Theravada Tradition

Anicca

A Chronology

Edited by John Bullitt

This timeline chronicles some of the significant events and personalities inthe evolution of Theravada Buddhism that, in one way or another, figureprominently in the readings found elsewhere on this website. This is not meantto be a comprehensive chronology.
Because the sources I used in constructing this timeline (indicated bybraces {} and listed at the end of thisdocument) often assumed different dates for the Buddha's nativity, I haveoccasionally had to interpolate in order to fit events (particularly the earlyones) onto a reasonably consistent timeline. Nevertheless, this chronologyshould provide a fairly clear picture of the relative sequence of events, ifnot the absolute dates on which they occurred.
For a general introduction to Theravada Buddhism, please see "What is TheravadaBuddhism?".

BE[1

]   CE[2

]

-80   -624/-560
The Bodhisatta (Sanskrit:Bodhisattva), or Buddha-to-be, is born in Lumbini (in present-day Nepal) as Siddhattha(Skt: Siddhartha) Gotama, a prince of the Sakya clan. {1,2}
-51   -595/-531
The Bodhisatta renounces thehouseholder life (age 29).
-45  -589/-525
While meditating under the Bo treein the forest at Gaya(now Bodhgaya, India) during the full-moon nightof May, the Bodhisatta becomes the Buddha (age 36).
During the full-moon night of July, the Buddha delivershis firstdiscourse near Varanasi,introducing the world to the Four Noble Truths andcommencing a 45-year career of teaching the religion he called"Dhamma-vinaya".
1   -544/-480
Parinibbana (Skt: Parinirvana;death and final release) of the Buddha, at Kusinara (now Kusinagar, India)(age 80). {1,3}
During the rains retreat following the Buddha'sParinibbana, the First Council convenes at Rajagaha, India,during which 500 arahant bhikkhus, led by Ven. Mahakassapa, gather to recitethe entire body of the Buddha's teachings. The recitation of the Vinaya by Ven.Upali becomes accepted as the Vinaya Pitaka;the recitation of the Dhamma by Ven. Ananda becomes established as the Sutta Pitaka.{1,4}
100   -444/-380
100 years after the Buddha'sParinibbana the Second Council convenes in Vesali to discusscontroversiol points of Vinaya. The first schism of the Sangha occurs, in whichthe Mahasanghika school parts ways with the traditionalist Sthaviravadins. Atissue is the Mahasanghika's reluctance to accept the Suttas and the Vinaya asthe final authority on the Buddha's teachings. This schism marks the firstbeginnings of what would later evolve into Mahayana Buddhism, which would cometo dominate Buddhism in northern Asia (China, Tibet, Japan, Korea). {1}
294   -250
Third Council is convened byKing Asokaat Pataliputra (India).Disputes on points of doctrine lead to further schisms, spawning theSarvastivadin and Vibhajjavadin sects. The AbhidhammaPitaka is recited at the Council, along with additional sections of the KhuddakaNikaya. The modern Pali Tipitaka is now essentially complete, although somescholars have suggested that at least two parts of the extant Canon -- the Parivarain the Vinaya, and the Apadanain the Sutta -- may date from a later period. {1, 4}
297   -247
King Asokasends his son, Ven. Mahinda, on a mission to bring Buddhism to Sri Lanka. KingDevanampiya Tissa of Sri  Lanka is converted. {5}
304   -240
Ven. Mahinda establishes theMahavihara (Great Monastery) of Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka. TheVibhajjavadin community living there becomes known as the Theravadins. Mahindacompiles the first of the Tipitaka commentaries, in the Sinhala language.Mahinda's sister, Ven. Sanghamitta, arrives in Sri Lanka with a cutting from theoriginal Bo tree, and establishes the bhikkhuni-sangha in Sri Lanka.{1, 5}
444   -100
Famine and schisms in Sri Lanka pointout the need for a written record of the Tipitaka to preserve the Buddhistreligion. King Vattagamani convenes a Fourth Council, in which 500reciters and scribes from the Mahavihara write down the Pali Tipitaka for thefirst time, on palm leaves. {4, 5, 6}
544   1
Common Era (CE) begins; Year 1 AD.
644   100
Theravada Buddhism first appears inBurmaand Central Thailand. {1}
744   200
Buddhist monastic university at Nalanda, Indiaflourishes; remains a world center of Buddhist study for over 1,000 years. {1}
ca. 1000   5th c.
Ven. Buddhaghosa collates thevarious Sinhala commentaries on the Canon -- drawing primarily on the MahaAtthakatha (Great Commentary) preserved at the Mahavihara -- and translatesthem into Pali. This makes Sinhala Buddhist scholarship available for the firsttime to the entire Theravadin world and marks the beginning of what willbecome, in the centuries to follow, a vast body of post-canonical Paliliterature. Buddhaghosa also composes his encyclopedic, thoughcontroversiol, meditation manual Visuddhimagga (The Path of Purification).Vens. Buddhadatta and Dhammapala write additional commentaries andsub-commentaries. {7}

