Sagaing U Bo Thin - The Lai Maya of the Bagan Era

Chapter (1)

We are the ones who, through history and oral history, are only able to criticize the great ones, and there are hardly any who speak well of them.

Who and what kind of person would speak well of the great monks? When people talked about and wrote about the great monks, they only wrote about the great monks of Bagan. What about the Sunapran region, west of the Ayeyarwady River, were there good monks flourishing at that time? Why should we not think that the great monks were the objects of people's worship?

If thinking means doing extra work, shouldn't the same be said for pursuing history?

Is it possible for history to emerge as a book, written down like a book, through imagination and invention?

Or can it be revealed through word of mouth, through hearsay?

If it is believed that some kind of mark caused the emergence of historical knowledge, who were those who made the mark? It would be very difficult to deny that before the arrival of the new Buddhism in Bagan during the reign of King Anawrahta, the only people who were considered literate and respected by their families were the nobles in the capital of Bagan.

Therefore, it is unlikely that many literary works, such as books, were in the hands of the monks before the reign of King Anawrahta of Bagan.

According to oral history, King Anawrahta exterminated the Lai people by a group of people and destroyed the Lai literature and skills. Many wise people have said this through word of mouth, but it is not explicitly mentioned in the True History of the Kingdom or the History of U Kala.

I have always believed that King Anawrahta completely destroyed the literary works of the Lai people. This is quite logical.

In this sense, the historical knowledge of the events of King Anawrahta is only a remnant of the literary records of the Lai people. Therefore, some of the stories are purely legendary.

The later history of King Anawrahta, although not as good as that of the previous kings, should be edited to see if there are any historical accounts that are not devoid of shadow.

In fact, since the subjects covered by literature are not related to religion, would it be wrong to say that it is in keeping with the spirit of the times? The times are generally based on the teaching of literature.

The later literature and canons of King Anawrahta are mixed with many Magadha dialects. They are also influenced by Mizzima.

When the great kingdom of Pugarama was founded, King Utthana, being a wise and far-sighted king, intended to establish a great university, but he was unable to overcome the influence of the nobles, so he did not succeed.

The lai are very skilled in the art of making gold and silver, magic, and sorcery, and are very influential because they can deceive the public very well.

Then, the kings who succeeded them were also many, but they were not lacking in knowledge and wisdom. There were also nobles and priests who were knowledgeable and intelligent, and the nobles exercised great influence over the people through the aforementioned knowledge and wisdom, but the kings were not able to dominate the country because they were only rich and powerful.

Such kings, nobles, priests, etc., were rich in knowledge, but because they did not establish schools to sustain and teach those knowledge, their knowledge gradually declined. As it declined, the ideology of the elites rose.

When King Sey Lan Kyaw passed away in the country of Tampawaddy, his younger brother, King Ya Paik Nge, ascended the throne. At that time, King Sey Lan Kyaw was only twenty years old, and his skills were still incomplete and immature. King Ya Paik's sister-in-law, Saw Su Ma, also disliked the evil practices of the Lai, but her skills could not compete with those of the Lai.

The two monks, Nandar Bhiwansa and Sumingalar Bhiwansa, had named Khin Gyi Maha Myaing as Myaing Gyi and were living there. They did not think much of the young King Sey La Pik because he was still young in knowledge. However, they took the young King Sey La Pik to their fake Maha Myaing monastery and lured him with the pretense of submission, and the king pretended to bow down to him.

As the young man seemed to lack the courage to do so, his sister-in-law Saw Thuma had to constantly warn him not to mix with the spirits of the Lai. Nevertheless, he accepted the Lai's limbs into the palace.

The two monks, Nanda Bhiwamsa and Sumingala Bhiwamsa, were like two lions in a golden cave, but despite their power and influence at the Myaing Monastery, they were still fighting with their cunning minds.

Because of such attitudes, it was as if the disciples of Nanda Bhiwamsa and his followers, and the disciples of Sumingala Bhiwamsa and his followers, were competing with each other.

Then, as Nanda Bhiwamsa was a man of great wisdom and eloquence, this idea came to him.

Now Saw Thuma is without a husband. His complexion is radiant and radiant. In addition, Saw Thuma has considerable influence over the king. If Saw Thuma comes to his side, he will be powerful and will belong to the religious sect of the Lai sect.

Nanda Bhiwamsa and Sumingalar Bhiwamsa agreed to be disciplined, as if they were superior to each other. Then, Sumingalar Bhiwamsa did not accept the offerings of Nanda Bhiwamsa's followers, and in the same way, Sumingalar Bhiwamsa did not accept the offerings of Nanda Bhiwamsa's followers. As a result, their followers became divided.

One day, Nanda Bhiwamsa sent one of his young men to Saw Sumer with the following message.

Saw Thuma. Saw Thuma was once a great and powerful woman of the Lai people, and because of her immediate benefits in the world, she became the Queen of Mahathi. We should not forget that, and now Saw Thuma is as powerful as a queen and should not forget the inner charity of the Daka Ma Myat to make her more prominent than she should be.

Saw Thu Ma read that verse and became very angry. He suddenly had the idea to go and arrest and exterminate the scoundrel, and he decided to call the Dawei commander.

Then Saw Thuma entered into a state of reflection and declared that if he did this, he would be playing war with the Lai. Then, remembering that the country would be in a civil war and that he would suffer internally and externally, he sent the Lai who had come as a messenger to come at this time the next day and then he sent him away.

The young man also responded to his teacher, Nanda Bhiwansa, with the message that Saw Thuma had sent him.

Nanda Bhiwamsa was overjoyed that his plan would succeed, and the next day he secretly sent the young man back to Saw Thuma with many good gifts.

Saw Thuma, after receiving the gifts from Nanda Bhiwansa, wrote the following in reply.

Saw Thuma knows and understands the Nanda Bhiwamsa. Saw Thuma does not need to be taught special teachings. Nanda Bhiwamsa and Sumingalar Bhiwamsa are like two lions hiding in a golden cave, so which side should Saw Thuma face?

The young man took the book and returned. Saw Sumara ordered Nanda Bhiwansa to throw the gifts into the dunghill.

Nandar Bhiwansa, having received the blessing from Saw Thuma, thought that his plan would be successful. He built a magnificent monastery in the garden of a wealthy man, called it Khin Gyi Myaing, and then moved to Khin Gyi Myaing Monastery, using the excuse that he wanted to establish a way out of the monastery.

After Nanda Bhiwansa had stayed at Khingyi Myaing Monastery for about seven days, he again sent a young man to Saw Thuma with the following instructions.

Martuka Maggyi Barani Saw Thuma... I am staying alone in Khin Gyi Myaing Monastery. Please accept Saw Thuma's unexpected blessings and merits through Saw Thuma's noble donation.

After reading that verse, Saw Thuma returned with this verse.