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The holiday is also celebrated under different names in neighboring Myanmar, Cambodia and Laos, which like Thailand have populations that are predominantly Theravada Buddhist.

He is also seeking donations for the world's largest Buddhist pagoda "to show the world that Theravada Buddhism is shining brightly in Myanmar", according to state media.

About half the population is tribal people who mainly follow Theravada Buddhism and half is Bengali who are mostly Muslim.

Shortly afterwards, at the age of 12, he moved into a monastery in Thailand to start living as a Theravada Buddhist monk.

Now the three resident Theravada Buddhist monks are urging people to visit the temple to see the transformation.