Sources give the date of the Buddha's birth as 563 BCE and others as 624 BCE; Theravada Buddhist countries tend to use the latter figure. This displaces all the dates in the following table about 61 years backward in time. See Theravada Buddhism.
There is controversy about the base date of the Buddhist Era, with 544 BC and 483 BC being advanced as the date of the parinibbana of the Buddha. As Wilhelm Geiger pointed out, the Sri Lankan chronicles, the Dipavamsa and Mahavamsa are the primary sources for ancient South Asianchronology; they date the consecration (abhisheka) of Asoka to 218 years after the parinibbana. Chandragupta Maurya ascended the throne 56 years prior to this, or 162 years after the parinibbana. The approximate date of Chandragupta's ascension is known to be within two years of 321 BC (from Megasthenes). Hence the approximate date of the parinibbana is between 485 and 481 BC - which accords well with the Mahayana dating of 483 BC.1
The difference between the two reckonings seems to have occurred at sometime between the reigns of the Sri Lankan kings Udaya III (946-954 or 1007–1015)and Pârakkama Pandya (c. 1046-1048), when there was considerable unrest in the country.1
534 BCE: Prince Siddhartha goes outside the palace for the first time and sees The Four Sights: an old man, an ill man, a dead man, and a holy man. He is shocked by the first three—he did not know what age, disease, and death were—but is inspired by the holy man to give up his wealth. He leaves his house and lives with three ascetics. However, he wants more than to starve himself, so he becomes a religious teacher.
528 BCE According to legend, Tapassu and Balluka, two trader-brothers from Okkala (modern-day Yangon), offer the Gautama's first meal as the enlightened Buddha. The Buddha gives eight strands of his hair to the two brothers; the strands are brought back to Burma and enshrined in the Shwedagon Pagoda. Thus, according to myth, this is the year when the Shwedagon Pagoda was built.
c. 490–410 BCE: Life of the Buddha, according to recent research.2
3rd century BCE: Indian traders regularly visit ports in Arabia, explaining the prevalence of place names in the region with Indian or Buddhist origin; e.g., bahar (from the Sanskritvihara, a Buddhist monastery). Ashokan emissary monks bring Buddhism to Suwannaphum, the location of which is disputed. The Dipavamsa and the Mon believe it was a Mon seafaring settlement in present-day Burma.
296: The earliest surviving Chinese Buddhist scripture dates from this year (Zhu Fo Yao Ji Jing, discovered in Dalian, late 2005).
4th century: Two Chinese monks take scriptures to the Korean kingdom of Goguryeo and establish papermaking in Korea.
320-467: The University at Nalanda grows to support 3,000–10,000 monks.
399-414: Fa Xian travels from China to India, then returns to translate Buddhist works into Chinese.
5th century: The 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.
527: Bodhidharma settles into the Shaolin monastery in Henan province of China.6
552: Buddhism is introduced to Japan via Baekje (Korea), according to Nihonshoki; some scholars place this event in 538.
Early 7th century: Jingwan begins carving sutras onto stone at Fangshan, Yuzhou, 75 km southwest of modern-day Beijing.
607: A Japanese imperial envoy is dispatched to Sui, China to obtain copies of sutras.
7th century: Xuan Zang travels to India, noting the persecution of Buddhists by Sasanka (king of Gouda, a state in northwest Bengal) before returning to Chang An in China to translate Buddhist scriptures. End of sporadic Buddhist rule in the Sindh. King Songtsen Gampo of Tibet sends messengers to India to get Buddhist texts. Latest recorded use of the Kharoṣṭhī script amongst Buddhist communities around Kucha.
671: Chinese Buddhist pilgrim Yi Jing visits Palembang, capital of the partly Buddhist kingdom of Srivijaya on the island of Sumatra, Indonesia, and reports over 1000 Buddhist monks in residence. Uisang returns to Korea after studying Chinese Huayan Buddhism and founds the Hwaeom school.
743–754: The 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).
8th century: Under the reign of King Trisong Deutsen, Padmasambhava travels from Afghanistan to establish tantric Buddhism in Tibet (later known as the Nyingma school of Tibetan Buddhism), replacing Bonpo as the kingdom's main religion. Buddhism quickly spreads to Sikkim and Bhutan.
c. 760: Construction is begun on Borobodur, the famous Indonesian Buddhist structure, probably as a non-Buddhist shrine. It is completed as a Buddhist monument in 830, after about 50 years of work.
804: Under the reign of Emperor Kammu 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.
838–847: Ennin, 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 843-845, Wuzong carries out the Great Anti-Buddhist Persecution, permanently weakening the institutional structure of Buddhism in China.
9th-century Tibet: Decline of Buddhism; persecution by King Langdarma.
10th century: Buddhist temple construction commences at Bagan, Myanmar. In Tibet, a strong Buddhist revival is begun. The Caodong school of Zen is founded by Dongshan Liangjie and his disciples in southern China.
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.
991: A printed copy of the Song Dynasty Buddhist canon arrives in Korea, impressing the government.
