The purpose of this timeline is to give a detailed account of Buddhism from the birth of Gautama Buddha to the present.

Timeline

Dates

6th–5th century BCE Date Event c. 563 BCE or c. 480 BCE The birth of Siddhartha Gautama. The approximate date of Gautama Buddha's birth and death are uncertain. Most historians in the early 20th century dated his lifetime as circa 563 BCE to 483 BCE. More recently his death is dated later, between 411 and 400 BCE, while at a symposium on this question held in 1988, the majority of those who presented definite opinions gave dates within 20 years either side of 400 BCE for the Buddha's death. c. 413–345 BCE Shishunaga, a minister of the ruling Hiranyaka dynasty of Magadha, is placed on the throne and begins the Shishunaga dynasty, after the sitting king is deposed by the people.

4th century BCE Date Event383 BCE or c. 330 BCEHarvey, Peter (2013). An Introduction to Buddhism: Teachings, History and Practices (2nd ed.). Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. pp. 88–90. Noting the date of seventy years after the passing of the Buddha, which, in the short chronology, would place the second council around 330 ±20 years. The Second Buddhist council is convened by Kalasoka of the Shishunaga dynasty and held in Vaishali. The Sangha divides into the Sthaviravadins and the Mahasanghikas led by the monk Mahādeva, primarily over the question of addition or subtraction of rules from the Vinaya.Skilton, Andrew. A Concise History of Buddhism. 2004. p. 48 345–321 BCE The Nanda Empire briefly predominates in Magadha over the Shishunagas.Raychaudhuri, H. C.; Mukherjee, B. N. (1996), Political History of Ancient India: From the Accession of Parikshit to the Extinction of the Gupta Dynasty, Oxford University Press, pp. 204–209. 326 BCE Alexander the Great reaches Northwestern India. The Indo-Greek Kingdom that arise in the aftermath has a large influence upon the development of Buddhism.Narain, A.K. (1957). The Indo-Greeks. Oxford: Clarendon Press. p. 124 c. 324 BCE Pyrrho, a philosopher in Alexander the Great's court, may have learnt elements of Buddhist philosophy in India from the gymnosophists. Parts of Buddhism, most notably the three marks of existence, may have influenced his new philosophy of Pyrrhonism which he introduces into Hellenistic philosophy. c. 321 – c. 297 BCE The reign of Chandragupta Maurya, grandfather of Ashoka, who subdues the Nanda Empire by c. 320 BCE, and gradually conquers much of northern India.

3rd century BCE Date Eventc. 250 BCE Third Buddhist council, convened by Ashoka and chaired by Moggaliputta-Tissa, compiles the Kathāvatthu to refute the heretical views and theories held by some Buddhist sects. Edicts of Ashoka in the Maurya Empire in support of Buddhism.c. 250 BCE Ashoka sends various Buddhist missionaries to faraway countries, as far as China, mainland Southeast Asia and the Malay kingdoms in the east and the Hellenistic kingdoms in the west, in order to make Buddhism known to them.c. 250 BCE First-fully developed examples of Kharosthi script in the inscriptions at Shahbaz Garhi and Mānsehrā in Gandhara.c. 250 BCE Indian traders regularly visit ports in the Arabian Peninsula, explaining the prevalence of place names in the region with Indian or Buddhist origin; e.g., bahar (from Sanskrit vihara (a Buddhist monastery). Ashokan emissary monks bring Buddhism to Suvarnabhumi, the location of which is disputed. The Dīpavaṃsa says it was a Mon seafaring settlement in present-day Myanmar.c. 220 BCETheravada is officially introduced to Sri Lanka by the Mahinda, son of Ashoka, during the reign of Devanampiya Tissa of Anuradhapura.

2nd century BCE Date Event185 BCEGeneral Pushyamitra Shunga overthrows the Maurya Empire and establishes the Shunga Empire, apparently starting a wave of persecution against Buddhism.180 BCEDemetrius I of Bactria invades India as far as Pataliputra and establishes the Indo-Greek Kingdom (180–10 BCE), under which Buddhism flourishes.165–130 BCE Reign of the Indo-Greek king Menander I, who converts to Buddhism under the sage Nagasena according to the account of the Milinda Panha.121 BCEThe Chinese Emperor Han Wudi (156–87 BCE) receives two golden statues of the Buddha, according to inscriptions in the Mogao Caves, Dunhuang.

