Compare And Contrast Buddhism

When somebody thinks of Buddhism, the first thing they think of is usually the statue of the Buddha. Although the Buddha is a huge aspect of the Buddhist religion, there are many other things that make Buddhism unique and different from many other religions. First of, Buddhism began in India about 2,500 years ago and since then it still remains as the prominent religion of the eastern countries. There are about 360 million Buddhists worldwide and that number is still growing (Buddhism, Paragraph 1). With a number of followers like that, somebody may expect Buddhism to be practiced all round the world, and that is completely correct. Buddhism is practiced in almost every country—and in America there are around 1 million Buddhists (Buddhism). Since it’s so dispersed among the world, there are many different variations of it depending on the country. Similarities and differences are noticeable among Buddhism practices all over. In my essay I will be discussing the similarities and differences in Thailand and Myanmar Buddhism. …show more content…
First of both of the countries practice Theravada Buddhism. This particular form of Buddhism is more conservative than the other. This particular form of Buddhism draws its inspirations from the earliest surviving records of Buddha teachings (What is Theravada Buddhism, Paragraph 1). These teachings are the Tipitaka and Pali canon. Followers believe that it is important to stick to the earliest forms to be truly connected to the religion. A second similarity between the two is that they both use stupas. These stupas act as a shrine and is a place that many Buddhists go to meditate. The reason that they go to meditate there is because a stupa contains many religious relics and some are believed to have remnants of the Buddha’s body and robe buried deep within its