1009: Vietnam's Lý Dynasty begins, which is partly brought about by an alliance with the Buddhist monkhood. Ly emperors patronize Mahayana Buddhism, in addition to traditional spirits.
1010: Korea begins carving its own woodblock print edition of the Buddhist canon. No completion date is known; the canon is continuously expanded, with the arrival of new texts from China.
1017: In Southeast Asia, and especially in Sri Lanka, the Bhikkhuni (Buddhist nuns) Order dies out due to invasions. The bhikkhu line in Sri Lanka is later revived with bhikkhus from Burma.
1025: Srivijaya, a Buddhist kingdom based in Sumatra, is raided by the Chola empire of southern India; it survives, but declines in importance. Shortly after the raid, the centre of the kingdom moves northward from Palembang to Jambi-Melayu.
1044–1077: In Burma, Pagan's first king Anoratha reigns. He converts the country to Theravada Buddhism with the aid of monks and books from Sri Lanka. He is said to have been converted to Theravada Buddhism by a Mon monk, though other beliefs persist.
12th century: Sanskrit is subsequently written in Devanagari.
1100–1125: Huizong reigns during the Chinese Song Dynasty and outlaws Buddhism to promote the Dao. He is one of three Chinese emperors to have prohibited Buddhism.
1133–1212: Hōnen establishes Pure Land Buddhism as an independent sect in Japan.
1164: Polonnaruwa, Sri Lanka destroyed by foreign invasion. With the guidance of two forest monks - Ven. Mahakassapa and Ven. Sariputta, Parakramabahu I reunites all bhikkhus in Sri Lanka into the Mahavihara sect
1181: The self-styled bodhisattvaJayavarman VII, a devout follower of Mahayana Buddhism (though he also patronised Hinduism), assumes control of the Khmer kingdom. He constructs the Bayon, the most prominent Buddhist structure in the Angkor temple complex. This sets the stage for the later conversion of the Khmer people to Theravada Buddhism.
1190: In Myanmar, Anawrahta's lineage regains control with the assistance of Sri Lanka. Pagan has been in anarchy. The new regime reforms Burmese Buddhism on Sri Lankan Theravada models.
1236: Bhikkhus from Kañcipuram, India, arrive in Sri Lanka to revive the Theravada ordination line
Late 12th century: The great Buddhist educational centre at Nalanda, India, (the origin of Buddhism) where various subjects were taught subjects such as Buddhism, Logic, Philosophy, Law, Medicine, Grammar, Yoga, Mathematics, Alchemy, and Astrology, is sacked, looted and burnt by islamic invaders. Nalanda is supported by kings of several dynasties and serves as a great international centre of learning.
13th century: Theravada overtakes Mahayana—previously practised alongside Hinduism—as the dominant form of Buddhism in Cambodia; Sri Lanka is an influence in this change. In Persia, the historian Rashid-al-Din Hamadani records some eleven Buddhist texts circulating in Arabic translation, amongst which the Sukhavati-vyuha and Karanda-vyuha Sutras are recognizable. Portions of the Samyutta and Anguttara-Nikayas, along with parts of the Maitreya-vyakarana, are identified in this collection.
1222: Birth of Nichiren Daishonin (1222–1282), the Japanese founder of Nichiren Buddhism.
c. 1238: The Thai Kingdom of Sukhothai is established, with Theravada Buddhism as the state religion.
c. 1279–1298: Sukhothai's third and most famous ruler, Ram Khamhaeng (Rama the Bold), reigns and makes vassals of Laos, much of modern Thailand, Pegu (Burma), and parts of the Malay Peninsula, thus giving rise to Sukhothai artistic tradition. After Ram Khamhaeng's death, Sukhothai loses control of its territories as its vassals become independent.
1405–1431: The Chinese eunuch admiral Zheng He makes seven voyages in this period, through southeast Asia, India, the Persian Gulf, East Africa, and Egypt. At the time, Buddhism is well-established in China, so visited peoples may have had exposure to Chinese Buddhism.
17th century & 18th century: When Vietnam divides during this period, the Nguyễn rulers of the south choose to support Mahayana Buddhism as an integrative ideology for the ethnically plural society of their kingdom, which is also populated by Chams and other minorities.
19th century: In Thailand, King Mongkut—himself a former monk—conducts a campaign to reform and modernise the monkhood, a movement that has continued in the present century under the inspiration of several great ascetic monks from the northeast part of the country.
1802–1820: Nguyễn Ánh comes to the throne of the first united Vietnam; he succeeds by quelling the Tayson rebellion in south Vietnam with help from Rama I in Bangkok, then takes over the north from the remaining Trinh. After coming to power, he creates a Confucianist orthodox state and is eager to limit the competing influence of Buddhism. He forbids adult men to attend Buddhist ceremonies.
1820–1841: Minh Mạng reigns in Vietnam, further restricting Buddhism. He insists that all monks be assigned to cloisters and carry identification documents. He also places new restrictions on printed material and begins the persecution of Catholic missionaries and converts that his successors (not without provocation) continue.
c. 1860: In Sri Lanka, against all expectations, the monastic and lay communities bring about a major revival in Buddhism, a movement that goes hand in hand with growing nationalism; the revival follows a period of persecution by foreign powers. Since then, Buddhism has flourished, and Sri Lankan monks and expatriate lay people have been prominent in spreading Theravada Buddhism in Asia, the West, and even in Africa.
