Buddhism in BCE (Buddhism Before Common Era)
- 563 BCE : The birth of Siddharth Gautama in a Kshatriya family in Lumbini, Nepal.
- 534 BCE : Gautama abandons his highly luxurious life and becomes an ascetic.
- 528 BCE : Gautama attains enlightenment under the Bodhi tree in Bodh Gaya, India. He moves to Sarnath to and delivers his first sermon on dharma.
- 483 BCE : Gautama Buddha dies at Kushinagar in India. Three months later, the first Buddhist council gathers.
- 400s BCE : The Kharosthi script, also known as the Gandhari script is brought in use.
- 383 BCE : The Second Buddhist Council is convened in Vaishali in India.
- 367 BCE : Non Canonical Buddhist Council is convened at Pataliputra.
- 300 BCEs : The oldest Brahmi script discovered by archaeologists date from this era.
- 250 BCE : Third Buddhist council is convened by King Ashoka in Patliputra. The Council is presided over by Moggaliputta Tissa. Also, the first completely developed Kharosthu script dates back from this period.
- 220 BCE : Ashoka’s missionary Mahinda visits Sri Lanka and Theravada Buddhism is officiallly introduced in the country. The king of Sri Lanka at this point of time is Devanampiya Tissa.
- 180 BCE : Demetrius, a Greco-Bactrian king conquers India as far as Pataliputra and lays down the foundation of Indo-Greek Kingdom. Under his rule, Buddhism develops rapidly.
- 150 BCE : Indo Greek king, Meander I adopts Buddhism under the guidance of sage Nagasena (Milinda Panha).
- 120 BCE : The Chinese Emperor, Han Wudi accepts two golden statues of the Buddha. Reference regarding this is found in Mogao caves inscriptions in Dunhuang city.
- 29 BCE : Pali cannon is written down in Sri Lanka during the reign of King Vaagami.
Buddhism in CE (Common Era)
- 1st Century CE
- China : In 65 CE, Liu Ying sponsors Buddhism in China. This becomes the first recorded case of Buddhist practice in China. In 67 CE, Buddhism arrives in China with two monks, Moton and Chufarlan. In 68 CE, The White Horse temple is constructed in China and with this Buddhism is officially introduced in China. In 78 CE, Ban Chao, a Chinese General, over powers the Buddhist Kingdom of Khotan.
- India : The Fourth Buddhist Council is convened near the Indian city, Jalandar or Kashmir. This is the time when the Kushana king, Kanishka is in power.
- 2nd Century CE
- China : 116 CE : Kanishka conquers Kasghar, Khotan and Yarkand in the Tarim Basin. These were earlier Chinese dependency. In 148 CE, An Shigao, a Parthian prince and Buddhist monk, comes to China and begins to translate the Theravada texts into Chinese. In 178 CE, the Kushan monk Lokaksema comes to China and begins to translate the Mahayana texts into Chinese. He is the first one who is known to do so.
- Vietnam : Buddhists from India and central Asia visit Vietnam during 100s/200s CE.
- 3rd Century CE
- China : The earliest Chinese scriptures that have been discovered belong to this year, 296 CE.
- 4th Century CE
- Korea : Buddhism makes an entry in the country of Korea.
- India : Nalanda University grows into prominence as an education centre and houses around 3000-10,000 monks.
- China : Between 399-414 CE, Chinese pilgrim Fa-Hien visits India. Later, he goes back to China to translate buddhist texts into Chinese.
- 5th Century CE
- Cambodia : Buddhism is promoted by the Funan kingdom in Cambodia.
- Burma : Pali inscriptions which are the earliest proof of Buddhism in Myanmar belong to this era.
- China : In 402 CE, Kumarajiva comes to China and translates many Buddhist texts in to Chinese. In 403 CE, Hui Yuan argues that it should not be necessary for Buddhist monks to bow before the emperor. In 405 CE, Yao Xing, on whose request Kumarajiva visited China, honours him. In 465 CE, Buddhabhadra arrives in China and begins to preach Buddhism. In 495 CE, the Shaolin Temple is constructed in the honour of Buddhabhadra.
