Buddhist
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Western
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Major Events
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World Figures and Events
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- 120* |
6th Century B.C.E. * |
• Life of Siddhartha Guatama, the historical Buddha: conventional dates: 566-486 B.C.E. (According to more recent research, revised dates are: 490-410 BCE). |
• Persian Empire founded by Cyrus the Great (550 B.C.E.) |
- 20 |
5th Century |
• First Buddhist Council at Rajagaha (486) after the Parinirvana*, under the patronage of King Ajatasattu. |
• Socrates (469-399) • Plato (427-347) • Battle of Marathon (490) • Greek-Persian Wars (490-479) • Partheon Built (438) |
144 |
4th Century |
• Second Buddhist Council at Vesali (386) about 100 year after the Parinirvana. |
• Aristotle (384-322) • Alexander the Great (356-323) |
244 |
3rd Century |
• Reign of Indian Emperor Asoka (272-231) who converts and establishes the Buddha's Dharma on a national level for the first time. |
• Great Wall of China (250) • Hadrian's Wall circa 3rd Century AD • Hannibal Barca (247?-183?) |
344 |
2nd Century |
• Beginnings of Mahayana Buddhism (20O). |
• Buddhist monuments: Sanchi, Amaravati, Bodhi Gaya, India. (185-175) • Han Dynasty in China |
444 |
1st Century |
• Entire scriptural canon of Theravada School was committed to writing on palm leaves in Pali at the Aloka Cave, near Matale, Sri Lanka (35-32) |
• 01BCE Mar 1, Start of the revised Julian calendar in Rome. • Julius Caesar (100-44) • Virgil, Latin poet (70-19) |
544 |
1st Century C.E.* |
• King Kaniska (78-101) convened the Fourth Buddhist Council at Jalandhar or in Kashmir around 100 C.E. (This is not recognized by the Theravadins). |
• Jesus of Nazareth (0-33 C.E.) • Destruction of Jerusalem and the second Temple: (70 C.E.) • The Buddha first represented in art as human form. |
644 |
2nd Century |
• The Age of Indian Buddhist philosopher Nargarjuna (150) founder of the school of Madhyamika ('the Middle Way'). |
• Roman Empire reaches the height of its power. |
744 |
3rd Century |
• Expansion of Buddhism to Burma, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, and Indonesia. |
• Three Kingdoms dynasty (220–265) Division into three states: Wei, Shu, Wu. Many scientific advances adopted from India. |
844 |
4th Century |
• Asanga (310-390) and his brother Vasubandhu (420-500) prominent teachers of the Yogacara school of Buddhism. |
• Gupta dynasty exemplified by Chandra Gupta II (375-415) dominated North Central India. • Saint Augustine (354-430)
|
944 |
5th Century |
• Buddhist monastic university founded at Nalanda, India. |
• 5th Century Anglo-Saxon Invasion of England • Earliest hospital in Sri Lanka (437) • Fall of the Western Roman Empire (476) |
1044 |
6th Century |
• Bodhidharma founder of Ch'an (Zen) arrives in China from India. (526) |
• Prophet Mohammed (570-632) • The Age of Islamic Expansion • First pagoda built in China (600) |
1144 |
7th Century |
• Construction of Potala Palace, Jokang and Ramoche temples to house Buddha images (641-650) |
• Islam sweeps across North Africa (700-800)
• Tang dynasty, China (618-906) |
1244 |
8th Century |
• Academic schools (Jöjitsu, Kusha, Sanron, Hossö, Ritsu, and Kegon) proliferate in Japan. |
• Nara Period in Japanese history (710-784) • First monastery built in Tibet (Sam-ye) (749) • Moslem invasion of Central Asia (760) • Charlemagne (742-814) |
1344 |
9th Century |
• Khmer kings build Angkor Wat, the world's largest religious monument. • Biography of Buddha translated into Greek by Saint John of Damascus and distributed in Christianity as "Balaam" and "Josaphat". |
