Another eight monks have been certified to be Gashe - which is the highest level of attainment for monks studying the scriptures of Tibetan Buddhism.

They received their accreditation at the weekend in Lhasa, the capital of the Tibet autonomous region. Since 2004, there have been 48 new Gashes. The Geshe Lharampa degree is the highest honor for Tibetan monks and can be earned after many years of study of the classic scriptures of Buddhism.

The eight monks were all from major monasteries that included Ganden Monastery and Tashilhunpo Monastery in Lhasa. The ceremony was held at Lhasa's Jokhang Temple.

Seated on traditional yellow cushions and divided into two groups, 200 monks from eight major monasteries from the Gelug sect chanted sutras before the ceremony started.

All eight were questioned by 22 senior monks that comprised the judging panel.

Every candidate had to answer about 20 questions, Dogon Living Buddha told China Daily, adding that all of the questions were about the five classics of the Gelug sect.

Losang Lungrig, who ranked first in previous exams, and the seven others offered answers after the judging monk ended his question by clapping his hand.

The visiting monks and other believers laughed at times when the candidates skillfully responded to challenging questions.

Drukhang Thubten Khedru, president of the Tibet Branch of the Buddhist Association of China, said more monks will be encouraged to get their Gashe degree and more religious personnel will be educated to be examples for believers.