Buddhism in late Kongbaung period

Five kings ruled in this period namely:-

1. King Bagyidaw (1819-1837 AD),
2. King Thayawaddy (1837-1846 AD),
3. King Bagan (1846-1853 AD),
4. King Mindon (1853-1878 AD) and
5. King Thibaw (1878-1885 AD).

It was a tragic period because it was in this period that three aggressive wars were waged by the British in 1824, 1852 and 1885 and the whole of Myanmar was annexed in three instalments ending Myanmar monarchy and sovereignty. Despite political decline, this period witnessed some religious achievements by the kings. King Bagyidaw commissioned the compilation of the history of Buddhist religion from the time of the Buddha so as to praise the diligent bhikkhus and put to shame undisciplined bhikkhus. The compilation is known as “Sasana-Linka-ya Kyan”. It was the work of an ex-monk Maung daung Sayadaw 1, who was appointed minister with the title “Mahadhamma Thingyan”. He was also a member of the committee the king appointed to compile a chronicle known as “Hman-nan Yazawun” (Gass Palace Chronicle). The Sāsanā-Linka-ya Kyan (Sāsanālaṅkāra Sadan) was completed in 1881. In 1897, it became a parted book which is used till today.

Mahadhamma Thingyan (1753-1883), the former Primate Maung daung Sayadaw Ñāṇābhivaṃsa, with a wide knowledge of matters both religious and profane. 

Down link for his famous work "Sāsanā-Linka-ya Kyan".

Download Link: Sāsanā-Laṅkāra Sadan

In the reign of king Thayawaddy another Sri Lanka mission arrived. Then Samgharajah “Neyya-dhamma-bhivamsa” instructed two bhikkhus of the mission on Tipitaka and conferred ordination on Srilanka novices. One pupil of his later became Samgharajah. He was Paññāsāmi who compiled the Sāsanavamsa treatise. King Thayawaddy marched to Dagon (Yangon), in 1841 with full armed forces including war boats via the Ayeyawaddy River to worship Shwedagon Pagoda. He built fortresses and a new town named “Aung Myey Yan Hnin”. He renovated Shwedagon Pagoda and donated to it a big bronze bell of 21 tons which is still being hung in a pavilion at the north-east corner of the platform. His successor who was his elder son was king Bagan.

He lost the second Anglo-Myanmar war and Bago province was surrounded to the British. King Bagan appointed Paññājotiabhidhaja as Samgharajah (Sasana baing Sayadaw). This monk wrote a commentary and its sub-commentary in Myanmar on the Anguttara Nikaya. He also translated into Myanmar “Saddhamavilasini”. His other works were commentaries on Samyutta Nikaya and Digha Nikaya written in Myanamr. Despite wars and political turmoil, Theravada Buddhism continued to flourish. There was progress in Buddhist scholarship. Pali texts were translated into vernacular, thus making them available and access able to Myanmar literati. The entire Suttanta appeared in Myanmar language. Commentaries sub-commentaries and Vinaya were authored by learned bhikkhus.

The reign of King Mindon (1853-1878 AD), was not only the period of peace and progress but also the peak of progress and development of Theravada Buddhism. He stopped the war with the British and launched a programmer of reform and modernization like Emperor Meiji of Japan, he introduced western applied sciences to industrialize his kingdom. His achievements in the promotion of Theravada Buddhism were far reaching. Bhikkhus who were lax in the observance of the rules of Vinaya were required by royal order to take vows of obedience. A lay officer entitled Mahādanwun (Minister in charge of punishing bhikkhus who broke the rules of Vinaya), was appointed by the king. The Thudhamma council chaired rules and handed them to the lay authorities for trial and due punishment.

The reform movement

During king Mindon’s time there emerged a reform movement led by prominent monks of whom the noted ones were:-
1. Oak Hpo Sayadaw
2. Hnget Twin Sayadaw
3. Shwegyin Sayadaw and
4. Thingaza Sayadaw.

A new situation in lower Myanmar resulted from the British colonial rule there contributed to the reform movement. Although the British had declared Myanmar “British Burma”, the people in lower Myanmar still recognized Myanmar king as their sovereign and Sangharaja at Mandalay as their ecclesiastical authority. The British being non-Buddhist did not pay heed to religion of the natives. Instead they were promoting Christianity and English culture and education.

Therefore the laity and Sangha felt very much neglected by the new ruling authority. They looked to king Mindon for help. Many leading bhikkhus migrated to upper Myanmar where they could receive royal patronage and public support and pursue their learning under the guidance of famous teachers. That was the time that Oak Hpo Sayadaw rose up to prevent the migration of bhikkhus to upper Myanmar. He held assembly with the bhikkhus and told them that if they observed the rulers of Vinaya faithfully and strictly no secular authority was needed. The Buddha emphasized the practical side of his teaching ceremonial and ritual performances were superfluous and redundant. Meditation, Vipassana, strict observance of the Vanaya rules and the teaching of the fundamental of Buddhism were essential duties of bhikkhus. Oak Hpo Sayadaw even challenged the authority of the Thudhamma council which the king appointed.

