Myanmar and Nepal are two different countries and two different societies. First of all, Myanmar society is characterized by significant egalitarianism, while Nepalese society is characterized by a rather rigid caste structure. At the same time, there are a number of factors that bring them together. In particular, there are similarities when looking at Myanmar and Nepal through the lens of history, politics and culture. It is also difficult to overestimate the importance of the fact that a large community of Nepalese immigrants lives in Myanmar for relations between the two states.
Nepal and Myanmar do not share a common border, but the two countries are quite closely connected in religious, cultural and historical terms. For Myanmar Buddhists, the Himalayan Hindu kingdom is important as the birthplace of the Buddha. Religious contacts between the two countries are traditionally intense. Myanmar, which considers itself one of the main centers of world Buddhism, is actively involved in the development of Lumbini, the birthplace of the founder of Buddhism. In Lumbini, as well as in Kathmandu, there are Myanmar monasteries and meditation centers. Missionaries from Myanmar are working extensively to strengthen and spread the Buddha's teachings among Nepalis, especially in the Newar community. Nepalese Buddhists are trained and initiated in monasteries in Myanmar. There are several monasteries in Nepal that adhere to the Myanmar tradition of Theravada Buddhism, and Yangon supports them in every possible way. The Myanmar Government awards honorary titles to prominent abbots of monasteries in Nepal. In turn, the then King of Nepal Birendra in the early 1980s gave the Myanmar side Buddhist shrines, which were placed in the reliquary of the central pagoda Maha Vizaya (Great Victory), built to commemorate the unity of all Buddhist sects in Myanmar.
Nepal is home to peoples who, like the Burmese, speak the languages of the Tibeto-Burmese language group: Tamangs, Magars, Gurun ...
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