Anicca

ca. 1100   600's
Buddhism in India begins along, slow decline from which it would never fully recover. {1}
ca. 1100? 1400?   6th c.? 9thc.?
Dhammapala composes commentarieson parts of the Canon missed by Buddhaghosa (such as the Udana,Itivuttaka,Theragatha,and Therigatha),along with extensive sub-commentaries on Buddhaghosa's work. {7}
1594   1050
The bhikkhu and bhikkhunicommunities at Anuradhapuradie out following invasions from South India.{1, 5}
1614   1070
Bhikkhus from Pagan arrive in Polonnaruwa, Sri Lanka to reinstate theobliterated Theravada ordination line on the island. {5}
1708   1164
Polonnaruwa destroyed by foreigninvasion. With the guidance of two monks from a forest branch of the Mahaviharasect -- Vens. Mahakassapa and Sariputta -- King Parakramabahu reunites allbhikkhus in Sri Lankainto the Mahavihara sect. {1, 8}
1780   1236
Bhikkhus from Ka馽ipuram, Indiaarrive in Sri Lankato revive the Theravada ordination line. {1}
1823   1279
Last inscriptional evidence of aTheravada Bhikkhuni nunnery (in Burma).{8}
1831   1287
Pagan looted by Mongol invaders;its decline begins. {1}
ca. 1900   13th c.
A forest-based Sri Lankanordination line arrives in Burmaand Thailand.Theravada spreads to Laos.Thai Theravada monasteries first appear in Cambodia shortly before the Thaiswin their independence from the Khmers. {1}
ca. 2000   1400's
Another forest lineage is importedfrom Sri Lankato Ayudhaya, the Thai capital. A new ordination line is also imported into Burma. {1}
2297   1753
King Kirti Sri Rajasinha obtainsbhikkhus from the Thai court to reinstate the bhikkhu ordination line, whichhad died out in Sri Lanka.This is the origin of the Siyam Nikaya. {8}
2312   1768
Burmese destroy Ayudhaya (Thai capital).
2321   1777
King Rama I, founder of the currentdynasty in Thailand,obtains copies of the Tipitaka from Sri Lanka and sponsors a Council tostandardize the Thai version of the Tipitaka, copies of which are then donatedto temples throughout the country. {1}
2347   1803
Sri Lankans ordained in the Burmesecity of Amarapurafound the Amarapura Nikaya in Sri  Lanka to supplement the Siyam Nikaya, whichadmitted only brahmans from the Up Country highlands around Kandy. {9}
2372   1828
Thailand's Prince Mongkut (laterKing Rama IV) founds the Dhammayut movement, which would later become theDhammayut Sect. {1}
ca. 2400   1800's
Sri Lankan Sangha deterioratesunder pressure from two centuries of European colonial rule (Portuguese, Dutch,British). {5}
2406   1862
Forestmonks headed by Ven. Pa耨ananda go to Burma for reordination, returningto Sri Lankathe following year to found the Rama耨a Nikaya. {9} Firsttranslation of the Dhammapadainto a Western language (German). {2}
2412   1868
Fifth Council is held at Mandalay, Burma;Pali Canon is inscribed on 729 marble slabs. {2}
2417   1873
Ven. Mohottivatte Gunananda defeatsChristian missionaries in a public debate, sparking a nationwide revival of SriLankan pride in its Buddhist traditions. {8}
2423   1879
Sir Edwin Arnold publishes his epicpoem Light of Asia, which becomes a best-seller in England and theUSA,stimulating popular Western interest in Buddhism.
2424   1880
