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In other words the kingdom was to be held as tributary to the King of Burma. The chief Rahan, in his address, with sincere or artful allusion to the conqueror as a destined Buddha, referred to the satisfaction he would feel in after ages when that high and holy state had been attained in his last birth, and when he could look back with pure delight on a noble act of generosity and mercy which would give relief to millions of human beings " {Hist. Bur., p. 163). The venerable envoy was received with the respect that the kings seem always to have shown to the Order ; but a further defence brought down on the Talaings the sack of the city and a slaughter, in which, according to the chronicles of Pegu, even the monks were not spared. DISSERTATION. 49 letter to the king. Thereupon the Ekaipsikas (of whom Atula,* the king's tutor, was the leader), wrote to the king, asserting that the whole question had been settled in the time of his predecessors, and could not be raised again. The king in reply declared that he was, just then, too much bunied with state affairs to attend to religious matters, and shortly afterwards issued a decree that all bhikkhus were to conform to the practice of the royal dcariya. The order was generally obeyed, but two Parupana theras of Sahassorodhagama held staunchly to their principles, and continued to teach their following as before. Atula sent for these two to come to the capital, and tried to destroy their credit with the people, but his unjust dealing brought down on him a supernatural warning — a stonn, in which thunderbolts fell on his own vihara and the king's palace (p. 125). A touch of vivid interest brightens here the monotonous story of the long, futile dispute. The thera Muninda- ghosa observed and taught the Parupana practice with unswerving steadfastness, in defi£mce of the royal pro- hibition and in despite of banishment. At last, with his life in his hand, he came to the capital and faced the formidable AJompra. Neither begging the latter's mercy nor fearing his wrath he simply laid aside the monastic robe, and came as a layman, lest the grievous guilt of slaying a monk should be upon the king. " I have come hither, laying aside my vows, that this heavy sin might not be I The " royal preceptor " (Atula Sayado) is mentioned in the Po^ U" Daung Inscription of 1774. " He was the Thathanabaing or Buddhist Archbishop appointed by Alaungp'aya when the latter became king. Atula Sayad6 retained his office throughout the reign of five kings, and was removed by B6-do-p'ayaforhis schismatic doctrines " (Taw Sein Ko, Pol Ul Daung Inscription of S'iji-hyu-yin. Ind. Ant., vol. xxii. p. 8). 4 B. E. 1122. 50 A BURMESE HISTORIAN OF BUDDHISM. thine. Now, if thou wilt slay me, slay ! " he said. And Aloiupra dared not. Alompra's last expedition to Siam ^ is mentioned. He died upon the homeward march (or rather the retreat), and was succeeded in 17G0 a.d. by his eldest son SiRIPAVARAMAHADHAMMARAJA (p. 127). As the royal tutor (the learned grammarian and philo- sopher Nana) held the Parupana views, the orthodox peurty now hoped to gain recognition. They laid a written memorial before the king, but their chief opponent, Atula, interposed as before, and prevented a fair hearing by a counter-declaration that the question had been already settled. Nothing noteworthy, it would seem, happened during the short reign of Siripavaramaha- dhammaraja. Under his successor, Siripavarasudhamma- B.E. 1125. maharajadhipati 3 (1703 A.D.) a certain heresy arose and spread widely. What the heresy was we are not told, but only that the king forced the heretics to embrace the true religion.4 Of Hsen-byn-Sheng we hear very little, though he was "an enlightened monarch," and "a staunch ^ 1760 A.D. Phayre, Hist. Bur., p. 168. 2 Naung-doa-gyi, Hist. Bur., pp. 184, 287. 