1st century BCE Date Eventc. 55 BCEThe Indo-Greek governor Theodorus enshrines relics of the Buddha, dedicating them to the deified "Lord Shakyamuni."29 BCEAccording to the Sinhalese chronicles, the content of the Pali Canon is written down in the reign of King (29–17 BCE)2 BCE The Hou Hanshu records the visit in 2 BCE of Yuezhi envoys to the Chinese capital, who give oral teachings on Buddhist sutras.Baldev Kumar (1973). Exact source needed!

1st century Date Event67Liu Ying's sponsorship of Buddhism is the first documented case of Buddhist practices in China.67Buddhism comes to China with the two monks Kasyapa and Dharmaraksha.68Buddhism is officially established in China with the founding of the White Horse Temple.78Ban Chao, a Chinese General, subdues the Buddhist Kingdom of Khotan.c. 78–101According to Mahayana tradition, the Fourth Buddhist council takes place under Kushana king Kanishka's reign, near Jalandar, India.

2nd century Date Event116The Kushans, under Kanishka, establish a kingdom centered on Kashgar, also taking control of Khotan and Yarkand in the Tarim Basin.148An Shigao, a Parthian prince and Buddhist monk, arrives in China and proceeds to make the first translations of Theravada texts into Chinese.c. 150–250 Indian and Central Asian Buddhists travel to Vietnam.178The Kushan monk Lokaksema travels to the Chinese capital of Loyang and becomes the first known translator of Mahayana texts into Chinese.

3rd century Date Eventc. 250Use of Kharoṣṭhī script in Gandhara stops.c. 250–350Kharoṣṭhī script is used in the southern Silk Road cities of Khotan and Niya.296The earliest surviving Chinese Buddhist manuscript dates from this year (Zhu Fo Yao Ji Jing, discovered in Dalian, late 2005).

4th century Date Event320–467 The university at Nalanda grows to support 3,000–10,000 monks.372The monk Sundo (順道, or Shundao in Chinese) was sent by Fu Jian (337–385) (苻堅) of Former Qin to the court of the King Sosurim of Goguryeo, in modern-day Korea. Subsequently, paper making was established in Korea.384The Gandharan monk Marananta arrived in Baekje, in modern-day Korea, and the royal family received the strain of Buddhism he brought. King Asin of Baekje proclaimed, "people should believe in Buddhism and seek happiness."399–414Faxian travels from China to India, then returns to translate Buddhist works into Chinese.

5th century Date Eventc. 5th centuryThe kingdom of Funan (centered in modern Cambodia) begins to advocate Buddhism in a departure from Hinduism. Earliest evidence of Buddhism in Myanmar (Pali inscriptions). Earliest evidence of Buddhism in Indonesian (statues). Earliest reinterpretations of Pali texts. The stupa at Dambulla (Sri Lanka) is constructed.402At the request of Yao Xing, Kumārajīva travels to Chang'an and translates many Buddhist texts into Chinese.403In China, Lushan Huiyuan argues that Buddhist monks should be exempt from bowing to the emperor.405Yao Xing honours Kumārajīva.425Buddhism reaches Sumatra.464Buddhabhadra reaches China to preach Buddhism.485Five monks from Gandhara travel to the country of Fusang (Japan, or possibly the Americas), where they introduce Buddhism.495The Shaolin Monastery is built in the name of Buddhabhadra, by edict of emperor Wei Xiao Wen.

6th century Date Event527Bodhidharma settles into the Shaolin Monastery in Henan province of China. The Art of Shaolin Kung Fu: The Secrets of Kung Fu for Self-Defense, Health and Enlightenment by Grandmaster Wong Kiew Kit531–579Reign of the Zoroastrian king, Khosrow I, who orders the translation of Jataka tales into Persian.538 or 552Buddhism is introduced to Japan via Baekje (Korea), according to Nihonshoki; some scholars place this event in 538.c. 575Zen adherents enter Vietnam from China.

