MUSIC OF MYANMAR - BUDDHIST CHANT IN THE PAALI TRADITION
Various Artists
Price: £24.98 inc. VAT (£21.26 ex. VAT)
Stock: 
Format: 
Number of CDs: 2
Release Date: 15-10-2008
Label: Celestial Harmonies
Catalog Number: 14219-2
Barcode: 13711421927
Musical Style: Buddhism
Track Listing:
| Disc 1 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Auspicious Introductory Music (Conch, percussion plaque, and gong) [00:43] | 3 | Mahaa Paritta Great Protection (Abbot and 8 monks) [63:22] |
| 2 | Tisarana Vandanaa The Three Refuges and Adorations (Recitation, Abbot, and laymen) [08:45] | ||
| Disc 2 | |||
| 1 | Patthaana Causal Relations (Recitation and singing by Abbot) [19:25] | 3 | Wizaya Hawsa (Recitation about Prince Wizaya, accompanied by Hsaing Waing Ensemble) Part 1 [25:31] |
| 2 | Dhamma Giitaa Song on Buddhist Doctrine by U Pyone Cho (Female voice accompanied by harp) [11:56] | 4 | Wizaya Hawsa (Recitation about Prince Wizaya, accompanied by Hsaing Waing Ensemble) Part 2 [12:08] |
Description:
Myanmar, formerly Burma, is located in the western portion of mainland Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos and Thailand to the east, the Andaman Sea, Bay of Bengal, Bangladesh and India to the west.
Myanmar's culture is an amalgam of folk and royal traditions. The vast majority of the population are Theravaada Buddhists, adherants of which accept as authoritative the Paali canon of ancient Indian Buddhism. They trace their lineage back to the Sthaviras (Paali: Theras; Elders), who followed in the tradition of the first Buddhist sangha.
Burmese chronicles and Theravada Buddhist traditions maintain that soon after Lord Buddha passed away and entered Nibbana, two Mon merchants from Lower Burma brought hair relicts from India and enshrined them in a small temple. This later became the core over which the great Shwedagon pagoda was built. To this day, its golden spire dominates Yangon (Rangoon), the capital of the country.
It is likely that the mission to Suvainiabhumi (the land of gold), organised by the Indian King Asoka in the third century B.C.E. to convert the population to Buddhism, reached Myanmar. Modern scholars have identified Suvannabhumi with the Mon country in southern Myanmar and southern Thailand. However, the earliest written evidence for the practise of Buddhism in Burma is from the fifth century C.E. on the mon kan gold plates. As an official religion, Theravaada Buddhism was introduced into the Pagan kingdom (849-1287) during the reign of king Anawrahta (1044-1077).
For centuries before British rule (1886-1946), formal education in Burma was in the hands of monastic schools. They provided knowledge in Burmese reading, writing, and some arithmetic, followed by the study of Paali and the Theravaada literature written in Burmese. The paritta suttas had to be learnt in the elementary stage, and were usually mastered at about the age of ten. So we may take it for granted that in fornwr times nearly every person who knew how to read and write Burmese knew the paritta texts by heart. On leaving the order, Monastic graduates usually obtained important positions in the king's service, thus contributing a strong Buddhist element to the handling of government. Even now in remote rural areas there are no government schools, but rather monastic centres for learning, maintained by a combination of voluntary labour and local donations. This system has shown distinct advantages over time, mainly during wars or drastic changes in government.
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