• Heian Period in Japanese history (794-1185) • First printed book, Diamond Sutra, China (868) |
1444 |
10th Century |
• First complete printing of Chinese Buddhist Canon (983), known as the Szechuan edition. • Buddhism in Thailand (900-1000) • Islam replaces Buddhism in Central Asia (900-1000). |
• Sung Dynasty in Chinese History (960-1279) • 1000 C.E The population at this time was about 200 million people in the world. |
1544 |
11th Century |
• Conversion of King Anawrahta of Pagan (Burma) (1044-1077) by Shin Arahan. • Atisha (982-1054) arrives in Tibet from India (1042). •The bhikkhu and bhikkhuni (monk and nun) communities at Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka, die out following invasions from South India. • Sakya School of Tibetan Buddhism established. |
• 1000-1100 There was a Confucian revival in China. • Edward the Confessor, English king (1042-1066) • Great Schism between Orthodox and Roman Catholic Churches (1054) • 1st Crusades (1096-1099) |
1644 |
12th Century |
• Theravada Buddhism established in Burma. • Eisai (1141-1215) founds the Rinzai Zen School of Japanese Buddhism. • In 1193 the Moslems attacked and conquered Magadha, the heartland of Buddhism in India, and with the destruction of the Buddhist Monasteries and Universities (Valabhi and Nalanda) - in that area Buddhism was wiped out. • Buddhism in Korea flourishes under the Koryo dynasty (1140-1390). |
• Omar Khayyam, Persian poet and mathematician (1044-1123) • 1119 Bologna University founded in Italy; Paris University, in France, is founded in 1150. • Kamakura Period in Japanese history (1192-1338) |
1744 |
13th Century |
• Shinran (1173-1263 ) founds True Pure Land School of Japanese Buddhism. |
• Francis of Assisi (1181-1226) |
1844 |
14th Century |
• Bu-ston collects and edits Tibetan Buddhist Canon. |
• John Wycliffe (1328-1384) English theologian and biblical translator. • China regains its independence from the Mongols under the Ming dynasty (1368) |
1944 |
15th Century |
• Beginning of Dalai Lama lineage in Tibetan Buddhism. • In Cambodia, the Vishnuite temple, Angkor Wat, founded in the 12th century, becomes a Buddhist centre. |
• Development of printing in Europe • Leonardo DaVinci (1452-1519) • Columbus "finds" the new world (1492) |
2044 |
16th Century |
• Tibet's Gelugpa leader receives the title of "Dalai" from Altan Khan (1578). |
• Martin Luther (1483-1546) • Protestant Reformation • Shakespeare, (1564-1616) • Galileo (1564-1642) |
2144 |
17th Century |
• Control of Japanese Buddhism by Tokugawa Shögunate (the ruling feudal government) (I603-1867) |
• Japan closes the door to foreigners (1639) |
2244 |
18th Century |
• Colonial occupation of Sri Lanka, Burma, Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam. |
• 1700s Age of Enlightenment introduces revolutionary new ideas to Europe. |
2344 |
19th Century |
• New sects begin to emerge in Japanese Buddhism. |
• Meiji Restoration in Japanese history 1868, marking end of military rule. • 1833 Abolition of slavery in British empire. |
2444-2544 |
20th Century |
• Buddhist Society of Great Britain, founded (1907). |
• Mahatma Gandhi (1869-1948) • WW I (1914-1918) • Russian revolution (1917-1922) • 1919 Ernest Rutherford splits atom for first time. • WW II (1939-1945) • Cultural Revolution (China) (1966) • Pope John Paul II pardons Galileo (1995) • The Fall of the Berlin Wall, the Cold War ends. (1989) |
* The Buddhist calendar starts (year 1) from the Buddha's Parinirvana (death and final release) which occured in his eightieth year.
* B.C.E. = Before Common Era (Equivalent to B.C.) * C.E. = Common Era (Equivalent to A.D.)
Source: buddhanet.net