Buddhism
Indian religion
111 dated entries naming Buddhism, drawn from 108 separate years between 550 BCE and 1956 CE. Nothing here is written by us: each line is the sentence a Wikipedia year article used, and the link beside it opens the exact revision.
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6th century BC
5th century BC
4th century BC
3rd century BC
- 266 BCEThe Mauryan emperor Ashoka converts to Buddhism.source
- 261 BCEMauryan Emperor Ashoka wages a war against the independent kingdom of Kalinga, culminating in the Battle of the Dhauli Hills. In the aftermath, Kalinga is annexed into the Mauryan Empire, but the brutality of the war is believed to have led to Ashoka's conversion to Buddhism, as described in his many Edicts of Ashoka.source
- 248 BCEThe Mauryan king Ashoka is dedicated to the propagation of Buddhism and begins establishing monuments marking several significant sites in the life of Gautama Buddha.source
- 247 BCEMoggaliputta-Tissa, Indian Buddhist monk and philosophersource
- 236 BCEBuddhism is introduced to Sri Lanka by Mahinda, a monk acting on behalf of the late Ashoka.source
1st century
- 58Emperor Ming of Han introduces Buddhism to China inviting monks from the western Indus Valley.source
- 60Buddhamitra, Indian Buddhist nun (approximate date)source
- 65In China, the first official reference to Buddhism is made.source
- 68Buddhism officially arrives in China with the building of the White Horse Temple.source
- 96A schism in Buddhism creates a new, popular religion in India, Mahâyâna ("Great Vehicle").source
2nd century
3rd century
4th century
- 334Huiyuan, Chinese Buddhist teacher and founder of Donglin Temple (d. 416)source
- 344Kumārajīva, Buddhist monk and translator (d. 413)source
- 366Buddhist monk Lè Zūn has a vision of "golden rays of light shining down on 1,000 Buddhas", resulting in the creation of the Mogao Caves.source
- 371Sengrui, Chinese Buddhist monk and scholar (d. 438)source
- 372Buddhism is adopted as the official religion of Gorguryeo.source
- 379Former Qin captures the city of Xiangyang from Eastern Jin. The Buddhist monk Dao'an is transferred from Xiangyang to Chang'an.source
- 384King Chimnyu ascends to the throne of Baekje (Korea); he welcomes the Indian Buddhist monk Marananta into his palace, and later declares Buddhism the official religion.source
- 386The Northern Wei Dynasty begins in China. The Tuoba clan of the Xianbei tribe (proto-Mongol people) is politically separated from the Chinese dynasties established in Jiankang (modern Nanjing). The Northern Wei rulers are ardent supporters of Buddhism. Prince Dao Wu Di, age 15, becomes the first emperor (see Northern dynasties).source
- 387Zhu Fatai, Chinese Buddhist scholar (b. 320)source
- 399Fa-Hien, Chinese Buddhist monk, travels to India, Sri Lanka and Kapilavastu (modern Nepal).source
5th century
- 402Fa-Hien, Chinese Buddhist monk, makes a pilgrimage to India, initiating Sino-Indian relations. Stirred by his faith to Buddhism, he visits the sites of Siddhartha Gautama's life.source
- 403Hui Yuan argues that Buddhist monks should be exempt from bowing to the emperor.source
- 404The Chinese Buddhist monk Huiyuan, who founded the Pure Land Buddhism sect and the monastery on Mount Lushan, writes the book On Why Monks Do Not Bow Down Before Kings in this year. In his book he argues that although the Buddhist clergy should remain independent and undisturbed by politics, the Buddhist laymen nonetheless make good subjects under monarchs, due to their fear of retribution of karma and desire to be reborn in paradise.source
- 406Faxian, Chinese traveler, arrives in India. He visits the major seats of Buddhist learning (Udyana, Peshawar, and Taxila).source
- 413Kumarajiva, Buddhist monk and translator (b. 344)source
- 414Fa-Hien, Chinese Buddhist monk, returns from India and begins translating Buddhist works into Chinese.source
- 425Buddhism begins to spread to Southeast Asia.source
- 440Bodhidharma, semi-legendary Buddhist monk (approximate date)source
