A TIMELINE OF BUDDHIST HISTORY AND THOUGHT
PEOPLE TEXTS DOCTRINES DATE PLACES Teachers Supporters EVENTS Shastra Sutra Schools Ideas 500 Buddha lives in Buddha (c.480-400) Jhana Sariputta Bimbisara the Ganges valley. Upali Ananda Ajatasattu 1st Council Vinaya Pitaka Sutta Pitaka Vipassana After his lifetime, 4 Nikayas Dharma spreads. 2nd Council Misc. Nikayas Theravada Arahant 250 Dharma moves Ashoka (c.304-232) 3rd Council Abhidhamma Pitaka Punya to Sri Lanka. Milinda Panho Paramis Mahayana Dharma moves Bodhisattva to NW India. Prajnaparamita Sutras Sarvastivada
0 Dharma moves Asvaghosa (c.80-150) Buddhacarita Lotus Sutra Vaibhasika to Central Asia. Kanishka (c.100-175) 4th Council Mahavibhasa Vimalakirti Sutra Tri-kaya Dharma moves Avatamsaka Sutra Sautrantika to China. Pure Land Sutras Nagarjuna (c.150-250) Madhyamaka-karika Madhyamaka Emptiness 250 Tathagatagarbha Sutra Buddha nature Dharma moves Asanga (c.310-400) Abhidharma-samuccaya Pure Land in China Mofa to Korea. Vasubandhu (c.320-400) Abhidharma-kosa Yogacara Alaya-vijnana Faxian in India (399-412) Lankavatara Sutra Kumarajiva (c.344-413) Chinese Canon forms Chan Tantra Mantra 500 Dharma moves Bodhidharma (c.470-543) Nalanda founded Vajrayana Mudra to Japan. Buddhaghosa Visuddhimagga Prince Shotoku (574-622) 6 Schools in Japan Mandala Candrakirti (c.600-650) Xuanzang in India (630-645) Shantideva (c.650-750)
750 Dharma moves King Trison Detsen (c.725-797) Buddhism fades in China Santaraksita (c.730-810) (except Chan) to Tibet. Padmasambhava (c.780-860) Nyingma founded Tibetan Canon forms Saicho (767-822) Tendai Tantra Kukai (774-835) Shingon to Japan 1000 Dharma fades Marpa (1012-1097) Kagyu founded Mahamudra from India. Milarepa (1025-1135) Bhikkhunis end in Sri Lanka Honen (1133-1212) Nalanda sacked (1193) Abhidhammattha Sangaha Sakya founded Mappo Shinran (1173-1263) Pure Land in Japan Nembutsu Eisai (1141-1215) Rinzai Zen (1191) Koan 1250 Dogen (1200-1253) Shobogenzo Soto Zen (1227) Zazen Bhikkhunis end in Burma Nichiren (1222-1282) Nam-myoho-renge-kyo
Tsongkhapa (1357-1419) Gelug founded 1500 Buddhism consolidated as dominant religion in Sri Lanka, South- east Asia, Tibet, Korea and Japan. 1750 Max Muller (1823-1900) Light of Asia (1879) T. W. Rhys Davids (1843-1922) Pali Text Society (1881) Buddhist Churches of America (1899) L. de la Vallee Poussin (1869-1938) D.T. Suzuki (1870-1966) Soka Gakkai (1930) Dharma moves to the West. Zen teachers World Parliment of Religions (1893) Meditation 2000 S.N. Goenka (1924-) Bhikkhuni Ordinations Access to Insight Naropa (1974) Chogyam Trungpa (1939-1987) DharmaSeed Insight Meditation Society (1976) Dharma moves Vipassana Research Institute (1985) global. Mind & Life Institute (1987)
Barre Center for Buddhist Studies