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Aggamahāpaṇḍita (Burmese:အဂ္ဂမဟာပဏ္ဍိတ,pronounced[ʔɛʔɡa̰məhàpàɰ̃dḭta̰]) is an honorificBurmese Buddhist title conferred by theMyanmar government to distinguishedTheravada Buddhist monks.
Aggamahāpandiṭa, meaning "foremost great and wise one," is derived from the following Pali terms:
The title is usually awarded to Buddhist monks who are highly proficient in teaching theDhamma or those who are believed to be enlightened (arahants).The title is awarded annually in January by the head of the Burmese government, following after rigorous and subtle examination of a monk's wisdom and achievement by theState Sangha Maha Nayaka Committee.
Recipients must meet the following qualifications:[2]
Historically, theBuddha had disciples who held title ofAggasāvaka andMahāsāvaka who were already enlightened Ariyas and regarded as leaders of the communities of monks known as theSangha.
From 1915 to 1942, the British colonial government conferred the title Aggamahāpaṇḍita (အဂ္ဂမဟာပဏ္ဍိတ) to 98 monks.[3] From 1951 through 1953, the Burmese government awarded the Aggamahāpaṇḍita title to 15 monks.[3]
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