3 Hseng-byn-Sheng, the second son of Alaungh-pr^. {Hist. Bur., pp. 186, 287.) [Erroneously dated at B.E. 1205 (1843 A.D.) in the Text.] 4 A certain movement in the Burmese community is noticed by Spence Hardy in Eastern MonacJiism (1850) which may perhaps have been a revival of the " heresy " suppressed by Hseng-byn-Sheng in the middle of the eighteenth century. "About fifty years ago a class of metaphysicians arose in Ava called Paramats, who respect only the Abhidhamma and reject the other books that the Buddhists consider as sacred, saying that they are only a compilation of fables. The founder of the sect, Kosan, with about fifty of his followers, was put to death by order of the king " {op. cit., p. 331). DI88BBTATION. 61 Buddhist." ' The relijfious act commemorated in the Inscription at Prome,' namely, the crowning of the great pagoda at Rangoon — is not mentioned in the S&sana- vaipsa. It is said of this king, however, that the Ekamsika heresy had no success under his rule. When his son Mahadhamicabajadhiraja 3 (177G) &&iiss. mounted the throne, the Ekainsikas again approached the new king. Sino-ou-sa, who was under the influence of the orthodox thera Nandam&la, summoned both parties to hold an open disputation before him. The result was a crushing defeat for the Ekamsikas ; whereupon the king commanded that all bhikkhus should instruct their samaneras in the orthodox practice. How far this decree succeeded we are not told ; but the next king Bodoah Pra-* (1781) was by no means content to let the religious B.E. ii48. question rest. He held that, as the disputation had been held in the palace, the one party had been intimidated or At least one connecting link may be pointed out here between this later school and the sect denounced by Paiifiasami — the Sasanavainsa mentions that Gunabhi- laiukara, the first leader of the Ekamsikas, " taught his pupils the Abhidhamma." Heresies of doctrine and practice were no doubt intermingled, all along, though we hear little of the fonuer in our historj'. It is possible that Christianity, first introduced into Upper Burma in the 18th century, may be meant (see Bird's Wanderings in Burma, p. 88). ' Jas. Gray, Dynasty of Alaung-Prd, p. 24. This author mentions that Hsen-byn-Sheng warmly encouraged the study of Sanskrit literature, and sent to Benares for Brahman scholars to come and live at his capital. 2 The Poo Uo Daung Inscription, Ind. Ant., \o\. xxii. p. 1. 3 Sing-gu-sa, who succeeded at the age of nineteen. For his short and futile reign and miserable death, see Hist. Bur., pp. 207, 208, 209. 4 Fifth son of Alompra. Hist. Bur., pp. 208, 209, 287. 52 A BURMESE HISTORIAN OF BUDDHISM. overawed, and had therefore suffered defeat. His plan was to send commissioners to the different monasteries that the theras might set forth their views to these latter, unhampered by any fears. The Captain of the Bodyguard was made head of the Commission of Inquiry. The Ekamsikas (perhaps upon a royal hint) ^ acknowledged to the king's commissioners that their practice was not supported by the scriptures, but only by tradition. The king, -judging the question to be closed by this avowal, issued a decree commanding the observance of the rules laid down for samaneras by orthodox teachers. ^ The founding of the new capital Amarapura in 1782 3 is mentioned with the conventional prophecy supposed to have been uttered by the Buddha upon the site, in his lifetime. While Bodoah Pr4 went about to expiate the bloodshed of the opening of his reign, and to build the "Immortal City" by the unpaid and unwilling labour of his subjects,^ he was careful to assure himself a religious reputation in other ways. A list of viharas (which, the author assures us, does not contain all, lest his book should be inordinately long) shows the splendid bounty of the king, the royal family, and the nobility of this time.s ^ The king's own tutor was of the orthodox school ; and from our knowledge of Bodoah Pr^'s usual methods, we can hardly suppose that there was less intimidation in the " Inquiry " than in the open debate. ^ Parimandalasuppaticchanasikkhdpaddni enjoin the entire covering of the person while walking abroad. 3 Hist. Bur., p. 211. Yule's Mission, p. 130 et seq. '^Hist. Bur., pp. 210, 211. Father San Germano, Burmese Empire (ed. Jardine), p. 68. 5 The light thrown on Bodoah Pra's personality and acts by less partial writers, brings out a curious contrast between his religious zeal and his atrocious inhumanity and cruelty as a ruler.