c. 2015 Religion News Service
MAWLAMYINE, Myanmar (RNS) Two years ago, residents of the village of Taung Bone donated an estimated $120,000 to finance the cremation ceremony of Badana Kawnarnya, the chief abbot of a local monastery. By contrast, the average annual salary in Mon State, situated along Myanmar’s southern coast, is $1,000, and most wedding receptions cost between $2,000 and $3,000.
Buddhists in Mon State have long spent vast sums—more than 100 times an average annual salary—on elaborate cremation ceremonies to mark the passing of influential monks.
