Almost 90 percent of Myanmar's population practices Buddhism, a major religion with some 300 million followers worldwide. Its two main branches are the Theravada and Mahayana doctrines. While Theravada Buddhism focuses on individual enlightenment, the Mahayana tradition seeks to bring salvation to all humans. One main difference between Mahayana and Theravada is that in the former, the Buddha of the future Meitrya plays a significant role and not in the latter, which focuses on the teachings of Gautama Buddha. A Buddhist monk, the Agga Mha Panditta Ashin Thittila put it this way;