Tipitakadhara Examination:MORAC UM paid homage to the members of Sangha

At the Mahapasana cave of Kabar Aye Hill in Yangon where the 77thTipitakadharaTipitakakovida Selection Examination is being held, the 77 members of Sangha who are sitting for the recitation test of memorized Tipitaka scriptures were encouraged by the Sayadaws of Education Board led by the Vice Chairman Sayadaw of State Sangha Mahanayaka Committee Myingyan Sayadawgyi and paid homage and offered the offertories by the Union Minister for Religious Affairs and Culture U Tin Oo Lwin and officials on 25th December.

The history of the TipitakadharaTipitakakovida Selection Examination began in 1948, when the prominent layperson, Sir U Thwin, was appointed as the chairman by the Buddha Sasanuggaha Federation and the Tipitakadhara Tipitakakovida Selection Examination Board. And they drafted the rules and regulations for the examination.

The first examination was officially held in 1948. In the TipitakadharaTipitakakovida Selection examination, the Tipitaka or three baskets of Buddhist scriptures in Pali include the Vinaya Pitaka, consisting of five books with 2,260 pages; the SuttantaPitaka, comprising three books with 779 pages; and the Abhidhamma Pitaka, containing 12 books with 4,987 pages.

The total number of books is 20, with 8,026 pages. Successful candidates who pass the examination in the recitation test of memorized Tipitaka scriptures are awarded the title of "Tipitakadhara." Those who pass the written test of main Tipitaka scriptures and the various commentary books such as Athakatha, Tika, Anutika, Yojana, Ganthi, Anuganthi etc. are conferred the title of Tipitakakovida. For those who completed the examination and received the title of TipitakadharaTipitakakovida, the government provides various honors, including free transportation certificates for land, water, and air travel together with two assistants, and they are also offered monthly cash donation for rice. The recitation test in examination is conducted in two sessions each day.

The recitation of the scriptures takes place four times in the morning from 8 to 10 AM and five times in the afternoon from 1 to 4 PM, totaling nine schedules a day for 18 days. The written test of exam is held for five days, from 12:30 PM to 4:30 PM.

Since the first examination in 1948, there have been 16 monks who have successfully obtained the title of TipitakadharaTipitakakovida by 2024. On December 25, 2024, it’s reported that a total of 77 monks is currently engaged in the recitation test of Tipitaka examination.

Among them, one monk is sitting for the second part of Abhidhamma Pitaka, one is the first part of it, five monks are reciting the Dighanikaya scriptures, 39 monks are reciting the second part of Vinaya Pitaka, and 31 monks are the first part of it.