Helena Blavatsky and Henry SteelOlcott, founders of the Theosophical Society, arrive in Sri Lanka fromthe USA,embrace Buddhism, and begin a campaign to restore Buddhism on the island byencouraging the establishment of Buddhist schools. {1}
2425   1881
Pali Text Society is founded in England by T.W.Rhys Davids; most of the Tipitaka is published in roman script and, over thenext 100 years, in English translation.
2435   1891
Maha Bodhi Society founded in India by theSri Lankan lay follower Anagarika Dharmapala, in an effort to reintroduceBuddhism to India.{1}
2443   1899
First Western Theravada monk(Gordon Douglas) ordains, in Burma.{2}
ca. 2444   ca. 1900
Ven. Ajaan Munand Ven. AjaanSao revive the forest meditation tradition in Thailand. {1}
2445   1902
King Rama V of Thailandinstitutes a Sangha Act that formally marks the beginnings of the Mahanikayaand Dhammayut sects. Sangha government, which up to that time had been in thehands of a lay official appointed by the king, is handed over to the bhikkhusthemselves.
2493   1949
Mahasi Sayadaw becomes head teacherat a government-sponsored meditation center in Rangoon, Burma.{10}
2498   1954
Burmese government sponsors a SixthCouncil in Rangoon.
2500   1956
Buddha Jayanti Year, commemorating2,500 years of Buddhism.
2502   1958
Ven. Nyanaponika Thera establishesthe Buddhist Publication Society in Sri Lanka to publishEnglish-language books on Theravada Buddhism. Sarvodaya Shramadana Movement isfounded in Sri Lankato bring Buddhist ideals to bear in solving pressing social problems. TwoGermans ordain at the Royal Thai Embassy in London, becoming the first to take fullTheravada ordination in the West. {1, 2}
ca. 2504   1960's [3
]
Washington (D.C.) Buddhist Viharafounded -- first Theravada monastic community in the USA. {11; and BhavanaSociety Brochure}
ca. 2514   1970's
Refugees from war in Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos settle in USA and Europe, establishing many tight-knit Buddhist communitiesin the West. Ven. Taungpulu Sayadaw and Dr. Rina Sircar, from Burma,establish the Taungpulu Kaba-Aye Monastery in Northern California, USA.Ven. AjaanChah establishes Wat Pah Nanachat, a forest monastery in Thailand fortraining Western monks. Insight Meditation Society, a lay meditation center, isfounded in Massachusetts,USA.Ven. AjaanChah travels to Englandto establish a small community of monks at the Hamsptead Vihara, which latermoves to Sussex,England,to become Wat Pah Cittaviveka (Chithurst Forest Monastery).
ca. 2524   1980's
Lay meditation centers grow inpopularity in USAand Europe. First Theravada forest monasteryin the USA(Bhavana Society) is established in West  Virginia. Amaravati Buddhist Monastery established inEnglandby Ven. Ajaan Sumedho (student of Ven. Ajaan Chah).
ca. 2534   1990's
Continued western expansion of theTheravada Sangha: monasteries from the Thai forest traditions established in California, USA (MettaForest Monastery, founded by Ven. AjaanSuwat; Abhayagiri Monastery, founded by Ven. Ajaans Amaro and Pasanno).Buddhism meets cyberspace: Buddhist computer networks emerge; several editionsof the Pali Tipitaka become available on-line.

