Religious Timelines
History of Buddhism, BCE
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Words in red are linked to our glossary - so clicking on them will take you to much more information than can be included in brief chronology like this.
| Buddhism BCE | |
| c. 560-c. 483 BCE | Probable life of Siddhartha Gautama (Buddha). |
| c. 521 BCE | Siddhartha Gautama began his wanderings in the countryside in search of truth. |
| c. 528 BCE | Siddhartha Gautama, meditating under a tree at Buddha Gaya in northwestern India, achieved enlightenment. |
| c. 528 BCE |
The Four Noble Truths were revealed by Siddhartha Buddha in his first sermon after his enlightenment, becoming the fundamental Buddhist teaching:
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| c. 483 BCE | First Council resulted in four factions just one year after Buddha's death. Buddha's teachings (Sutta) and a text on monastic discipline (Vinaya) were written down. |
| 469 BCE | Approximately 16 factions existed only ten years after Buddha's death. |
| c. 400 BCE | Buddhism reached Nepal. |
| c. 383 BCE | Second Buddhist Council was held at Vesali and declared a minority group as orthodox (Hinayana) and a majority group as heretic (Mahayana). |
| 259 - 232 BCE | Reign of King Asoka (273 - 232), who converted to Buddhism, sent out missionaries to other lands, and actively promoted Buddhism within his own territory. Buddhism thus began to grow from a small group to state and local religion. |
| c. 251 BCE | Asoka's son Mahinda (d. c. 204) introduced Buddhism to Ceylon (Sri Lanka). |
| c. 250 BCE | The Buddhist canon (Tipitaka) is completed during the Third Buddhist Council at Patna, under the auspices of King Asoka. |
| c. 200 BCE | Buddhism reaches central Asia |
| c. 24 BCE | Two important Buddhist monasteries were founded in Ceylon (Sri Lanka): Mahaviranhara (Theravadin monastery) and Abhayagiri (Mahayana monastery). Long-lasting disagreements would eventually develop between them. |
| 1st century CE | Perhaps as many as 500 sects of Buddhists existed by this time. |
Keep reading: Buddhism through today
