-
Jun 23, 1222
Nichiren Daishonin
Birth of Nichiren Daishonin (1222-1282) who was the Japanese founder of Nichiren Buddhism.
Nichiren was critical of the established schools of Buddhism that relied on state patronage and merely served the interests of the powerful while encouraging passivity in the suffering masses. He called the feudal authorities to task, insisting that the leaders bear responsibility for the suffering of the population and act to remedy it. His stance, that the state exists for the sake of the people. -
Apr 23, 1238
Thai Kingdom of Sukhothai
Thai Kingdom of Sukhothai is established, with Theravada Buddhism as the state religion.
The history of Thailand begins with the rise of the Sukhothai Kingdom in the thirteenth century, a State whose people were one in blood and language with the present Thais. Under devout kings of Ayudhya, Buddhism flourished, and by 1750 must have accumulated great quantities of sacred writings and valuable chronicles connected with the Monastic Order. Practically all such writings were destroyed in the devas -
Jul 18, 1277
The Empire begins
Burma's Pagan empire begins to disintegrate after being defeated by Kublai Khan at the Battle of Ngasaunggyan, at Yunnan near the Chinese border. -
Nov 11, 1285
Buddhhist State
Arghun makes the Il-Khanate a Buddhist State.
He was the son of Abaqa Khan, and like his father, was a devout Buddhist (although pro-Christian) -
Mar 13, 1295
Converted Islam
Mongol leader Ghazan Khan is converted to Islam, ending a line of Tantric Buddhist leaders.
The second wave of movement westwards was powered by the Mongol conquests of the early 13th century which led to the establishment of the Mongol Ilkhanid dynasty in Persia from 1256 onwards. The Mongol Khans were Buddhist, of a Tantric character, and patronized Buddhism in their kingdom for the remainder of the century, until Ghazan Khan was converted to Islam in 1295. -
Oct 4, 1351
U Thong
In Thailand, U Thong, possibly the son of a Chinese merchant family, established Ayutthaya as his capital and took the name of Ramathibodi. -
Sep 15, 1405
Seven Voyages
The Chinese eunuch admiral Zheng He made seven voyages in this period, through South-East Asia, India, the Persian Gulf, East Africa, and Egypt. At the time, Buddhism was well-established in China, so visited peoples may have had exposure to Chinese Buddhism. -
Feb 9, 1578
Giving the title
Altan Khan of the Tümed gave the title of Dalai Lama to Sonam Gyatso (later known as the third Dalai Lama).
1600s & 1700s: When Vietnam divided during this period, the Nguyen rulers of the south chose to support Mahayana Buddhism as an integrative ideology for the ethnically plural society of their kingdom, which was also populated by Chams and other minorities. -
The great image
The Toyotomi family rebuilt a great image of Buddha at the Temple of Hōkōji in Kyōtō.
The temple has a bell which has important historical value. In 1614, to mark the completion of rebuilding the temple and the Great Buddha, a huge bronze bell was cast and mounted in its own structure. It still stands in the temple complex and is 4.3 meters tall, 2.7 meters in diameter, 23 centimeters thick, and weighs 82000 kilograms. -
Taking power
When the shogunate took power in the 12th century and the administrative capital moved to Kamakura, more forms of Buddhism arrived. The most popular was Zen, which became the most popular type of Mahayana Buddhism of the time period. Two schools of Zen were established, Rinzai and Sōtō; a third, Ōbaku, formed in 1661. -
Forbading men
Nguyen Anh comes to the throne of the first united Vietnam - he succeeds by quelling the Tayson rebellion in south Vietnam with help from Rama I in Bangkok, then took over the north from the ramaining Trinh. After coming to power, he created a Confucianist orthodox state and was eager to limit the competing influence of Buddhism. He forbade adult men to attend Buddhist ceremonies. -
The Following Revival
In Sri Lanka, against all expectations the monastic and lay community brought about a major revival in Buddhism, a movement that went hand in hand with growing nationalism. The revival followed a period of persecution by foreign powers.
Since then Buddhism has flourished and Sri Lankan monks and expatriate lay people have been prominent in spreading Theravada Buddhism in Asia, the West and even in Africa. -
The council
A council was convened under the patronage of King Mindon Min of Burma to re-edit the Pali canon. The king then had the texts engraved on 729 stones, which were then set upright on the grounds of a monastery near Mandalay. -
Japan
Buddhism first arrived in Japan in the 6th century from the Southern part of the kingdom of Baekje on the Korean peninsula. The Baekje king sent the Japanese emperor a picture of the Buddha and some sutras. Japanese aristocrats built Buddhist statues and temples in the capital at Nara, and then in the later capital at Heian (now Kyoto).
Buddhism is divided into three forms: the orthodox Theravada Buddhism, which is prevalent in India and most of Southeast Asia; Mahayana Buddhism, which spre -
Suppressed
Buddhism suppressed by Chinese communist government. Since the communist revolution, Buddhism was at times severely restricted and brought under state-control. During the cultural revolution, Buddhists were actively persecuted and sent for re-education, and temples, statues, and sutras were vandalized and destroyed. In recent years, Buddhism has been enjoying a revival but most Buddhist institutions are within the confines of the state. -
First Council
World Buddhist Sangha Council first convened by Theravadins in Sri Lanka with the hope of bridging differences and working together. The first convention was attended by leading monks, from many countries and sects, Mahaayaana as well as Theravaada.
The following, written by Ven. Walpola Rahula was approved unanimously. Basic Points Unifying The Theravaada and the Mahaayaana- The Buddha is our only Master.
- We take refuge in the Buddha, the Dhamma and the Sangha.
- We do not believe tha
-
Change attitudes
After 1975, Lao Communist rulers attempted to change attitudes to religion, in particular calling on monks to work, not beg. This caused many to return to lay life, but Buddhism remains popular. -
Upon the death of Mao, Buddhism begins to revive in China.
As communism has decayed dramatically over the past decades in China, religious practice of one sort or another has steadily increased. An extraordinary and entirely unexpected revival has made long-padlocked Buddhist temples teem again with worshippers; in Tibet and Xinjiang the Lamaist Buddhist and Islamic faiths, respectively, have become ever more vigorous, even as relentless persecution continues. Communist officials now exploit its ethic of hierarchy and authority to bolster their rule. -
Destroyng Buddhism
The communist in Cambodia tried to completely destroy Buddhism, and very nearly succeeded. By the time of the Vietnamese invasion in 1979 nearly every monk and religious intellectual had been either murdered or driven into exile, and nearly every temple and Buddhist library had been destroyed. -
Destruction of standing Buddha statues at Bamiyan by Taliban regime.
In 1221 with the advent of Genghis Khan "a terrible disaster befell Bamiyan," nevertheless, the statues were spared. Later, the Mughal emperor, Aurangzeb, tried to use heavy artillery to destroy the statues. Another attempt to destroy the Bamiyan statues was made by the 18th century Persian king Nader Afshar, directing cannon fire at them.
