ABSTRACT
In Burma and in the other countries of Southeast Asia, the latter system comprises a folk religion which postulates the existence of "supernatural" beings and which includes a set of rituals relating to them. In analyzing the Buddhist treatment of suffering, it is important to distinguish its explanation for the origin of suffering from its explanation for its cause. Most of the materials described in this study were collected in 1961-62, during the course of anthropological field work centered in Yeigyi, the pseudonym for a village in Upper Burma, about ten miles from the city of Mandalay. Although the oxcart is the main means of transportation—the few wealthy villagers use bicycles—the proximity of Mandalay means that this, the former capital of Burma and its second largest city, is relatively accessible to Yeigyi. The absence of a standard system for the transliteration of Burmese continues to present a problem for those who write on Burma.
