Cultural Travel Guides to Burma (Myanmar)

We have hand-selected Approach Guides relevant to travel in Burma, with a particular focus on Pagan.

Religion: Buddhism

Burma is a Theravada Buddhist stronghold and the resulting worldview is pervasive.  This Approach Guide will give you insight into this warm, endearing culture.  Buddhism began as a rebellious offspring of Hinduism in India, “Hindu Protestantism”, if you will, and migrated out of India to the rest of Asia via the Silk Road and other trade routes. This guide seeks to provide a framework for understanding the faith and help readers gain an understanding of this religion’s rich, global cultural legacy. Read more

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The Stupa Form’s Transformation over Time

Burmese stupas are probably most closely related to those of Sri Lanka (this is probably where this form was introduced to Burma).  That said, the stupa in Sanchi (located in Central India) is the original stupa, serving as the prototype for all others that followed, both in India and throughout Asia. Using this document, travelers will be able to identify stylistic changes in stupa/pagoda architecture as Buddhism migrated out of India, to China and Japan (via the Silk Road) and to Southeast Asia (via sea trade routes). Read more

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Indian Art & Architecture: Buddhist

India’s Buddhist traditions had a far-reaching impact on the formative period of Southeast Asia’s artistic and architectural development. In this Approach Guide, we provide a condensed, yet comprehensive overview of Buddhist architecture and sculpture, that is helpful to anyone studying the historical influence of Indian Buddhist art and architecture on that of Southeast Asia. Read more

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Price $5.99 (Format: PDF; available for immediate download)

Note that free previews reveal only a small, yet representative, portion of the content available in the complete Approach Guides document. All images and photos in these Approach Guides and on www.approachguides.com were taken on location by David and Jennifer Raezer.

Click here to see our Suggested Reading List for Southeast Asia

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