Buddhism Timeline

Siddhārtha Gautama, Buddha-to-be, is born in Lumbini into a leading royal family in the republic of the Shakyas

Prince Siddhartha goes outside the palace for the first time and sees The Four Sights: an old man, an ill man, a dead man, and a holy man. He is shocked by the first three—he did not know what age, disease, and death were—but is inspired by the holy man to give up his wealth. He leaves his house and lives with three ascetics. However, he wants more than to starve himself, so he becomes a religious teacher.

Siddhartha attains Enlightenment

According to legend, Tapassu and Balluka, two North Indian traders who lived in a city of Pushkaravat, offered Siddhatha Gautama his first meal after his enlightenment. The Buddha gives eight strands of his hair to the two brothers; who brought the strands to eastern coast of Sri Lanka and enshrined in a small pagoda in an area called 'Thanthirimale'. the pagoda was called "Giri-hadu-Saya" in present day Trincomalee. Later it was renovated, enlarged several times by various kings of ancient Sri Lanka. Recently during an excavation the archeologists uncovered a collection of enshrined hair in a casket which believed to be the strands brought by 'Tapassu & Balluka'. Another theory says the strands are brought back to Burma and enshrined in the Shwedagon Pagoda. Thus, according to myth, this is the year when the Shwedagon Pagoda was built.

Gautama Buddha dies ('attains parinibbana') at Kusinara (now called Kushinagar), India. Three months following his death,[dubious – discuss] the First Buddhist Council is convened.

Indian traders regularly visit ports in Arabia, explaining the prevalence of place names in the region with Indian or Buddhist origin

The Second Buddhist Council is convened by King Kalasoka and held at Vaisali.

Emperor Ashoka the Great sends various Buddhist missionaries to faraway countries, as far as China and the Mon & Malay kingdoms in the east and the Hellenistic kingdoms in the west, in order to make Buddhism known to them.

Theravada Buddhism is officially introduced to Sri Lanka by the Venerable Mahinda

The Indo-Greek governor Theodorus enshrines relics of the Buddha