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100
Buddha's Birth
Siddhartha Gautama, or Buddha, was born 563 BCE, in Lumbini, Nepal. Buddhism was founded off of his teachings. -
100
1st Buddhist Council
After Buddha's parinirvana, a council was held to try and record all of Buddha's teachingss so they could be written and preserved. 483BCE -
100
2nd Buddhist Council
Held after the relaxations of some monks; goal was to show these relaxations were against the teachings. 383BCE -
100
Sri Lanka
King Asoka's son, Mahinda along with several companions spread buddhism in Sri Lanka converting the king and several nobles. Asoka's daughter, Saṅghamitta also established the bhikkhunī, an order of nuns. 257BCE -
100
Burma (Myanmar)
After the third council, Sohn Uttar Sthavira came to Burma with other monks and sacred texts. 228BCE -
100
3rd Buddhist Council
Under king Asoka, they tried to purify Sangha of non-buddhist, and false monks. Afterward missionaries were spread out. 257BCE -
100
4th Buddhist Council (Theravāda) and Pali Canon
Written in 29 BCE, during the Fourth Buddhist Council in Sri Lanka. Has three catagories: Vinaya Pitaka,Sutta Pitaka, Abhidhamma Pitaka. Vinaya is the rules for monks and nuns. Sutta is more about Buddha's teachings. Abhidhamma is the mind and nature. -
100
Start of Mahāyāna
The fall of the Indo-Greek Empire lead to a shift in political changes and assimilation by the Scythians. This also was the start of the Kushan Empire. In the midst of all this came the new form of Buddhism, Mahāyāna. -
100
4th Buddhist Council (Sarvāstivādin)
Held in Kashmir by the Sarvastivada school on 72CE. Here they revised the Sarvāstivādin Abhidharma. -
Period: 100 to
Westward Spread
In this time period buddhism had spread to: the Seleucid Kingdom, Egypt, Macedonia, Cyrenaica, Epirus. 288-239BCE -
150
Buddhism in China
Buddhism was introduced to the Chinese by the Indians toward the end of the Han Dynasty. It was there, but it didnt really spread and flourish until a couple hundred years later. -
Period: 200 to 236
Maurya Dynasty and Emporor Asoka
Asoka converted to buddhism and spread the religion throughout his empire by building stupas and pillars. Asoka 268-232BCE
Maurya 322 to 185 BCE -
Period: 300 to 336
Pusyamitra Sunga
The first king of th Sunga Dynasty,he was hostile toward the buddhist. They say he put bounties on monks, converted temples, and destroyed sutras. 185-149BCE -
Period: 320 to 550
Gupta Empire
Here Mahāyāna Buddhism spread to Eastern India. The Nalanda University was also built in this time . The university was a huge learning center for buddhist. -
372
Korea
Buddhism was introduced to Korea by the Chinese where it flourished till the Joseon Dynasty. -
Period: 400 to 570
Indo-Greek Kingdom
In 180BCE the Greeks invaaded India. Here Buddhism flourished, seperated from the tyranny of the Sunga Empire. The Greeks controlled this portion of India till 10BCE, when they were defeated by the Indo-Saka Kingdom. -
500
Start of Vajayara
Vajayara came from North East India. Though it doesn't always seem to be considered as a third major branch or "vehicle". -
Period: Apr 6, 1044 to Apr 6, 1078
Pagan Empire and King Anawrahta
The king converted the country to Theravādin Buddhist faith. Thousands of temples were built at the capital. Buddhism remains Myanmar's main religion to this day. -
Period: Apr 7, 1127 to Apr 7, 1279
Song Dynasty
Buddhism began to flourish again after the Tang Dynasty. Particularly Chan Buddhism, or zen. -
Period: Jul 8, 1392 to
Joseon
A Korean state that lasted about five centuries. During this time period buddhism was baisically erased. It was replaced with Confucianism. -
Change in Tang Dynasty
Buddhism was flourishing till this year. Here china opposed foreign religions, in an effort to support Taoism.
