The Monk’s Tales of Burma were always told by their author on the spur of the moment, and originally were not noted down. By word of mouth they reached villages all over Burma, and took place alongside the Jakatas, the folk tales. The Monk’s Tales were collected in Burma in the years 1926-29 and most of them originates form the dark decade of Burmese history (1876-85), when British occupied the country. The British rulers never understood that the Burmese society based on the monastic schools was a main foundation of Burmese society. Since Buddhism had never in any place been a single canonical religion, every monk are encouraged to discuss and debate any point of doctrine. This underlying premise gave rise to monk’s tales as a way of educating laymen under the British suppression.

Burmese Monks Tales