"...t is interesting to note that Theravada Buddhism, Burma?s state religion for almost a thousand years, came to Burma by way of war. In the 11th century, King Anawrahta of the Pagan dynasty invaded the Mon Kingdom of Thaton in what is now southern Burma. Among the loot he took back to Pagan was the missionary monk Shin Arahan and the Buddhist scriptures he had brought with him from Ceylon. After establishing the Pagan dynasty through relentless warfare, Anawrahta made Theravada Buddhism the state religion in 1056 AD and went on a pagoda-building spree, as if to atone for the bloody atrocities he had committed while building his empire...[Ne Win?s] His ?Burmese Way to Socialism,? which was in effect until the 1988 pro-democracy uprising, was peppered with Buddhist cosmology. He also keeps some of the best astrologers in Burma as his personal consultants...Apart from his alleged mystical powers, [the Thamanya Sayadaw] is perhaps most venerated for his refusal to kowtow to the military junta. He rejected an invitation from Khin Nyunt, the junta?s intelligence chief, to receive honors in Rangoon. When Khin Nyunt went to Thamanya and offered him a sleek limousine, the abbot allegedly ordered the car be used to carry gravel..."