However, many of the monks in lower Burma began to group together under certain local leaders who saw themselves as outside of royal control. One of these figures was Okpo Sayadaw, who taught that the sangha did not need the protection of a secular elite power as long as it strictly kept the monastic discipline. His movement also challenged the authority of the Thudhamma sect, and took new ordinations by themselves. His ideas also reached Upper Burma and gained popularity there.