- 446Three Disasters of Wu: The Northern Wei dynasty begins persecuting Buddhists, having heretofore encouraged them. The drain of manpower and tax money to temples and monasteries has threatened the secular government, and the reaction is fierce: monks and nuns are murdered, temples and icons destroyed. All men under age 50 are prohibited from joining any monastic order in a program that will continue until 450, helping the Confucianist philosophy of the Han dynasty to gain dominance over Buddhism.source
- 448Kou Qianzhi, Chinese Daoist reformer, dies after having converted emperor Taiwu of Northern Wei and having established Daoism as the country's dominant religion. His death presages a revival of Buddhism as China's dominant faith.source
- 480Dignāga, Buddhist founder of Indian logic (d. 540)source
6th century
- 502The Nanhua Temple, located southeast of Shaoguan, is founded by the Indian monk Zhiyao Sanzang. The temple covers an area of 42.5 ha acre and consists of a set of historical Buddhist buildings.source
- 517Emperor Wu Di of the Liang Dynasty becomes a Buddhist, and introduces the new religion to central China. He demands that sacrifices to imperial ancestors be changed to using dried meat, instead of the traditional animals (goats, pigs and cows).source
- 520Bodhidharma, Buddhist monk, arrives in Luoyang. He spreads Buddhism and travels to the northern Chinese kingdom of Wei, to the Shaolin Monastery.source
- 527Silla, one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea, formally adopts Buddhism as a state religion (approximate date).source
- 528The Hephthalites (White Huns) move from the Hindu Kush into the Punjab region, and eastward across the Ganges Delta, ravaging cities and Buddhist monasteries.source
- 528Bodhidharma, Buddhist monk (approximate date)source
- 530Emperor Xiao Zhuang Di is arrested and imprisoned in a Buddhist temple at Jinyang (Shanxi). He is succeeded by Chang Guang Wang, who becomes the new ruler of Northern Wei.source
- 538King Seong of Paekche (Korea) moves the capital from Ungjin (present-day Gongju) further south to Sabi (present-day Buyeo County), on the Geum River. He sends a diplomatic mission that formally introduces Buddhism to the Japanese imperial court (see also 552).source
- 540Dignāga, Buddhist founder of Indian logicsource
- 549Jizang, Chinese Buddhist monk (d. 623)source
- 557The Jiming Temple in Nanjing is built; the Buddhist pagoda is located near Xuanwu Lake.source
- 561Jnanagupta, a Buddhist monk from Gandhara (Pakistan), begins translating Buddhist texts into Chinese.source
- 562The secondary capital Taiyuan in Northern Qi is rebuilt and becomes a center of Buddhism.source
- 585King Wideok of Baekje (Korea) sends an official escort (bearing tribute), along with a master of Buddhist meditation, a reciter of Buddhist magic spells, a temple architect, and a sculptor of Buddhist images, to the Chinese court of the Sui dynasty (approximate date).source
- 591Jnanagupta, Afghan Buddhist monk, translates the Vimalakirti Sutra into Chinese.source
- 597Zhiyi, de facto founder of Tiantai Buddhism (b. 538)source
- 600Sumatra, Java, and the surrounding islands are converted to Buddhism.source
7th century
- 601Hongren, Chán (Buddhist) patriarch of the Tang dynasty (d. 674)source
- 617Wonhyo, Korean Buddhist monk and writer (d. 686)source
- 623Jizang, Chinese Buddhist monk (b. 549)source
- 643Fazang, Chinese Buddhist patriarch (d. 712)source
- 668Gyōki, Japanese Buddhist priest (d. 749)source
- 671Yijing, Chinese Buddhist monk, travels by boat from Guangzhou, and visits the capital of the partly Buddhist kingdom of Srivijaya in Palembang (Indonesia). He stays for 6 months to study Sanskrit grammar and the Malay language.source
- 674Hongren, Chán (Buddhist) patriarch of the Tang dynasty (b. 601)source
- 686Wonhyo, Korean Buddhist monk (b. 617)source
- 688Jianzhen, Chinese Buddhist monk (d. 763)source
- 694Xue Huai-yi, Chinese Buddhist monksource
8th century
- 712Fazang, Chinese Buddhist patriarch (b. 643)source
- 736Rōben, scholar-Buddhist monk, invites Shinshō to give lectures on the Avatamsaka Sutra at Kinshōsen-ji (later Tōdai-ji); this event is considered to be the roots of the Kegon school of Buddhism founded in Japan.source
- 751The oldest surviving printed document, a Buddhist scripture, is printed in Korea.source
- 755Trisong Detsen becomes emperor of Tibet. During his reign he plays a pivotal role in the introduction of Buddhism, and the establishment of the Nyingma or "Ancient" school of Tibetan Buddhism.source
