Theravada Buddhism is the national religion of Thailand, practiced by 90% of its population. Theravada Buddhism, an orthodox Buddhist sect which keeps the original doctrine and tradition succeeded from the Buddha, is adopted by Sri Lanka, Myanmar and Thailand while Mahayana sect is popular in China and Japan. Buddhism originated in the southern Nepal with the teachings of Siddharta Gautama, the founder of Buddhism. He renounced his royal life to find the way to be out of the cycle of life which he considered suffering.