The Tipiṭakadhara Tipiṭakakovida Selection Examinations () are the highest-level monastic examinations held annually in

Burma Myanmar, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar; and also referred to as Burma (the official English name until 1989), is a country in northwest Southeast Asia. It is the largest country by area in Mainland Southeast Asia and ha ...

since 1948, organized by the Ministry of Religious Affairs. It tests the candidates' memory of

Tripiṭaka There are several Buddhist canons, which refers to the various scriptural collections of Buddhist sacred scriptures or the various Buddhist scriptural canons.

(or "Three Baskets") both in oral (five levels) and in written components (five levels). The examinations require candidates to display their mastery of "doctrinal understanding, textual discrimination, taxonomic grouping and comparative philosophy of Buddhist doctrine." A Sayadaw who has passed all levels of the examinations is often referred as the ''Sutabuddha'' ().

History

In order to held Sixth Buddhist council at Burma in the Buddhist era 2500, the other Theravada five countries asked Burma whether there was the Tripiṭaka reciter in Burma. Therefore, the Burmese government held the Tipiṭakadhara Tipiṭakakovida Selection Examinations since 1948. The examinations are so difficult that no one could pass until 1953.

Eligibility criteria

To take the examinations, the candidates must be only monks and novices who passed the examinations of ''Pathamagyi'', ''Vinayavidu'' level, third level of ''Thamanaykyaw'', or lecturer level of ''Cetiyangana'' and ''Sakyasiha''.

Content

Recitation

The recitation content includes a cumulative 8026 pages of Tripiṭaka: # 851 pages from the first two texts of the

Vinaya Piṭaka The ''Vinaya Piṭaka'' (English: ''Basket of Discipline'') is the first of the three divisions of the Pali Tripitaka, the Pali Canon, definitive canonical collection of Buddhist texts, scripture of Theravada Buddhism. The other two parts of ...

# 1409 pages from the second three texts of the Vinaya Piṭaka # 779 pages from the three Dīgha Nikāya texts of the

Sutta Piṭaka The ''Sutta Piṭaka'' (also referred to as ''Sūtra Piṭaka'' or ''Suttanta Piṭaka''; English: ''Basket of Discourse'') is the second of the three division of the Pali Tripitaka, the definitive canonical collection of scripture of Therava ...

# 1390 pages from the first five

Abhidharma The Abhidharma are a collection of Buddhist texts dating from the 3rd century BCE onwards, which contain detailed scholastic presentations of doctrinal material appearing in the canonical Buddhist scriptures and commentaries. It also refers t ...

texts of the

Abhidhamma Piṭaka The ''Abhidhamma Piṭaka'' (English: ''Basket of Higher Doctrine;'' ) is the third of the three divisions of the Pali Tripitaka, the definitive canonical collection of scripture of Theravada Buddhism. The other two parts of the Tripiṭaka ...

# 3597 pages from the second two Abhidhammā texts of the Abhidhamma Piṭaka.

Ideology written answer

All texts are taken at the oral-based examination plus its relevant commentaries, sub-commentaries, and treatises.

Procedures

The whole examinations process takes 33 days in total – from last week of December to the third week of January – at the Kaba Aye Pagoda's Mahāpāsāṇa Cave in

Yangon Yangon, formerly romanized as Rangoon, is the capital of the Yangon Region and the largest city of Myanmar. Yangon was the List of capitals of Myanmar, capital of Myanmar until 2005 and served as such until 2006, when the State Peace and Dev ...

. At the reciting part, candidates have to take a text for three days, and four times in the morning, and five times in the afternoon each day (25 minutes and 10-minute break per time). They will be prompted only five times in the whole day. Those who passed the exam without being prompted are marked as "visiṭṭha" (distinguished).

Titles offered

Sayadaws who have passed five levels of ideology writing are awarded the degree of "Tipiṭakakovida" (), and the degree of "Tipiṭakadhara Tipiṭakakovida" () is awarded to those who have passed all levels of the examination. Five years after receiving Tipiṭakadhara Tipiṭakakovida Degree, the

Government of Myanmar Myanmar ( formerly Burma) () operates ''de jure'' as a unitary assembly-independent republic under its 2008 constitution. On 1 February 2021, Myanmar's military took over the government in a coup, causing ongoing anti-coup protests. P ...

offers him the title of Tipiṭakadhara Dhammabhanḍāgārika ().

Reciting

# If one passes on one Piṭaka, a white Kanakkadan umbrella with red handle. # If one passes on two Piṭakas, two white Kanakkadan umbrellas with red handles. # If one passes on three Piṭakas, three white Kanakkadan umbrellas with red handles. They are offered Sāsanā flags bearing the above emblems.

Ideology written answer

# If one passes one Piṭaka, a white Kanakkadan umbrella with a yellow handle. # If one passes two Piṭaka, two white Kanakkadan umbrellas with a yellow handle, Sāsanā flag bearing above emblems, degree-certificate, water-land travel upper-class free ticket, rice for every month, and Navakamma-Vatthu money are offered monthly. # If one passes three Tipiṭaka, three white Kanakkadan umbrellas with yellow handle. Sāsanā flag bearing above emblem, Tipiṭakadhara Tipiṭakakovidha pass-certificate, and water-land travel upper-class free ticket, monthly rice for alms-food and nāvakamma-vatthu are offered.

Recipients

The late Venerable

Mingun Sayadaw The Venerable Mingun Sayadaw U Vicittasārābhivaṃsa (, ; 1 November 1911 – 9 February 1993) was a Burma, Burmese Theravāda Buddhist monk, best known for his memory skills and his role in the Sixth Buddhist Council. As of 2020, only 15 monks have passed both the oral and written components, who are recognized by the Burmese government as "Sāsana Azani" (, lit. "Noble Hero of the Buddhist doctrine"). The awarded 16 Tipiṭakadhara Tipiṭakakovida, Tipiṭakadhara Dhammabhanḍāgārika Sayadaws are as follows.

References

{{Religion in Myanmar Examinations Education in Myanmar Buddhist monasticism *