Buddhism/Timelines
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BC
- c480?: birth of the (future) Buddha; by the 3rd century BC this was believed to have occurred in what is now Rummindei, Nepal
- c445?: his awakening and founding of Buddhism
- c400?: his death; alleged First Council, Rajagaha (Rajgir) to collect his teachings (historicity uncertain)
- late 4th century: Second Council, Vesali (Besarh), to settle dispute over monastic discipline; agreed that monks should not accept money
- mid 3rd century: patronage of Emperor Asoka; Third (Theravada?) Council, Pataliputta (Patna) to deal with wrong views; Asoka's son Mahinda leads mission establishing Buddhism in Ceylon; possibly missionaries also sent to Greek kingdoms as far as Epirus and Cyrene
- last century: Pali Canon written down from oral tradition at Fourth (Theravada) Council in Ceylon