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JOURNAL OF AN EMBASSY 
and brought them by sea to Pugan, the seat of 
supreme Government. The time and manner in 
which the religion of Gautama was introduced 
into the country are not sufficiently ascertained. 
It subsequently underwent some modification, 
and was finally established in its present form by 
King Anan-ra-t’ha-men-sau, who began to reign 
in Pugan in the 1541st year after Gautama, the 
359th of the present vulgar era, and A.D. 997.” 
In my account of Siam, I stated that I had not 
heard in that country of any heresy, or of the ex¬ 
istence of any religious opinions above the level 
of the vulgar superstition. This is not the case in 
Ava. Of late years several individuals in this 
country have broached heretical doctrines,—at¬ 
tempted to reform the popular worship, and gain¬ 
ed a considerable number of followers. The abso¬ 
lutism of the Government, however, has generally 
silenced these schismatics, or at least prevented 
any overt expression of their opinions. A few 
years ago, one of the leading reformers was sent 
for to Ava, and not being able to render a satis¬ 
factory account of his doctrines, suffered decapi¬ 
tation. I do not understand that the propagation 
of a new religion was the object of any of these 
parties, but simply a reform of the old one. The 
reformers were generally, or I believe always, lay¬ 
men. They principally decried the luxury of the 
priesthood, and ridiculed the idea of attaching 
religious merit to the building of temples, or, as 
