Ari Buddhism Ari Buddhism Ari Buddhism or the Ari Gaing (, ) is the name given to the religious practice common in Burma prior to Anawrahta's rise and the subsequent conversion of Bagan to Theravada Buddhism in the eleventh century. It was introduced in the 7th century, possibly through trade contact from India or Tibet. Ari practices have largely been categorized as a tantric form of Buddhism, combining elements of Buddhism, nat worship, indigenous nāga worship and Hinduism. Some scholars claim that it is related to the Buddhist religious practices of Nanzhao and the subsequent Dali Kingdom in modern-day Yunnan, China. Other
Tara (Buddhism) as a saviouress, as a heavenly deity who hears the cries of beings experiencing misery in saṃsāra. Whether the Tārā figure originated as a Buddhist or Hindu goddess is unclear and remains a source of inquiry among scholars. Mallar Ghosh believes her to have originated as a form of the goddess Durga in the Hindu Puranas. Today, she is worshiped both in Buddhism and in Shaktism as one of the ten Mahavidyas. It may be true that goddesses entered Buddhism from Shaktism (i.e. the worship of local or folk goddesses prior to the more institutionalized Hinduism which had developed by