1879: A council is convened under the patronage of King Mindon Min of Burma to re-edit the Pali canon. The king has the texts engraved on 729 stones, which are then set upright on the grounds of a monastery near Mandalay.
1882: Jade Buddha Temple is founded in Shanghai, China, with two Jade Buddha statues imported from Burma.
c. 1884: Irish-born U Dhammaloka ordained in Burma; first named but not first known western bhikkhu.
1899: Gordon Douglas is ordained in Myanmar; until recently thought to be the first Westerner to be ordained in the Theravada tradition.
1908: Charles Henry Allan Bennett a British national previously ordained as a Theravada monk as Bhikkhu Ananda Metteyya in Burma leads the First Buddhist Mission to the West.
1911: U Dhammaloka tried for sedition for opposition to Christian missionaries in Burma.
1922: Zenshuji Soto Mission is founded as the first Soto Zen temple in North America.
1954: The Sixth Buddhist Council is held in Yangon, Myanmar, organized by U Nu. It ends in time for the 2500th anniversary of the passing of the Buddha.
1956: Indian untouchable leader B.R. Ambedkar converts to Buddhism, with more than 350,000 followers—beginning the modern Neo-Buddhist movement.
1957: Caves near the summit of Pai-tai mountain, Fangshan district, 75 km southwest of Beijing, are reopened, revealing thousands of Buddhist sutras that had been carved onto stone since the 7th century. Seven sets of rubbings are made, and the stones are numbered, in work that continues until 1959.
1959: The 14th Dalai Lama flees Tibet amidst unrest and establishes an exile community in India. Monasteries that participated in or sheltered agents of partisan violence were damaged or destroyed in the fighting.
1970s: Indonesian Archaeological Service and UNESCO restore Borobodur.
1974: Wat Pah Nanachat, the first monastery dedicated to providing training and support for western Buddhist monks, is founded in Thailand by Venerable Ajahn Chah. The monks trained here would later establish branch monasteries throughout the world.
1974: In Burma, during demonstrations at U Thant's funeral, 600 monks are arrested and several are bayoneted by government forces.
1975: LaoCommunist rulers attempt to change attitudes to religion—in particular, calling on monks to work, not beg. This causes many to return to lay life, but Buddhism remains popular.
1975–1979: Cambodian Communists under Pol Pot try to completely destroy Buddhism, and very nearly succeed. By the time of the Vietnamese invasion of Cambodia in 1978, nearly every monk and religious intellectual has been either murdered or driven into exile, and nearly every temple and Buddhist library has been destroyed.
1976: Following a demonstration in Burma, the government seeks to discredit the critical monk La Ba by claiming that he is a cannibal and a murderer.
1978: In Burma, more monks and novices are arrested, disrobed, and imprisoned by the government. Monasteries are closed and property seized. The critical monk U Nayaka is arrested and dies, the government claiming it is suicide.
1980: The Burmese military government asserts authority over the sangha, and violence against monks continues through the decade.
1988: During the 1988 uprising, SPDC troops gun down monks. After the uprising, U Nyanissara, a senior monk, records a tape that discusses democracy in Buddhist precepts; the tape is banned.
1990, August 27: Over 7000 monks meet in Mandalay, in Burma, to call for a boycott of the military. They refuse to accept alms from military families or perform services for them. The military government seizes monasteries and arrests hundreds of monks, including senior monks U Sumangala and U Yewata. The monks face long-term imprisonment, and all boycotting monks are disrobed; some monks are tortured during interrogation.
1992: The Buddha Statue in Hyderabad, India is installed, a work of former Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh, Late Sri N.T. Rama Rao. The 16-meter tall, 350-ton monolithic colossus rises high from the placid waters of picturesque Husain Sagar Lake. It is made of white granite, finely sculptured and stands majestically amidst the shimmering waters of the lake. It is later consecrated by Dalai Lama.
1996, India: The Bhikkhuni (Buddhist nuns) Order and lineage is revived in Sarnath, India through the efforts of Sakyadhita, an International Buddhist Women Association. The revival is done with some resistance from some of the more literal interpreters of the Buddhist Vinaya (monastic code) and lauded by others in the community.
1998, January 25: Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) terrorists commit a deadly suicide attack on Sri Lanka's most sacred Buddhist site and a UNESCO World Heritage centre: the Temple of the Tooth, where Buddha's tooth relic is enshrined. Eight civilians are killed and 25 others are injured and significant damage is done to the temple structure, which was first constructed in 1592 AD.
2004, April: In Sri Lanka, Buddhist monks acting as candidates for the Jaathika Hela Urumaya party win nine seats in elections.
2006, April: The Government of the People's Republic of China sponsors the First World Buddhist Forum in Mount Putuo, Zhejiang Province. Notably absent was the Dalai Lama.
November: In the United States, two Buddhists are elected for the first time to the 110th Congress.
