Tipitakadhara Tipitakakovida Selection Examinations

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:

1. 851 pages from the first two texts of the Vinaya Piṭaka
2. 1409 pages from the second three texts of the Vinaya Piṭaka
3. 779 pages from the three Dīgha Nikāya texts of the Sutta Piṭaka
4. 1390 pages from the first five Abhidharma texts of the Abhidhamma Piṭaka
5. 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.

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" (lit. 'Tripitaka expert'), and the degree of "Tipiṭakadhara Tipiṭakakovida" (lit. 'Expert who keeps Tripitaka in mind') is awarded to those who have passed all levels of the examination. Five years after receiving Tipiṭakadhara Tipiṭakakovida Degree, the Government of Myanmar offers him the title of Tipiṭakadhara Dhammabhanḍāgārika (lit. 'Tripitaka expert and Dhamma treasurer').

Reciting

1. If one passes on one Piṭaka, a white Kanakkadan umbrella with red handle.
2. If one passes on two Piṭakas, two white Kanakkadan umbrellas with red handles.
3. 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

1. If one passes one Piṭaka, a white Kanakkadan umbrella with a yellow handle.
2. 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.
3. 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 is the first title-winner of the Tipiṭakadhara exam in Burma. As of 2020, only 15 monks have passed both the oral and written components, who are recognized by the Burmese government as "Sāsana Azani" (Pali: Sāsanājāneyya, lit. "Noble Hero of the Buddhist doctrine").

The awarded 16 Tipiṭakadhara Tipiṭakakovida, Tipiṭakadhara Dhammabhanḍāgārika Sayadaws are as follows.