150 



Autohiography of Tsura MGWig-Bo, [April 



amassed a little money and employing it advantageously 

 in the purchase of paddy at the rate of five tickals per hun- 

 dred baskets^, I was enabled when the royal army march* 

 ed to Martaban, and the price of paddy rose in conse« 

 quence to 30 tickals per 100 baskets,* to realize a hand- 

 some profit of about 1,000 tickals of silver. 



I was now about seventeen years of age, and being anxi- 

 ous to commence my noviciate in a monastery, I proposed 

 it to my mother, and obtained her consent to my becom- 

 ing a S/ienpier.f I delivered the whole of my gains to my 

 mother for her support and was received after the usual 

 ceremony into the monastery of Kenghee Bouai. Here 

 I studied the following works, viz. the four $Feetza-wek- 

 kana, JKandaka, jTheekeea, ^Lointsaiba, JDantsaiba, 

 JPuraikee, Jfour Brama-sozas, &c. all connected with 

 my rank in the monastery. I afterwards studied $Zat- 

 tsaisoung. In this monastery I remained about one year, 

 and then proceeded to Prome to pursue my studies. There 

 I entered the monastery of Ruhan Tsaradaughee Gna wen, 

 and continued in it for six months during which time I 

 read Thada-sheet-soung." The Tsaradaughee was very 

 old, and I expressed myself desirous of quitting for fear 

 of giving him trouble, he kindly insisted on my going to 

 Oonanda one of his disciples who lived at Lettat-pyeen 

 about three D6ings§ from Prome. On arriving there I 

 found the village small, the number of Ruhans,|| proba- 

 tioners and other orders of the monastery numerous, and 

 provisions scarce. I continued my studies in Thuda-sheet- 

 soung, but I was so inquisitive, and my zeal for learning 

 »jausedme to make so many references to the Ruhan that 

 he complained of not being able to attend his other dis- 

 ciples and answer my questions too ; under these circum- 

 stances I thought it advisable to proceed elsewhere in 

 hopes of finding a teacher who had more leisure to attend to 



* A basket contains from 30 to 32 Arcot seers. 



t A noviciate. Youths generally enter the monasteries as such for their edu- 

 eati n, shave their heads, and wear the priest's cloth, 

 X Works on Ethics, Theology, Logic, &c. 

 § A Doing is about 2 English miles» 

 fl Kuhan is an order of priesthood. 



