ca. 566–486 or 488–368 B.C.E. Possible dates of the Buddha’s life. When the Buddha
may have lived is a matter of scholarly debate; these
time frames represent only two of many suggestions.
ca. 386 or 268 B.C.E. Traditional dates—one hundred years after the Bud-
dha’s death—on which the first Buddhist Council is
said to have been held at Vais ́all, resulting in the first
schism of the SAN ̇GHAor monastic community.
ca. 268–232 B.C.E. Reign of King AS ́OKAof India, who converted to
Buddhism and became an important patron of the
religion. As ́oka is said to have sent out missionaries
to various lands after holding a Buddhist Council at
Pataliputra.
ca. 100 B.C.E. Great stupa at SAN
CIbuilt.ca. 100 C.E.LOTUSSUTRA(SADDHARMAPUNDARIKA-SUTRA) and other
influential Mahayana texts composed.
ca. 200 Philosopher and scholar NAGARJUNAwrites about
S ́UNYATA(EMPTINESS), establishing the MADHYAMAKA
SCHOOL(the Middle Way).
ca. 320 Indian scholar and monk ASAN ̇GA(ca. 320–390)
born. He becomes the founder of the YOGACARA
SCHOOLof Buddhism.
ca. 320–550 Gupta Empire, during which Buddhism flourishes
throughout the subcontinent.
ca. 500 Buddhist monastic university founded at Nalanda.
ca. 673 Chinese pilgrim YIJING(635–713) arrives in India.
1197 Destruction of the great monastic universities of
Nalandaand Vikramas ́lla, signaling the decline of
Buddhism as a religious institution in India.
933