phu mi bun rebellion was led by a former Buddhist monk, Phaya Phap, who resisted increased taxes in the province of Chiang Mai and proclaimed he would be the new, ideal Buddhist king of the region. These movements were not associated with mainstream Buddhism of the time, but many of the leaders had been ordained monks and utilized some Buddhist symbolism and philosophies. Buddhist resistance also played a role in anti-colonialism movements. During the British colonization of Burma in the 19th century, there was intense Buddhist militarization and resistance against the colonial occupiers in an effort to restore the ideal Buddhist monarchy. There have also been more recent Buddhist resistance movements in Southeast Asia. After the communist takeover of Laos in 1975, some Buddhist monks feared that Buddhism was threatened by the Pathet Lao government. Many monks fled from Laos to Thailand and helped fund resistance movements from across the border. Monks who stayed in Laos supported resistance fighters with food and medical supplies. Another act of Buddhist resistance took place in Saigon in 1963 when a Mahayana Buddhist monk, Thích Quảng Đức, self-immolated in the middle of a busy intersection. This self-immolation was an act of protest of the regime of South Vietnamese President Ngo Dinh Diem, a member of the Catholic minority who ruthlessly persecuted and suppressed the Buddhist community. Theravada traditions Theravada Buddhism in Southeast Asia is rooted in Ceylonese Buddhism that traveled from Sri Lanka to Burma and later to lower Thailand. The Buddha, the Dhamma, and the Sangha are the three fundamental aspects of Theravāda Buddhist thought. The Buddha is the teacher of gods and men. The Dhamma consists of the teachings of the Buddha. It is the Noble Path made through the words and deeds of the Buddha that is to be followed. The path leads the follower from the Realm of Desire, to the Realm of Form, the Formless Realm with the ultimate destination being Nibbāna. The Sangha (gathering) refers to the two types of followers of the Buddha: laity and monastic. The monastic members strictly adhere to the Buddhist monastic discipline, known as the Vinaya. Theravadin Bhikkhu lead a very disciplined life modeled after the Buddha, going from Pabbajjā or novice ordination (sāmaṇera) to Upasampada or higher ordination (Bhikkhu). Mahāyāna traditions Mahāyāna Buddhism in SE Asia is rooted in Buddhist traditions that traveled from Northern India through Tibet and China and eventually