Page:Madras Journal of Literature and Science, series 1, volume 6 (1837).djvu/14

6 years ago; though by the Burmese themselves a much earlier date is ascribed to this event. Buchanan himself admits that the Burma code, more than 600 years old, was introduced from Ceylon; and, according to their own chronological tables, procured by the late embassy, their first monarchs are said to have come from Magadha, more than 300 years B. C.

Colonel Symes states, "As an incontestible proof that the Burmans acknowledge the superior antiquity of the Cingalese, and the reception of their religion and laws from that quarter, the king of Ava has sent, within these few years, at separate times, two messengers, persons of learning and respectability, to Ceylon, to procure the original books on which their tenets are founded; and in one instance the Barman minister made an official application to the Governor General of India to protect and assist the person charged with the commission." It seems a reasonable conclusion from the statements, as well as from what the Burmese themselves aver regarding the antiquity of their religion, that it originally came, before the Christian era, through Arracan, from the empire of Magadha direct—that on the decay of this Buddhist empire and ascendancy of the Brahmins, they were com- pelled on religious matters to communicate with Ceylon; the sanctity of which island must have been considerably increased by the influx of Buddhist priests from India.

Siam. The introduction of Buddhism into Siam, I am assured by several natives of that country, took place at a very remote period from Ceylon; these assertions are corroborated I find by their popular records, which are remarkably clear and decisive on this head; for instance, "Five hundred years after the decease of Samono Godon (Gaudama), there were three kings in the island of Ceylon, who, together with the rahans or priests, assembled to consult on matters of religion. One of the kings inquired, whether any person present had ever seen the deity during his life time. All replied in the negative. One of the nâks, knowing their conversation, instantly left his residence, came through the air, and presented himself in their assembly, saying, that he had seen the deity during his life time, and could create a perfect representation of him. This he accordingly did, and the kings and people sacrificed to it for seven days, and seven nights successively. The nâk then assumed a human form, and prostrated himself in humble adoration before the priests; after which he resumed his own nature and returned home, and with him disappeared his representation of the deity. But the kings, priests, and people