7th century Date Event607A Japanese imperial envoy is dispatched to Sui, China to obtain copies of sutras.616–634Jingwan begins carving sutras onto stone at Fangshan, Yuzhou, 75km southwest of modern-day Beijing.617–649Reign of Songtsen Gampo of Tibet, who is traditionally held to be the first Tibetan King to promote the bringing of Buddhism to Tibet.Anne-Marie Blondeau, Yonten Gyatso, 'Lhasa, Legend and History,' in Françoise Pommaret(ed.) Lhasa in the seventeenth century: the capital of the Dalai Lamas, Brill Tibetan Studies Library, 3, Brill 2003, pp. 15–38.627–645Xuanzang travels to India, noting the persecution of Buddhists by Sasanka (king of Gauda, a state in northwest Bengal) before returning to Chang'an in China to translate Buddhist scriptures.c. 650End of sporadic Buddhist rule in the Sindh.671Chinese Buddhist pilgrim Yijing visits Palembang, capital of the partly Buddhist kingdom of Srivijaya on the island of Sumatra, Indonesia, and reports over 1000 Buddhist monks in residence.671Uisang returns to Korea after studying Chinese Huayan Buddhism and founds the Hwaeom school.

8th century Date Eventc. 8th centuryBuddhist Jataka tales are translated into Syriac and Arabic as Kalilag and Damnag. An account of Buddha's life is translated into Greek by John of Damascus and widely circulated among Christians as the story of Barlaam and Josaphat. By the 14th century, this story of Josaphat becomes so popular that he is made a Catholic Saint.736Huayan is transmitted to Japan via Korea, when Rōben invites the Korean Hwaeom monk Simsang to lecture, and formally founds Japan's Kegon tradition in the Tōdai-ji temple.743–754The Chinese monk Jianzhen attempts to reach Japan eleven times, succeeding in 754 to establish the Japanese Ritsu school, which specialises in the vinaya (monastic rules).760–830Construction is begun on Borobudur, the famous Indonesian Buddhist structure. It is completed as a Buddhist monument in 830, after about 50 years of work.Miksic says construction of Borobudur began around 760 or 770, with sporadic activity until around 830 AD.

Munoz says the Sailendra king Samaratungga completed Borobudur in 825 AD.

9th century Date Event804 Under the reign of Emperor Kanmu of Japan, a fleet of four ships sets sail for mainland China. Of the two ships that arrive, one carries the monk Kūkai—recently ordained by the Japanese government as a Bhikkhu—who absorbs Vajrayana teachings in Chang'an and returns to Japan to found the Japanese Shingon school. The other ship carries the monk Saichō, who returns to Japan to found the Japanese Tendai school, partly based upon the Chinese Tiantai tradition.838 to 841Langdarma rules in Tibet, and persecutes Buddhism838–847Ennin, a priest of the Tendai school, travels in China for nine years. He reaches both the famous Buddhist mountain of Wutaishan and the Chinese capital, Chang'an, keeping a detailed diary that is a primary source for this period of Chinese history, including the Buddhist persecution.841–846 Emperor Wuzong of the Tang dynasty (given name: Li Yan) reigns in China; he is one of three Chinese emperors to prohibit Buddhism. From 843 to 845, Wuzong carries out the Great Anti-Buddhist Persecution, permanently weakening the institutional structure of Buddhism in China.859The Caodong school of Zen is founded by Dongshan Liangjie and his disciples in southern China.

10th century Date Eventc. 10th centuryBuddhist temple construction commences at Bagan, Myanmar.c. 10th centuryIn Tibet, a strong Buddhist revival is begun.971 Chinese Song dynasty commissions Chengdu woodcarvers to carve the entire Buddhist canon for printing. Work is completed in 983; 130,000 blocks are produced, in total.911A printed copy of the Song dynasty Buddhist canon arrives in Korea, impressing the government.

11th century