[ Last edited by  Anicca at 3-4-2008 04:35 PM ]

Anicca

Notes1. BE = Buddhist Era. Year 1 ofthe Buddhist Era calendar is the year of the Buddha's Parinibbana (death andfinal release), which occurred in the Buddha's eightieth year (480 BCEaccording to the "historical" timeline; 544 BCE by tradition).
The actual date of the Buddha's birth is unknown. According to Buddhisttradition, the Buddha's birth took place in 624 BCE, although some recentestimates place the Buddha's birth much later -- perhaps as late as448 BCE {1}.560 BCE is one commonly accepted date for the Buddha's birth, and the"historical" date for that event that I adopt here.
Events in the timeline prior to -250 CE are shown with two CE dates:the date based on the "traditional" nativity of 624 BCE,followed by the date based on the "historical" date of 560 BCE.After -250 CE the "historical" date is dropped, since these datesare more appropriate only in discussions of earlier events.
To calculate the CE date corresponding to an event in the Buddhisttraditional calendar, subtract 544 years from the BE date. The BE datesof well-documented historical events (particularly those in the twentiethcentury) may be off by one year, since the CE and BE calen** start theiryears on different months (January and May, respectively). [Go back]

2. CE = Common Era. Year 1 ofthe Common Era corresponds with the year 1 AD (Anno Domini) in theChristian calendar. -1 CE (or 1 BCE -- "Before the Common Era")corresponds with the year 1 BC ("Before Christ"). By convention thereis no year zero; the year 1 BCE is followed by 1 CE. [Go back]

3. Events of the last fewdecades are still much too fresh in our collective experience to argueintelligently for or against their historical significance. [Go back]

Sources{1} The Buddhist Religion: AHistorical Introduction (fourth edition) by R.H. Robinson & W.L.Johnson (Belmont, California: Wadsworth, 1996)
{2} The Buddha's Way by H. Saddhatissa (London:Allen & Unwin, 1971)
{3} Pali Literature and Language by Wilhelm Geiger(New Delhi: Oriental Books, 1978)
{4} Beginnings: the Pali Suttas by SamaneraBodhesako (Kandy: Buddhist Publication Society, 1984)
{5} Buddhism in Sri Lanka by H.R. Perera (Kandy:Buddhist Publication Society, 1966)
{6} The Path of Purification (Visuddhimagga)(Introduction) by Ven. Bhikkhu 補namoli (Kandy: Buddhist Publication Society,1975)
{7} Indian Buddhism (second edition) by A.K.Warder (Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, 1980)
{8} Theravada Buddhism: A Social History from AncientBenares to Modern Colombo by Richard Gombrich (London and New York:Routledge and Kegan Paul, 1988)
{9} The Forest Monks of Sri Lanka: An Anthropologicaland Historical Study by Michael Carrithers (Delhi: Oxford University Press,1983)
{10} The Progressof Insight by Mahasi Sayadaw (Kandy: Buddhist Publication Society,1994)
{11} World Buddhist Directory by The BuddhistInformation Centre (Colombo, Sri Lanka: Buddhist Information Centre, 1984)

Revised: Sunday 2005.01.02
http://accesstoinsight.org/history.html

tickmeoff

I have come to suspect that Annica is a robot programmed to post articles on buddhism.

linnhann

I m new here, good to knw the chronology of this tradition.

tickmeoff

welcome to the thread linnhann.

What are you inclined currently in terms of your world and religious view?

perhaps a bit of intro?

wei_loon5063

Originally posted by tickmeoff at 4-4-2008 11:30 AM
I have come to suspect that Annica is a robot programmed to post articles on buddhism.

yes.. you and me also a robot...

linnhann

summarize the story on how i begin learning Buddhist, i m chinese n nvr believe any religion . i js follow my parent to Chinese temple but reluctant to pray,,, my parent understand me.... when i was form 6 in school that 98% is Muslim, v were always exposed to Islamic teaching, n some ustaz n Muslim fren try to introduced Islam n even asked 4 debate.... at first v(my fren n i) felt interested on islam, n eager to convert... but one day my fren n i begin to talk about religion(Islam),,then suddenly v wonder how about the religion that stated in our IC...Buddhist. so, b4 make the decision of conversion, v study our religion first,,,quite dffcult to learn buddhist as v r poor in English n Chinese n also hard to find the monk that can teach us dhamma,but at last  v found a very simple buddhist book that save us from conversion as it state that NO GOD in Buddhist believe,, it really match our mind...from there i hv my own religion.

