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There still remained, however, one institution that other nations have made useful in war, namely, the organization of religion. For Buddhism is fairly well organized certainly much better than ever the government was. It has its heads of monasteries, its Gaing-dauks, its Gaing-oks, and finally the Thathanabaing, the head of the Burmese Buddhism.
Therefore there must be a head of the monks acknowledged by the civil power as head, to make such applications as might be necessary in this, and perhaps some other such circumstances. It became, therefore, the custom for the king to acknowledge by order the elect of the monks as Thathanabaing for all such purposes. That was all. The king did not appoint him at all.
What has led people to think sometimes that there were exceptions is the fact that the king confirmed the Thathanabaing the head of the community of monks after he had been elected by his fellow-monks. The reason of this was as follows: All ecclesiastical matters I use the word 'ecclesiastical' because I can find no other were outside the jurisdiction of civil limits.
There is the Thathanabaing, who is the head of the community; there are under him Gaing-oks, who each have charge of a district; each Gaing-ok has an assistant, 'a prop, called Gaing-dauk; and there are the heads of monasteries. The Thathanabaing is chosen by the heads of the monasteries, and appoints his Gaing-oks and Gaing-dauks. There is no complication about it.
By 'ecclesiastical' I mean such matters as referred to the ownership and habitation of monasteries, the building of pagodas and places of prayer, the discipline of the monkhood. Such questions were decided by ecclesiastical courts under the Thathanabaing. Now, it was necessary sometimes, as may be understood, to enforce these decrees, and for that reason to apply to civil power.
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