Hnget Twin Sayadaw was more radical than Oak Hpo Sayadaw. He was a forest monk who resided at a forest recluse named Hnget Twin at the foot of the Sagaing hill range. He proposed reforming to Buddhist practices saying that offering of food, flower, fruit, light, etc. to the Buddha’s shrines and Pagodas was useless. What matter most in Buddhism understood of its fundamentals and essentials? Meditation was most important for all bhikkhus. He prescribed a period of meditation as a pre-requisite for ordination. He even went to say that meditation was of much greater importance than learning (Pariyatti). This radical view caused much unhappiness and commotion among Thudhamma bhikkhus and all lay devotes who were long accustomed to Buddhist ceremonies and rituals. But fortunately, Hnget Twin Sayadaw never attempted to form another sect.

Oak Hpo Sayadaw also did not break away from the established order (Thudhamma sect), to set up another sectarians group. They were outspoken reformists but not separatists. They were not guilty of causing disunity to the Sangha.

Hnget Twin Sayadaw: The single unified sect which emerged after Bodawpaya’s strong measures now showed signs of disintegration. Known as the Thudhamma Sect, because it was under the authority of the Thudhamma or ecclesiastical council, it had been without a rival for some eighty years. The challenge to the authority of the ecclesiastical council came from within the inner circle of the king. The tutor of Mindon’s chief queen was a pious monk who had written a number of learned treatises on the religion, and the queen had built for him a magnificent monastery. Although himself a great monk often consulted by the king, he took part in the migration of monks from the royal city to the Sagaing hills, and went to reside in a more distant part of the cliffs. The place was so inaccessible and so thickly wooded that it was known as Hnget Twin, meaning “the cave of birds”.

The Hnget Twin Sayadaw boldly preached that prevailing practices in the religion needed radical changes. Insisting that meditation was essential to a Buddhist, and that charity and mere morality, without the right mental attitude and awareness, were not enough, he was of the opinion that the centuries-old practice of offering flowers, candles, food, and water to the images of the Buddha in the pagodas and shrines was not only unnecessary, but also harmful in that the faded flowers and burnt-out candles dirtied a place meant for worship and meditation, and the food constituted an encouragement for rats to come near and dig holes in the foundations of the sacred edifice. He also considered it unnecessary that a monk recite the formula of the Five Precepts for a layman to repeat after him, because unless a person already refrains from killing, stealing, telling untruth, committing adultery, and taking drugs and intoxicants, he is not a Buddhist at all. Moreover, on sabbath days it was unnecessary for laymen and laywomen to keep all the Eight Precepts, for as lay people they had to lead normal lives; accordingly, he dropped out the precept of not taking food after the hour of noon and the precept of celibacy. But he insisted that every layman and laywoman must practice meditation, especially on the sabbath.

Shwegyin Sayadaw, a native of a place named Shwegyin in near Shwebo, was another reformist who tried to bring the entire Sangha back to the fold of Vinaya. He even prohibited his disciple monks chewing betel and tobacco after noon time. He said that observing the Vinya discipline was one of the good qualities of bhikkhus. If bhikkhus could maintain the code of conduct according to Vinaya, no authority was needed to enforce in by law.

Shwegyin Sayadaw: A monk from the small town of Shwegyin near Shwebo, which was the first capital of the Alaungpaya dynasty, went down to Lower Myanmar and studied under the Oak Hpo Sayadaw. On his return to his native town, he was duly installed as an abbot and received from the king the title of “royal tutor”. Like his teacher, the Oak Hpo Sayadaw, he maintained that, unless monks themselves gave up their luxuries and their lax ways, Buddhism in the country would decay, and that cor- ruption among the clergy should be put down by the monks them- selves without recourse to the secular arm.

He did not question at all the validity of the practices connected with ordination under the ecclesiastical council. He introduced two new rules of conduct in addition to and outside the Vinaya rules: after the hour of noon, no betel must be chewed and no tobacco must be taken or smoked. The ecclesiastical council did not consider the Shwegyin Sayadaw to be a rebel against their authority, and the Sayadaw himself started his new movement as a compromise between the extreme puritanic ideas of the Hnget Twin and Oak Hpo monks on one hand and the more moderate disciplinary measures of the ecclesiastical council on the other.

