The 2026 O/L Buddhism paper is on Tuesday, 8 December 2026. Here is exactly when each part starts, what Paper I looks like, and what to do with the three days before it.
Date and time
- Papers I and II together, 08:30 – 11:40
Times are from the Department of Examinations' official time table, issued on 6 October 2026. See the full O/L 2026 time table for every other subject.
What Paper I looks like
Paper I is the multiple-choice paper: four numbered options per question, one correct. In the 13 sittings we hold (2013 to 2025), each Paper I carried 36 to 40 questions that we could reproduce faithfully. This year it shares one morning sitting with Paper II, so the time between them is yours to divide.
The topics that have been asked almost every year
If you only look at one list in the last three days, make it this one. Each topic appeared in nearly every sitting we hold.
- බෞද්ධ කලාව13/13
- කර්මය13/13
- ධම්මපදය13/13
- බුද්ධ චරිතය12/13
- පාරමිතා හා ජාතක කථා12/13
- පටිච්ච සමුප්පාදය12/13
- ධර්ම සංගායනා11/13
- බෞද්ධ රාජ්ය පාලනය11/13
The last three days
Three days before: Saturday 5 December
One full past Paper I on the clock, from a year you have not done. Mark it and write down every miss.
Two days before: Sunday 6 December
No new papers. Go through your wrong-answer list and the topic list above, and read the explanation of every question you missed.
The day before: Monday 7 December
A light hour on the topic list, nothing after dinner. Pack your bag (admission card, pens, pencil, ruler, eraser, a watch that is not a smart watch) and sleep early.
In the hall
- Buddhism is the first paper of the whole exam, on 8 December. Papers I and II are one sitting, 08:30 to 11:40, so set your MCQ pace in advance and keep the rest for Paper II.
- In "which is not..." questions (අයත් නොවන්නේ), underline the word "not" before reading the options. It is the most common way a known answer is lost.
No calculators and no correcting fluid in any O/L paper this year, and a phone in the hall is an offence that can be punished. Leave it at home. The full list is in the exam day checklist.
A real Paper I question, to warm up
බුදුරජාණන් වහන්සේ මහා මොග්ගල්ලාන සූත්රය දේශනා කළේ කුමන ස්ථානයේදී ද?
- Aවිශාලා මහනුවර වන පියසකදී
- Bගග්ගරා පොකුණ සමීපයේදී
- Cකලන්දක නිවාප නම් ස්ථානයේදී
- Dමහී ගංගා තීරය අසලදී