The 1980s was a turbulent decade for all of Burma. In 1987 Ne Win, known for his paranoia and obsession with astrology, cancelled all bank notes with the exception of 45 and 90 kyat notes on the grounds that they were the only two denominations divisible by his lucky number, 9 (Tucker, 2001). Overnight, Burma’s economy was destroyed; by the following morning people had lost their life savings. Tensions flared even further providing the momentum for student-led uprisings that took place the following year. With the military’s increasingly violent nature toward opposition to its tactics and position in society, by August 8, 1988, distrust and discontent with the military and government came to a head in what became known as the 8-8-8-8 or Four Eights movement, or the People’s Uprising. Initially comprised only of students on the campus of Rangoon University, the pro-democracy movement quickly flourished into a nationwide uprising against Ne Win and the Tatmadaw. Thousands of people flooded the streets of Rangoon, Mandalay, and other major cities throughout the country. During this time of public discontent, an alliance of convenience formed between the community of Buddhist monks (the Sangha) and the protestors (Ibrahim, 2016). The Sangha saw the launch of the Four Eights as a crucial time for them to join forces to protect the nation and, more importantly, Buddhism. Although protesting had increasingly built up over the previous month, August 8 marked not only the peak of the demonstrations but also the first serious effort made by the Tatmadaw to thwart prodemocracy sentiment. Soldiers met the unarmed protestors with gunfire; by the end of the protests thousands of civilians had been killed and countless more were injured. Despite the destruction caused by the Tatmadaw, the Four Eights movement represented a turning point in Burmese history. During the uprising Aung San Suu Kyi, 13