A time-line of BuddhismWorld News | Politics | History | Editor(Copyright © 1999 Piero Scaruffi) |
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528 BC: Siddhartha Gautama achieves enlightenment 483 BC: Buddha dies 479 BC: at the first Buddhist council Buddha's teachings (Sutta) and the rules of monastic discipline (Vinaya) are codified 400 BC: Buddhism spreads in Nepal 383 BC: the second Buddhist council at Vesali chooses Hinayana over Mahayana 259 BC: king Ashoka of India converts to Buddhism and sends out Buddhist missionaries to nearby states 251 BC: Asoka's son Mahinda introduces Buddhism to Ceylon (Sri Lanka) 247 BC: Asoka calls for the third Buddhist council at Patna to codify the Buddhist canon of scriptures (Tipitaka) 246 BC: first Buddhist mission to Sri Lanka 200 BC: Buddhism spreads in central Asia 50 BC: Hinayana Buddhism (the Pali canon) spreads in Ceylon, Burma, Thailand 24 BC: the Mahaviranhara and Abhayagiri monasteries are founded in Ceylon 68 AD: Mahayana Buddhism is introduced in China 100 AD: the Pure Land sutra is composed 350: Huiyuan founds Pure Land Buddhism in China 366: Buddhists begin the Mogao caves near Dunhuang in China 372: Buddhism is introduced in Korea from China 380: Buddhist monks carve two giant Buddha statues in the rock at Bamiya, Bactria (Afghanistan) 494: Yun-kang cave temples in China 465: Buddhists begin the Yungang (Yun-Kang) caves near Datong in China 494: Buddhists begin the Longmen caves near Luoyang in China 520: Bodhidharma travels to China and founds Chan (Zen) Buddhism 528: the kingdom of Silla adopts Buddhism as the state religion 538: a delegation from Korea introduces Japan's emperor to Buddhism 560: Zhiyi founds Tendai Buddhism in China (centered around the teachings of the Lotus Sutra) 615: the Horyu-ji temple is built in Nara, capital of Japan 625: Shotoku Taishi adopts Buddhism and Confucianism as state religions of Japan 650: Vajrayana Buddhism (Tantrism) 750: Guru Rinpoche/ Padmasambhava converts Tibet to Buddhism 751: Korean prime Minister Kim Tae-song orders the construction of the Buddhist cave temple Sokkuram at Mount Toham 752: the giant statue of Buddha of Nara, capital of Japan 800: the Saliendra dynasty builds a giant temple to Buddha in Borobudur, Java 805: Saicho brings Tendai Buddhism to Japan 806: the monk Kukai (Kobo Daishi) introduces the Shingon (Tantric) school into Japan See also a timeline of Tibet |
| (Copyright © 1999 Piero Scaruffi) |