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The king was anxious to impose a vow {patinfid) of abstinence from these indulgences, but, doubting if such a measure would be lawful, he consulted the Samgharaja. The Primate summoned a council of Mahatheras, and charged the king's minister to question them on their views (p. 155). Opinion was divided. The Samgharaja and some others held that the king would be justified (by his earnest desire for reform) in imposing the vow ; but others were against it. FinaJly the Samgharaja called on his pupil Pannasami to set forth the views of the Head of the Order. The younger thera then dehvered a discourse ; taking as his * He quotes here several verses from a poem of his own composition, the Nagardjuppatti. The poem shows that its author understands the courtly art of praising kings. It must be said that Meng-dun- Meng won a tribute of high practice from many European writers, who judged him from a severer stand- point than his dearly a. It is generally agreed that he was an enhghtened, just ruler, earnestly striving after the good of his people, and perhaps more true to the noble ideals of the religion iie " supported " than any of his predecessors. 2 Mandalay, founded 1857. 68 A BURMESE HISTORIAN OF BUDDHISM. text passages of the Vitiaya, Pdtimokkha, Parivdra, and Suttavihhanga, and referring to Buddhaghosa's com- mentary, he argued that imposing a vow, in all sincerity, to restrain the monks from sin, would be a blameless act. He pointed out in how many religious acts the patinnd enters. Newly ordained bhikkhus, at the time of the Upasampada ordination, pronounce a solemn vow, on the exhortation of the upajjhayas. In the same way novices (sdmanerd) at the moment of renouncing the world (pabbajjd) take a vow to observe the Precepts ; bhikkhus, when acknowledging a fault committed, continually take a vow of amendment ; novices, when entering upon their training under an upajjhdya, take a vow ; and the vow the king wished to impose did not differ from these, solemnly sanctioned by scripture and by precedent. The assembly was convinced, the king acted on its judgment, and the laxer members of the Order returned, under compulsion, to a stricter way of life (p. 158). We now come to the last controversy, perhaps recorded because it points to the influence of the Burmese Samgha in Ceylon (p. 159). An ancient Slmd in the island was the subject of dispute. One party in the Sinhalese Samgha maintained that consecration performed within this boundary was not valid, as the Slmd was no longer fit in every respect for the ceremony.^ Another party ^ The fault of the Slmd in question was Samkdradosa, i.e., confusion (of boundaries), because a causeway had been built connecting it with others (c/. the discussion on the validity of Slmds for ordination in the Kalyani Inscriptions where the phrase occurs : " Apare tu thera : dvinnam baddhaslmanam yeva rukkhasakhadisam- bandhen' ahhamannasamkaro hoti . . . ." [Text of Kal. Ins. by Taw Sein Ko, Ind. Ant., vol. xxii. p. 155 ; Translation, vol. xxii. pp. 15, 29, et seq.] The complete purification of the space for ceremonies is a vital point, hence the importance of well-defined boundaries. OI88BBTATION. 50 held that the Stmd fulfilled all requirements, and the matter was brought for judgment to the Saingharaja at Maudalay. by deputations (with a short interval of time) from both sides. They were hospitably received, viharas were built for them, and the Saingharaja gave* judgment, after con- sulting various books. The members of both deputations received presents from the king, and those who had been proved in the wrong were safeguarded (against a break in the succession of theras) by reordination. A few ecclesiastical details of slight interest, that need not be brought into this review, bring the record up to the year 1860, when the History of lieligion in Aparanta oloaes. CONCLUSION. The History of Religion in Mramma is, as we have seen, nothing more than the history of the Buddhist Order in SuNAPAEANTA and Tambadipa. The record takes us beyond these hmits in two periods only, that is when Taungu, under a king of Burmese descent, represented the older state (Aparanta being at that time under Sh4n rule), and later, when the kings of Burma, as " Emperors of Pegu," held their Court at Hamsavatl. But the record of the two Ira wad dy provinces cannot be called a "local" chronicle, for the history of the Burmese as a nation centres in a group of cities on the upper river — Pugan, Sagain, Ava, Panya, Amaeapura, Mandalay — each, in its turn, the seat of kings. In the monasteries and cetiyas of the capital has been reflected, more or less faithfully, the welfare of the country. Of necessity they prospered or suffered, in some degree, according as Burma triumphed over neighbouring states or suffered invasion, raid, and plunder from China, the Sh^n tribes, and Pegu. Such glimpses of the times as occur in the Sasana- vamsa, and the dates, which serve as a guide through a crowd of anecdotes and digressions, agree, on the whole, with the secular history of Burma ; but there are some significant omissions. The invasion of the Mongol armies of Kublai Khan and the taking of the capital in 1284 A.D. are passed over in absolute silence ; and this is only one example among many that might be brought forward. Some kings are altogether ignored, and those whose " merit " assures them a place in the religious chronicle are often shadowy figures, or are painted in CONCLUSION. 61 colours that give the He to history. In the S&sanavarasa we heivr of the pious zeal of Kyocva and the bounty of BoDOAH PrA. Yet we cannot do more than guess at the real greatness of Ax.omprA, and we hear nothing of the tyranny and crimes of his successors — the hideous cruelty of one, the downright insanity of another. Nowhere does a single hint occur of the appearance of the Portuguese in Burma, or the later advance of the English into the heart of the old kingdom. Yet we know, from passages in the Sasanavamsa itself — not to speak of European testimony — that monks have been, for centuries, advisers of the sovereign, peacemakers and negotiators in affairs of state. Mere ignorance and pious seclusion from the world are no explanation of the omissions in the Sasanavamsa. The historian knows the relations — often shameful and grim enough — of the kings to their kins- folk, subjects, and neighbours, but it does not come within his plan to set them down. It is in this very one-sidedness of the record that lies no small part of its interest. While isolating the religion of the rulers from their political and private lives, it brings before us a picture of the relations of State and Samgha in Burma for eight centuries, from the time of Anuruddha, with his constant adviser, Arahanta, to the time of Meng-dun-Meng, with his council of Mahatheras. Those relations may be briefly summed up as a mutual dependence. The Order, though enriched by the gifts of pious laymen, yet depends, in the last resort, upon the king. Under such despotic rule no man's property or labour is his own ; the means of supporting the Samgha may be withdrawn from any subject who is under the royal displeasure. The peaceful, easy life dear to the Burmese bhikkhu, the necessary calm for study or the writing of books, the land or water to be set apart for ecclesiastical ceremonies (a fitting place for which is of the highest importance), all these are only secured by the king's favour and protection. If this be borne in mind, 62 A BURMESE HISTORIAN OF BUDDHISM. the general loyalty of the Samgha to the head of the State is easy to understand. On the other side, the king's despotism is held in check and his religious feelings (if they exist at all) sharpened by expediency, or their place (if they are non-existent) supplied by the strongest motives of self-interest. At the lowest, the royal gifts of viharas and the building of cetiyas are either the price paid down for desired prosperity and victory, or the atonement for bloodshed and plunder; and the despot dares not risk the terrors, the degradation, that later births, in coming time, may hold in store for him, if he injures or neglects the Samgha. It would be a totally false view, however, to see in this mutual dependence only mutual bargaining. It cannot be doubted that many of the kings have been swayed by a real reverence for the sublime ideal of the Keligion, and a real awe before the silent, impalpable power facing their own.