Burma/ Myanmar: A sculptor carves a Buddha statue from marble in Prome, lower Burma, c.1920s.

Legend attributes the first Buddhist doctrine in Burma to 228 BCE when Sohn Uttar Sthavira, one of the royal monks to Emperor Ashoka the Great of India, came to the country with other monks and sacred texts. However, the era of Buddhism truly began in the 11th century after King Anawrahta of Pagan (Bagan) was converted to Theravada Buddhism. Today, 89% of the population of Burma is Theravada Buddhist.

Prome, renamed Pyay, is a town in Pegu (Bago) Division in lower Burma, located on the Irrawaddy (Ayeyarwady) River some 260 km northwest of Rangoon.

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