Text, Lineage, and Tradition in Burma: The Struggle for Norms and Religious Legitimacy under King Bodawphaya (1782-1819)

82 Journal of Burma Studies, Volume 9 TEXT, LINEAGE, AND TRADITION IN BURMA The Struggle for Norms and Religious Legitimacy under King Bodawphaya (1782–1819) Jacques P. Leider* The wide range of interests and scholarly endeavors of a man like U Pe Maung Tin is astounding. For a historian of Burma working at the beginning of the twenty-first century, U Pe Maung Tin’s legacy continues to stand out for one main reason. He pioneered the academic study of Burmese history as he engaged himself in that critical and essential task of the historian: the editing of text sources and, to a somewhat lesser degree, their translation. We do not honor a pioneer like U Pe Maung Tin by merely eulogizing his work and relating the events of an outstanding academic career. We may honor him best by taking inspiration from his work and walking in his footsteps. AttheUniversityofRangoon,UPeMaungTindefended Burmese history as a serious subject for scientific research and instruction. A hundred years later, compared to Southeast Asian history in general, Burmese history has remained an undervalued field and is still regre�ably li�le studied. Many more documents have now become available in printed form, though they are sometimes difficult to locate. Praiseworthy work has indeed been done, such as the Royal Orders of Burma prepared by Professor Than Tun, but much more of Burmese * École Française d’Extrême-Orient, Yangon. This article presents the revised version of a paper read at the conference, “Exploring Theravada Studies: Intellectual Trends and the Future of a Field of Study,” organized at the Asia Research Institute, National University of Singapore, 12–14 August 2004. I would like to thank Catherine Raymond and Anna Allo� for kindly accepting its publication in the Journal of Burma Studies. The revision of this paper owes much to extensive discussions with my colleague Alexei Kirichenko (Moscow State University), whose sharp and unrelenting criticism has been both comforting and inspiring. Journal of Burma Studies, Volume 9 83 Text, Lineage, and Tradition in Burma history needs to be uncovered.1 U Pe Maung Tin’s work raised the banner decades ago; many tasks in the field of editing, translating, and analyzing historical sources are le� to be done nevertheless. This article explores a poorly exploited field of pre-colonial Burmese Buddhist history, namely the origins of the monastic reform movement in the nineteenth century. Historians of Theravada Buddhism in Thailand and Burma know that the sangha, the order of the monks as we know it today, was shaped by reform movements that gained strength in the second half of the nineteenth century. What was commontothesereformmovementswas(1)agreateremphasis on textual knowledge, which required in-depth Pali studies, and (2) an appeal for greater monastic discipline, which meant a return to a strict application of the vinaya rules.2 Kings with a strong interest in religion such a Mongkut in Siam and Mindon in Burma were instrumental in raising the standard of religious studies and the monastic life in their realms. These kings took important initiatives that went beyond the usual copying of the Tipitaka, the enshrining of relics, and the foundation of pagodas that had long been essential religious deeds of kings who called themselves mintaya or dhammaraja. The initiatives of the kings were successful because they were implemented by reform-minded monks who intermi�ently faced tremendous resistance while enforcing their mission. In nineteenth-century Burma, reform-minded monks occasionally went their own way and this led to the foundation of the so called “Mindon sects” (gaing). The origins of this monastic reform movement in Burma are found in the early Konbaung period, particularly during the long reign of King Bodawphaya and his radical a�empts at religious reform.3 My larger interest as a historian lies in the period during which King Bodawphaya reigned. This article is concerned with the king’s religious policy and the way this policy is reconstructed in the religious chronicles.4 In line with its title, the article focuses more particularly on sangha history and again, on how the sangha is represented in the religious historiography. It offers a preliminary analysis and does not aim to...