Epistles Written on the Eve of the Anglo-Burmese War

Buddhism became the national and official religion of the Burmese people in the 11th century, and one of the consequences was the advent of the village monastery as the religious, cultural and social centre for all villagers. At the monastery the villagers learned to read and write, but until modern times they never acquired the habit of writing letters to their friends and relations or to business associates. The village was almost a complete economic unit by itself, and the average villager did not have any business reason to travel far from his village. During eight months of the year, he was tied down to his work in the fields, and in the remaining four months which marked the hot season, he with his family travelled to the nearby towns and villages, taking part in the pagoda festivals and meeting friends and relations at those places. Moreover, there was no postal service. On those rare occasions when it became necessary for him to write a Ietter he considered hirnself inadequate for the task and wou1d approach a monk to compose an epistle, couched in elegant prose and full of maxims and wise sayings. The epistle was called the Myittazar or Ietter of loving-kindness. The epistle was written on dried palm leaf with a stylus, and before it was actually sent to the addressee, it was passed round the village to be read and admired. The recipient of the epistle also read it aloud to his friends and acquaintances. Some of the epistles written by famous monks were copied, collected and preserved. Front Matter....Pages I-IX A Mother and Her Sons....Pages 1-8 Four Letters from Rangoon....Pages 9-18 Epistles to Royal Officials....Pages 19-26 Four Epistles Dealing with Opportunities and Dangers of Royal Service....Pages 27-45 Back Matter....Pages 46-48