Burmese Monk's Tales

by Maung Htin Aung

The tales contained in this collection were first told in the dark decade of Burmese history (1876–85) during the coming event of the British conquest. The stories combine exotic background with strong details that offer the Western reader both a picture of Burma in the nineteenth century and an understanding of the basic good sense, gaiety, and gentleness of the Burmese people and the Buddhist clergy. The characters that appear in the book illustrate timeless truths about human nature, which today's reader can apply to existing people and situations. For the first time since the eleventh century the future of Burmese Buddhism became uncertain, and there was widespread fear, both in Upper Burma still under a Burmese king and in Lower Burma already under British rule, that the final fall of the Burmese kingdom would result in the total extinction of both the national religion and the Burmese way of life. Told with the purpose of allaying this anxiety and fear, these tales give a full and faithful résumé and appraisal of the position of Burmese Buddhism on the eve of the British conquest of 1886. ( This title was previously published under ISBN 9781681720487. Due to technical issues a new ISBN had to be assigned. Rest assured that both versions of this title are exactly the same.)

Genres: Buddhism

191 pages, Hardcover

First published February 1, 1966

Reviews

[Paul · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book has a chapter at the beginning explaining the historical context in which the events in these stories were told. Many of the stories are clever and humorous, but what I found most helpful was learning more about how Buddhism in Burma was actually practice by both monastics and lay people, especially because of how few English-languages books there are about Buddhism in Burma.

A few specific things I found memorable:
1. For almost a thousand years, monks were teachers to the laity, both in religious and secular learning.
2. Shin Arahan not only converted the population to Buddhism, but also taught them how to read and write.
3. An important practice for the laity is the practice of Uposatha. It's not well-known in Western countries that I have seen. On the Uposatha, lay people take the eight precepts, listen to a sermon, and spend the day in religous practice.
4. The use of pray beads was/is common among the lay people for their regular practice. As far as I know, prayer beads aren't commonly used by lay people in any other Theravada Buddhist country. I find prayer beads helpful too, personally. Perhaps some other lay people would find them helpful too if the practice was more-well known.

[John Varner · Rating 4 out of 5]

Charming moral parables that, in addition to their intent as illustrative lessons, provide a glimpse into the lost world of nineteenth-century Burma in the shadow of the British conquest.

[Saettare · Rating 5 out of 5]

A striking portrait of provincial life in Myanmar in the middle of the nineteenth century through dozens of stories in miniature. Laden with humor and wit, they read like Boccaccio without the sex and Chaucer without the randy bits.