finalstrifer

actually i believe d phrase "there in no god" is derived due to the awkward situation buddha is when starting his teaching.
during that time india has plenty of gods, and most probably normal ppl would go n ask buddha which is d true god of d world.
buddha's teaching include not clinging to anything, include knowledge= info of d gods, thus i believe he wants to rid of this phenomenon n
derived d phrase "there is no god"

linnhann

4 me, i understand that no God mean no creator, or maha berkuasa, or infinity Q &A, i recall the dialog  between Buddha n the man ask the Buddha where v r from, and tell the Buddha that if Buddha couldn't fulfil his requirement he will MURTAD,,, then Buddha compared this to poison arrow...

wei_loon5063

yes... but buddha mentioned about creator....

the creator of this "self" is actually attachments...........

linnhann

yea SELF is a creator, i remember a story of the Buddha,,,, once, a man asked Buddha, 'how to bcome the Buddha? The Buddha answer 'Kill ur father n ur mother'.... anyone can explain,Y the Buddha say so?

linnhann

sorry i forget where i read before, but it from buddhist text................. the story is continue... the man shocked n asked the Buddha  'is it contraraly to ur teaching? as killing is ...., so the Buddha explain that .. Father= EGO .... Mother= attachement,     
so to become the Buddha v must avoid ego n attachment.

finalstrifer

ar......... i m not familiar with d story of d father & mother as well as the poison arrow~~

any1 kind enough to link the story? or just write out d story ~~?

tickmeoff

don't believe anything you read or being told.   Buddha always asks us to think over something before we accept it.

Think about it, 1st percept refrain from killing.  Great evil = killing of Buddha/ arahant/ mother/ father. This acts guarantee rebirth into the Hells. If you say EGO and attachment then I can agree. But if you say mother and father.. cannot lar. contradicts teaching of buddha, must abandon wrong view.

Be careful with all the suttas you read out there. There are so many books or latter suttas written by later people, which are accepted as 'dhamma' by certain people. Must examine where you read the suttas, what tradition.

The 5th Nikayas have some suttas which are contradictory to the 4 nikayas, because of that, not accepted in Theravada Buddhism. It's not easy to tell which one is the True Dhamma, and which one is not, but Buddha always asked us to use our brain, and not by merely believing anything anyone has to say. right?

tickmeoff

A man approached the Buddha and wanted to have all his philosophical questions answered before he would practice.

In response, the Buddha said, "It is as if a man had been wounded by a poisoned arrow and when attended to by a physician were to say, 'I will not allow you to remove this arrow until I have learned the caste, the age, the occupation, the birthplace, and the motivation of the person who wounded me.' That man would die before having learned all this. In exactly the same way, anyone who should say, 'I will not follow the teaching of the Buddha until the Buddha has explained all the multiform truths of the world' - that person would die before the Buddha had explained all this."


==================

In summary, there are lots of things in the world we do not know which the Buddha knows, but we must have our priority because our human life is very short and we do not know when we will die or get sick. So it's more important for us to practice his teaching first, to gain nibbana - then all these questions will be answered once we attain nibbana.

linnhann

may be  misunderstood here, the Buddha said kill your father n mother didn't mean real killing the parent,,, as he mean the man mostly ego n the woman mostly attachment. KILL here mean don't b ego n attachment.

tickmeoff

ok agree, but i have never heard of that sutta too.

Anicca

The Ghatva Sutta(SN1.71)

Which the Buddha & saints allow & permitted to kill, to kill what?

ANGER.

Actually I joined Cari quite sometime, but mostly I'm posting in the chinese version . your are welcome to discuss at chinese version(Buddhism).

Sabbe Satta bhavantu Sukhittata

[ Last edited by  Anicca at 9-5-2008 12:38 AM ]

tickmeoff

I am banana. So I cannot join the chinese forum.