Buddhism in Myanmar Part 2: Syncretism

March 6th, 2013

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Song of the Day: Fast Car, Tracy Chapman cover by Boyce Avenue ft. Kina Grannis

Mood: Exhausted

Nat worship

In Myanmar, nat worship preceded Buddhism. People believe that the world is full of spiritual beings called nats. The bad nats are believed to be humans that died terrible deaths and now cause mischief. People often leave food out in the back of their houses to placate them.

Nat (Botataung Pagoda)

Many armed woman (Mt. Popa)

I always knew mustaches were evil
(Mt. Popa)

There are also good nats that are guardians. These guardians are enshrined and worshipped so they will protect the people from the bad nats

Guardian nats (Bago)

Nat inscription (Bagan)

When Buddhism spread to Myanmar, nat worship was incorporated into the religion. In Myanmar, one will often find nats in pagodas.

Guardian nats surrounded by Buddhas

Nat house within pagoda walls (Botataung Pagoda)

As Myanmar developed, nat worship lost its role of significance in society. One consequence is that as people lost fear of the bad nats in the forest, logging and the harvesting natural resources began. Environmental protection advocates have had to shift tactics as people no longer fear the wrath of the tree guardians.

(Ava)

I would be scared if I saw these green nats from Mandalay or evil looking nats from Mt. Popa:

Buddha and the snake

In Yangon, a couple had a dream where a nat said that she had been turned into a giant snake and had come from far away to be with her brother. In the dream, the nat gave the couple a specific place to find her. When they awoke, they went to the place and found a Burmese python. 

They brought the snake to her "brother", a monk that lived in Bago.

The monk and the snake became fast friends
 and lived together until the monk passed away

At nearly 20 feet it is one of the largest pythons in captivity

People put money on it for merit

My hand against the body of the python

Initially, the monk lived in a small tent. Once the snake arrived, people started coming to visit and donating lots of money. Now there is a whole complex on the site.

Neon Buddha

In Myanmar, Buddha is often surrounded by a neon "halo"

Botataung pagoda

Neon nat (Mt. Popa)

Therefore, it makes more why churches here might incorporate neon lights on the podium

Myanmar map
Immanuel Baptist church, Yangon

Syncretism

Seeing how Buddhism was adapted to fit the Myanmar context makes me think about syncretism. As an outsider, it seems that if Buddhists want to help people reach enlightenment, tolerating nat worship in pagodas would confuse adherents and serve as a distraction at best. Combining nat worship and Buddhism seems like a marriage of convenience instead of a pursuit for truth. There is a very fine line between fitting your beliefs into a local culture and diluting your message to gain popularity and all leaders struggle to find the right balance.

The church in Myanmar has also adapted to try to fit the local context. For example, liberation theology is much more popular in seminaries here than in the U.S. because many people are oppressed and from war-torn areas and emphasize Jesus as a liberator. I hope that pastors and churches around the world can have wisdom and discernment to make God known to the people around them without sacrificing truth. When I try to talk about attributes of God and share stories about Jesus and my personal experience, I try to follow in the footsteps of the Biblical author Paul, such as when talking about the unknown God in Athens and being all things to all people for the sake of the gospel.