- Indonesia : The earliest proof of Buddhism in Indonesia dates back to this time. Buddhism takes entry into Sumatra.
- Sri Lanka : In Sri Lanka, this was the age of Buddhist philosopher Buddhaghosa. Also, the stupa of Dambulla was erected.
- 6th Century CE
- Vietnam : Zen Buddhists find their way into Vietnam. Jataka stories are translated into Persian under Zoroastrian king Khosrau.
- China : In 520s CE, Bodhidharma arrives in China from India and settles in Shaolin Monastery. In 581 CE, Sui dynasty gains power in China.Under this dynasty, Buddhism flourishes tremendously in China. The Sui dynasty remains in power till 619 and this is the golden age of Chinese Buddhism.
- Japan : In 552 CE, Buddhism is introduced in Japan and goes on to become the state religion by the end of the century. Some scholars believe that Buddhism was introduced in Japan in 538 CE.
- 7th Century CE
- In early 600s CE, Jingwan begins to carve sutras on stone at Fangshan, Yuzhou
- China : In 618 CE, Tang dynasty comes to power in China.
- Tibet : Buddhism is established in Tibet.
- 8th Century CE
- Japan : Nara period in Japanese history begins and continues. The Chinese monk Jianzhen reaches Japan and establishes the Japanese Ritsu school.
- Tibet : Padmasambhava arrives in Tibet and the first Tibetan Monastery, Samye, comes up. The Nying-ma-pa School of Tibetan Buddhism is also established. The construction of Borobodur in Indonesia begins.
- Buddhist Jataka stories are translated into Syriac and Arabic as Kalilag and Damnag.
- 9th Century CE
- Japan : In 804 CE, the Japanese Shingon school and Japanese Tendai school are established by monk K?kai and Saich? respectively.
- China : In 840s CE, the greatest Buddhist persecution in China.
- Tibet : Buddhism declines in Tibet too in the middle of the 800s.
- 10th century CE
- Tibet : Revival of Buddhism begins in Tibet.
- Burma : The construction of Buddhist temple at Bagan in Myanmar begins.
- China : Between 971- 983, the first complete printing of Chinese Buddhist cannon takes place in this period under Song dynasty.
- Korea : In 991 CE, a copy of this cannon arrives in Korea.
- 11th century CE
- Tibet : Marpa, Konchog Gyalpo, Atisha arrive in Tibet and Kagyu-pa and sakya-pa School of Tibetan Buddhism is established.
- Korea : Begins carving its own woodblock print edition of the Buddhist canon.
- Sri Lanka : Theravada Scool of Buddhism is revived in Sri Lanka. Burma also adopts Theravada Buddhism.
- India : Buddhism declines in its birthplace, India.
- 12th century CE
- China : Buddhism is suppressed in China and Dao is promoted.
- Japan : Honen establishes Pure Land School of Buddhism in Japan. Eisai establishes the Rinzai Zen School of Japanese Buddhism.
- Cambodia : Jayavarman VII builds the Bayon temple in Angkor temple complex which laid the foundation of later conversion of the Khmer people to Theravada Buddhism.
- Burma : Reformation of Burmese Buddhism begins on the line of Sri lanka Theravada Buddhism.
- India : In India, the great Nalanda University is sacked.
- 13th century CE
- Thailand : Theravada overshadows Mahayana with Thai kingdom Sukhothai being established. Theravada Buddhism is declared the state religion.
- Japan : Nichiren Daishonin is born who later establishes Nichiren Buddhism. Dogen Zenji brings the Caodong school of Zen from China to Japan as the Soto sect. Dogen Zenji also establishes the Eiheiji Soto Zen Temple and Monastery
- Myanmar : The Theravada kingdom at Pagan, Myanmar is overpowered by the Mongols.
- Cambodia and Sri Lanka : Theravada Buddhism overshadows Mahayana Buddhism.
- 14th Century CE
- Thailand : U Thong establishes Ayutthaya as his capital and adopted the name of Ramthibodhi.
- Tibet : The first Dalai Lama of Tibet is born. Tsong-kha-pa begins Gelug tradition. Bu-ston collects and edits Tibetan Buddhist canons.