The followers of the Shwegyin Sayadaw, however, considered themselves as belonging to a sect essentially distinct and different from the established Thudhamma sect. Nonetheless, both the king and the ecclesiastical council continued to extend their patronage to the Shwegyin Sayadaw. In fact, in 1865, when the primate died, King Mindon wanted to appoint the Shwegyin Sayadaw as the new primate; fearing to add to the schism, he refrained from doing so. However, he left the vacancy unfilled. With regard to the Hnget Twin Sayadaw, both the king and the ecclesiastical council felt unhappy over his more radical pronouncements, especially his criticism of the offering of flowers and food before the images of the Buddha in pagodas and shrines.

Thingaza Sayadaw was a popular preacher. He preached the Dhamma with insertion of humorous tales so that general public could understand. Like Shwegyin Sayadaw he was a reformist. He held that bhikkhus should go back to the very essence of Buddhism rather then being involved in learning and scholarship. He was a purist and he emphasized the importance of practicing the code of conduct as prescribed by Vinaya.

He was a member the Thudhamma council. King Mindon honoured him by building grand monasteries for him. But Thingaza Sayadaw spent most of his time in forest recluses. He did not harbor any intention to set up a new sect but he remained member of Thudhamma council. The serious problem was in British Myanmar (Lower Myanmar), where bhikkhus being away from both temporal and ecclesiastical authorities became lax in disciplines. The king felt that it was his duty to do something about Sasana in Lower Myanmar.

The 5^th Buddhist Council

Under king Mindon’s patronage and with his support the 5th Buddhist council was held at the capital Mandalay from 1868 to 1871 (three years). Learned bhikkhus from at home and abroad were invited who sat in the assembly and daily recited and corrected all canonical texts (Tipitaka). The edited texts were inscribed on Sagyin marble slabs for reference. There are 111 slabs on which Vinaya was recorded, 410 slabs on which Suttas were recorded and 208 slabs on which Abhidhamma was recorded. The total number of slabs was 729. They were set up in serial order in the spacious precinct of Maha Loka Marazein Pagoda which King Mindon dedicated in 1857. In this Pagoda a duplicate of the sacred Tooth relic of the Buddha from Srilanka was enshrined. If you pie up these 729 marble slabs you will get the height of a 13 storey high-rise building the world’s largest book perhaps.

Press here to see:  UNESCO Memory of the World in Myanmar

A new hti on Shwedagon Pagoda

Mindon’s next religious deed was the dedication of a new hti (umbrella or crown), on Shwedagon Pagoda in Yangon. Myanmar Buddhists in British Burma appealed to the king to renovate the hti that was in decay due to old age and elements. Mindon made a new hti made at his capital. But the British did not allow him to come down to Yangon and donate it personally to Shwedagon Pagoda because they were afraid Myanmar patriotism would be aroused and their authority is undermined. Not even Mindon’s minister was allowed. Myanmar Buddhists in British Burma as British subject put the new hti on the Pagoda. Nevertheless Mindon’s new hti on Shwedagon Pagoda had the effect of reviving Theravada Buddhism in lower Myanmar religious and psychological gain of this event was the prestige of Mindon as a pious Buddhist king.

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A great marble Buddha Image

Among many religious monuments Mindon built a colossal Buddha image of marble deserves attention sculpted out of a big monolith from the quarries of Sagyin hills, north of Mandalay. This great image is popularly known as Kyauk Taw Gyi Phaya. But its official title is Maha Thet Kya Marazein. Ten thousand devotes contributed their physical labour for 13 days to transport the big stone to the temple site via a canal dug for ferrying it. On 16 May 1865, king Mindon came out in state to perform the rite of consecration of the Image. Mindon also built Thudhamma Zayats and Pathan Zayat (religious examination halls and Dhamma Sala). A big grand brick monastery was known as Atumashi (the incomparable), Maha Atula Wayan Monastery.

Kyauktawgyi Buddha Image (ကျောက်တော်ကြီးဘုရား) (Great Marble Image) is a well-known Buddhist temple located near the southern entry to Mandalay Hill, Myanmar, opposite the northeastern corner of the Mandalay moat. The image of the Buddha is officially known as Maha Thetkya Mayazein (မဟာသကျမာရဇိန်; Pali: Mahāsakyamārajina).

The last Myanmar king Thibaw (1878-1885 AD)

Though he was a weak king politically he was a good scholar. He was the only son of Mindon who passed difficult religious examinations. His religious works were the holding of religious examinations, patronizing and supporting Theravada Buddhism and building of Man Aung Yadana Pagoda. The third Anglo-Myanmar war broke out in 1885. The British deposed him and deported him and his family to Ratanagiri in India where he and his family died.

Academic Papers on Buddhist Culture and History

Buddhism in late Kongbaung period

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Academic Papers on Buddhist Culture and History