- 759The Tōshōdai-ji Buddhist Temple is founded in Nara, Japan.source
- 763Jianzhen, Chinese Buddhist monk (b. 688)source
- 779Jia Dao, Chinese poet and Buddhist monk (d. 843)source
- 796Tō-ji, a Buddhist temple of the Shingon sect, is established in Kyoto, Japan.source
9th century
- 804Priest Saichō, patriarch of Tendai Buddhism, visits China and reportedly brings back tea seeds (or 805).source
- 805Priest Saichō, patriarch of Tendai Buddhism, visits China and introduces tea to Japan on his return (or 804).source
- 825Borobudur, a Mahayana Buddhist Temple, is completed in Central Java (modern Indonesia).source
- 843Jia Dao, Chinese poet and Buddhist monk (b. 779)source
- 850It is hypothesized that sometime around 850 a group of Buddhist pilgrims travelling through a valley near Roopkund (modern India) were killed when caught out in the open in a sudden hailstorm. Their remains were discovered in 1942.source
- 850Huangbo Xiyun, Chinese Zen Buddhist monksource
10th century
11th century
- 1007Maitripada, Indian Buddhist philosopher (d. 1085)source
- 1025Srivijaya, a Buddhist kingdom based in Sumatra, is attacked by Emperor Rajendra I of the Chola dynasty of southern India in a dispute over trading rights in Southeast Asia. It survives but declines in importance.source
- 1036The Flower Sermon first appears in Buddhist literature.source
- 1043Furong Daokai, Chinese Zen Buddhist monk (d. 1118)source
- 1050Vidyakara, Indian Buddhist scholar (d. 1130)source
- 1052Xuedou Chongxian, Chinese Buddhist monksource
- 1054Atiśa, Tibetan Buddhist leader and master (b. c.980)source
- 1055September 28 – Uicheon, Korean Buddhist monk (d. 1101)source
- 1059Ngok Loden Sherab, Tibetan Buddhist monk (d. 1109)source
- 1064Danxia Zichun, Chinese Zen Buddhist monk (d. 1117)source
- 1065Gusiluo, Tibetan religious leader of Buddhism (b. 997)source
- 1085Maitripada, Indian Buddhist philosopher (b. 1007)source
12th century
- 1101A vast compilation of Liao, Korean, and Song Buddhist writings is completed (approximate date).source
- 1102Chekawa Yeshe Dorje, Tibetan Buddhist monk (d. 1176)source
- 1102Khön Könchok Gyalpo, Tibetan Buddhist monk (b. 1034)source
- 1109Ngok Loden Sherab, Tibetan Buddhist monk (b. 1059)source
- 1117Danxia Zichun, Chinese Zen Buddhist monk (b. 1064)source
- 1118Furong Daokai, Chinese Buddhist monk (b. 1043)source
- 1176Chekawa Yeshe Dorje, Tibetan Buddhist monk (b. 1102)source
- 1179The Drigung Kagyu school of Kagyu Buddhism is founded (approximate date).source
- 1193Ghurid forces under Qutb al-Din Aibak capture Delhi. General Muhammad bin Bakhtiyar Khilji sacks and burns the ancient city of Nalanda, India's greatest Buddhist seat of learning, and the university of Vikramashila.source
13th century
- 1203Xueting Fuyu, Chinese Zen Buddhist abbot (d. 1275)source
- 1208April 15 – A fire breaks out in the Song Chinese capital city of Hangzhou, raging for four days and nights, destroying 58,097 houses over an area of more than 3 mi km, killing 59 people, and an unrecorded number of other people, who are trampled while attempting to flee. The government provides temporary lodging for 5,345 people, in nearby Buddhist and Taoist monasteries. The collective victims of the disaster are given 160,000 strings of cash, along with 400 tons of rice. Some of the government officials who lose their homes take up residence in rented boathouses on the nearby West Lake.source
- 1251The carving of the Tripitaka Koreana, a collection of Buddhist scriptures recorded on some 81,000 wooden blocks, is completed.source
- 1279October 12 – The Dai-Gohonzon, supreme object of veneration of Nichiren Shōshū Buddhism, is said to be inscribed by Nichiren Daishonin.source
- 1290Buton Rinchen Drub, Tibetan Buddhist religious leader (d. 1364)source
15th century
- 1414The Tibetan lama Je Tsongkhapa, of the Gelug school of Buddhism, declines the offer of the Emperor Cheng Zu of China to appear in the capital at Nanjing, although he sends his disciple Chosrje Shākya Yeshes, who is given the title "State Teacher". The later Xuande Emperor will grant Yeshes the title of a king, upon a return visit to China (to the new capital at Beijing).source