At least 2,000 monks turned out in the city of Sittwe, in north-west Burma, the scene of yesterday's clashes.
In Mandalay, more than 1,000 monks from various monasteries marched to Maha Myat Muni, the most revered Buddhist pagoda in the country's second-largest city. Elsewhere, about 100 others in dark saffron robes staged a peaceful march in the western Rangoon suburb of Ahlone.
"The monks are telling the public not to take part in the protests. They told onlookers that this is the monks' affair and that they would handle it themselves," a witness contacted by phone in Ahlone told the Associated Press.
Burma's military junta today gave more details of yesterday's clashes in Sittwe where police used teargas and fired warning shots.
"Some protesters, including six monks holding sticks and swords, hit the officials with their weapons," said the New Light of Myanmar, one of the regime's main mouthpieces. "The protesters became very violent. So in order to control situation, the officials threw a teargas bomb into the group and opened fire in the air to threaten them."
Amnesty International, the human rights group, criticised the government's response to yesterday's demonstrations.
"The demonstrations in Burma have been peaceful, and have not warranted the authorities using teargas against the protestors," Amnesty said.
The group called on the government to allow peaceful protests - a basic human right - and to release all those who had been arrested over the past month, unless they were charged with criminal offences.
"It is unclear where these detainees are being held," Amnesty said. "They have no access to legal advice, and we are very concerned that the monks and others may be at risk of torture if kept away from the scrutiny of the outside world."
Peaceful protests by monks began on August 30 in Sittwe and, soon after, spread to the northern town of Pakokku, where troops fired warning shots. Junta supporters also manhandled some marchers. In response, young monks angry at their mistreatment briefly took officials hostage, set fire to their cars and later smashed a shop and a house belonging to junta supporters.
Protests across the country have continued almost daily since the price of petrol and diesel was almost doubled, and that of cooking gas increased five-fold last month without warning, worsening the economic hardship already endured by most Burmese.
The arrest of 13 leaders of the 88 Generation Students group and more than 100 others, and the beatings of demonstrators by pro-junta militia who have been mobilised on the streets of the commercial capital, Rangoon, has compounded public anger.
Yesterday's marches marked the 19th anniversary of the 1988 crackdown in Burma when the current junta took over after crushing a failed pro-democracy rebellion. The military has been in power since 1962 and after years of economic mismanagement, Burma is one of the region's poorest countries.
The junta held a general election in 1990, but refused to accept the results when the National League for Democracy party won. The party's leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, has been under house arrest for more than 11 years.
The latest events represent a threat to the regime as monks historically have played an important role in protests - first against British colonialism and, later, military dictatorship. They played a prominent part in the failed 1988 pro-democracy rebellion.
The monks' protests coincided with demonstrations at Chinese diplomatic missions across the US yesterday, urging Beijing to use its influence with Burma to free political prisoners and end violence against minorities.
Earlier this month, the prime minister, Gordon Brown, called for the situation in Burma to be considered by the UN security council and for countries and organisations with influence over the regime to press for an early transition to democratic rule.
In late June, the International Committee of the Red Cross took the rare step of making a public statement on Burma, saying that the government's abuses committed against people along the border "violate many provisions of international humanitarian law".
Yet the government remains firmly entrenched, with strong diplomatic support from its big neighbours, China and India.
