sagaing, discovered manuscripts revealing the
secrets of weizza. Bo Bo Aung’s image, traditionally dressed in an all-white robe and
turban, can still be found in many temples and homes, with devotees believing he has
the power to assist all those who pray to him with a pure heart.

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