- 16th century CE
- Tibet : Altan Khan confers the title of the Dalai Lama for the first time ever in history on Sonam Gyatso, the third Dalai Lama..
- 17th century CE
- Japan : The Toyotomi family reconstructs a massive image of Buddha at the H?k?ji Temple in Ky?t?. Later, the Tokugawa Shogunate, a feudal military dictatorship of Japan established by Tokugawa Ieyasu gains control of Japanese Buddhism.
- Vietnam is divided during 1600 –1700s. The Nguyen rulers of the south backs Mahayana Buddhism.
- Tibet : Here, Oirat Mongols accepts Gelug-pa Buddhism. Also, Güüshi Khan of the Khoshuud gives the sovereignty of Tibet to the fifth Dalai Lama.
- 18th century CE
- Thailand : A number of Buddhist texts are destroyed when the Burmese attack Ayutthaya.
- 19th century CE
- Thailand : King Mongkut, a former monk, initiates a campaign to reform and modernise the monkhood. The campaign continues in the present century under several renowned sage monks.
- Vietnam : Buddhism faces extreme restrictions,
first under Nguyen Anh(1802-20) and then under Minh Mang (1820-41).
Sri Lanka : Buddhism Revival movement gains momentum. Since this time, Buddhism makes rapid progress in the country. It also becomes instrumental in spreading Buddhism to other countries. - Burma : 5th Buddhist council convened in Mandalay in 1871. Pali cannon was re-edited and engraved on 729 stones under King Mindon Min of Burma. These were then set up on the grounds of a monastery in Mandalay. A year later in 1879, Burma became a British colony. In 1899, Gordon Douglas becomes the first person from the west to be ordained in the Theravada tradition. He is ordained in Burma.
- China : Jade Buddha temple established in Shanghai. The Jade Buddha statue installed here were brought from Burma.
- West : Anagarika Dharmapala and Soyen Shaku attend attend the World Parliament of Religions meets which is held in Chicago, Illinois in 1893.
- Nepal : Stone pillar of Ashoka is excavated in Lumbini in 1896
- 20th century
- West : First Soto Zen temple is founded in North America in 1922. In1956, the Zen Studies Society is established in New York in order to support D.T. Suzuki. In 1962, the San Francisco Zen Center comes up with the effort of Shunryu Suzuki. In 1974, the Naropa Institute, which is now known as Naropa University, is founded in Boulder, Colorado. In 1975, the Insight Meditation Society is founded in Barre, Massachusetts.
- India : In 1949, the Buddhist gain partial control over the Mahabodhi temple. In 1956, an Indian leader of repute, who was also an untouchable, adopts Buddhism alongwith more than 350,000 followers. This gives marks the beginning of the modern Neo-Buddhist movement in the country. In 1996, the Buddhist nun order is revived in Sarnath with the efforts of an International Buddhist Women Association.
- Tibet : Chinese forces occupy Tibet forcing the 14th Dalai Lama and his followers to flee to India. Buddhist monasteries in Tibet are destroyed and Buddhist practitioners punished.
- Sri Lanka : World Fellowship of Buddhists is established in Colombo in the year 1950. In 1966, World Buddhist Council is convened. In 1998, the most sacred Buddhist temple of Sri Lanka, the Temple of Tooth is attacked by LTTE terrorists.
- China : Caves that lie close to the summit of Pai-tai mountain in Fangshan district are re opened
- Burma : Monks in Burma face a lot of oppression from the military government and instances of violence against them continues throughout
- Indonesia : Borobodur is restored by the combined efforst of Indonesian Archaeological Service and UNESCO
- Laos : The Communist government, in order to change people’s attitude towards teaching asks monks to work. The effort is successful to a great extent and many monks return to common life. However, this did not leads to the downfall of Buddhism in the country.
- Cambodia : Buddhism is suppresed in Cambodia. At the time, when Vietnam invasion took place, almost every Buddhist monk is either assassinated or exiled. Also, almost all Buddhist temples are destroyed.
- 21st century CE
- Malaysia : The Sasanarakkha Buddhist Sanctuary is established as a training facility for Theravada monks.
- Afghanistan : Two of the world’s tallest Buddhist statues are destroyed by the Taliban forces in Bamyan.
