The greatest wizards can apparently fly and turn base metals into gold
is just 26, but he has a commanding presence. In his home in a suburb of Yangon, Myanmar’s biggest city, he sits cross-legged on the floor in front of a shrine festooned with tea lights, flowers and magical diagrams. His family and students gather round and listen intently as he explains how he acquired his powers, among them the ability to cure illnesses, boost profits and repel knife-wielding assailants .
Mr Min Kyaw Thein is one of a growing number of devout Burmese Buddhists striving to master occult techniques. Interest in magic has soared in Myanmar over the past few years, says Thomas Patton, author of “The Buddha’s Wizards”. For centuries many Buddhists have believed that extreme piety can confer special powers. Supernatural hermits, after all, help the Buddha himself in the scriptures.
Their appeal lies in their ability to manipulate the physical world. The greatest wizards can apparently fly, turn base metals into gold and attain immortality—all handy skills. Even the middling ones claim useful powers. Clients come to Saw Lwin, an impishwith a ruff of brown hair, to perk up their profits, make them more attractive, banish evil spirits and remove tumours.
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