We tagged every multiple-choice question in the 13 O/L Buddhism Paper I papers we hold (2013 to 2025) and counted the sittings each topic appears in. These notes are the 10 topics asked in 10 or more of the 13 sittings. Together they are about 46% of the questions behind that count. The order is how often the paper asks the topic. It is not a ranking of teachings.
The Buddhism journey on Wizder is 500 questions. You answer, then you see the correct option and the reason in Sinhala. The full ranking, including topics that appear only once, is in which Buddhism MCQ topics repeat.
The topics these notes cover
Ranked by sittings covered, then by questions.
| # | Topic | Sittings | Questions |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | බෞද්ධ කලාව | 13 of 13 | 32 |
| 2 | කර්මය | 13 of 13 | 31 |
| 3 | ධම්මපදය | 13 of 13 | 15 |
| 4 | බුද්ධ චරිතය | 12 of 13 | 36 |
| 5 | පාරමිතා හා ජාතක කථා | 12 of 13 | 25 |
| 6 | පටිච්ච සමුප්පාදය | 12 of 13 | 22 |
| 7 | ධර්ම සංගායනා | 11 of 13 | 24 |
| 8 | බෞද්ධ රාජ්‍ය පාලනය | 11 of 13 | 20 |
| 9 | ගිහි ජීවිතය | 10 of 13 | 17 |
| 10 | සිඟාලෝවාද සූත්‍රය | 10 of 13 | 10 |
3 of these appear in every sitting we hold: බෞද්ධ කලාව, කර්මය, ධම්මපදය.
Short notes
Read one note, then do that topic from several sittings. The same list comes back in new wording, and the wording is where the mark is lost.
1. බෞද්ධ කලාව
Asked in 13 of 13 sittings, 32 questions. It is in every sitting we hold. Pair each statue, moonstone, guardstone and stupa with its place and its posture. The usual trap is a real work put in the wrong place.
2. කර්මය
Asked in 13 of 13 sittings, 31 questions. It is in every sitting we hold. Learn how kamma is grouped by weight, and by when the result comes. The question asks which group the given case belongs to.
3. ධම්මපදය
Asked in 13 of 13 sittings, 15 questions. It is in every sitting we hold. Learn each verse with the situation it was spoken in. The paper gives the situation and asks for the opening words, or gives the words and asks what they mean. The other options are real verses.
4. බුද්ධ චරිතය
Asked in 12 of 13 sittings, 36 questions. Not in 2025. The question names a person who spoke with the Buddha, or a sentence the Buddha spoke, and asks who it was or which sutta. Revise the person and the occasion together.
5. පාරමිතා හා ජාතක කථා
Asked in 12 of 13 sittings, 25 questions. Not in 2025. For each perfection, know one Jataka that shows it, and the three grades in which a perfection is fulfilled. Do not attach a story from one perfection to another.
6. පටිච්ච සමුප්පාදය
Asked in 12 of 13 sittings, 22 questions. Not in 2014. Learn the order of the links. The line "when this is, that is; when this is not, that is not" is this teaching. The question asks for the next link, or for that line.
7. ධර්ම සංගායනා
Asked in 11 of 13 sittings, 24 questions. Not in 2023, 2014. One row per council: place, king, the monk who led it, and why it was held. Questions swap those four details. Theravada and the other tradition do not number the councils the same way, so keep the tradition in the row.
8. බෞද්ධ රාජ්‍ය පාලනය
Asked in 11 of 13 sittings, 20 questions. Not in 2023, 2022. Learn the lists a ruler is asked about: the seven conditions of non-decline, the ten royal duties, and the duties of a wheel-turning king. The question asks which item is not in the list.
9. ගිහි ජීවිතය
Asked in 10 of 13 sittings, 17 questions. Not in 2025, 2024, 2014. These questions are about how a lay person earns, spends and lives with a spouse. Learn the names of those practices, and which happiness is lost when the living is made by killing or by selling drink.
10. සිඟාලෝවාද සූත්‍රය
Asked in 10 of 13 sittings, 10 questions. Not in 2023, 2022, 2021. Learn the six directions as six relationships, the duties each side owes, and the six ways wealth is wasted. The question asks which duty does not belong to that person.
How to use the notes
- One topic a day from the top of the table, until the ones in every sitting are solid. Then the rest of this list. The 8-week plan spreads the same work out to the paper.
- After each topic, keep the questions you missed. That list is a better plan than any ranking, including this one.
When the paper is
The Buddhism paper is on Tuesday, 8 December 2026. That date is the Department of Examinations time table, issued on 6 October 2026. The official copy is on doenets.lk. Times for the day are in the paper-day guide, and the full table is in the O/L time table.
What these notes are not
There is no PDF to download. You cannot play a single year on its own: the journey starts at the beginning. A year page shows 5 questions from that sitting so you can see the paper. It does not play that year by itself. Paper II is not included. English medium is not here: the questions are the Sinhala-medium paper.
Try one yourself
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
Common questions
What are these O/L Buddhism short notes?
Revision notes for the Paper I topics asked in 10 or more of the 13 sittings we hold (2013 to 2025). Each note says what that topic's questions ask you to remember. The counts are taken from the questions on Wizder.
Which O/L Buddhism topics repeat in every sitting?
3 topics appear in every sitting we hold: බෞද්ධ කලාව, කර්මය, ධම්මපදය. The notes on this page cover the 10 topics asked in 10 or more sittings.
Can I download these short notes as a PDF?
No. There is no PDF to download. Read the notes on this page, then practise the questions in the app. You answer, and then you see the correct option and the reason.
Can I practise one year of the Buddhism paper on its own?
No. You start the Buddhism journey from the beginning. A year page shows 5 questions from that sitting so you can see the paper. It does not play that year by itself.
Do these notes include Paper II or an English-medium paper?
No. Paper II is not included. English medium is not here: the notes follow the Sinhala-medium Paper I, and the questions are that paper.