From the Ganges plain to the world

The Spread of Buddhism: Map and Timeline

Built by Tim Yu, Founder & Editor · Published 10 November 2026

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Watch Buddhism travel out of the Ganges plain: south to Sri Lanka, along the Silk Road to China, Korea and Japan, over the Himalaya to Tibet and Mongolia, across Southeast Asia, and in the last two centuries to the West. Press play or drag the slider; every dot is a dated event with its source, and each says how sure historians are of the date.

Today

51 of 51 events on the map ·

Drag through the centuries

The whole story

51 moments in Buddhism's spread

Press Play the spread to watch the teaching travel out of the Ganges plain, or drag the slider and pick any dot. Dashed routes rest on a tradition's own account or a disputed date; solid ones on firmer records.

All events

How to read the map

Each dot is one event: the teaching arriving somewhere, a king adopting it, a monastery founded, a scripture written down or carried home. Colours show the tradition involved, from the early schools through Theravāda, Mahāyāna and Vajrayāna. Lines show where the teaching came from, drawn only where a source says so. Every event is labelled by the kind of evidence behind its date: a historical record such as Ashoka's inscriptions, a tradition's own account such as the Sri Lankan chronicles, an approximate range, or a date the sources dispute. Dashed lines rest on the last two kinds.

The map is a map of arrivals and turning points, not of how many people practised. Buddhism often reached a place long before it was widely held there, and some places on the map, from Gandhara to Java, are no longer centres of Buddhism. For the whole story, read how Buddhism spread across Asia and our history of Buddhism.

The full timeline

All 51 events on the map, in order, with their sources.

When	Where	What happened	Evidence
c. 525 or c. 450 BCE	Sarnath (ancient Isipatana), near Varanasi, India	The Buddha's first sermon at Isipatana. In the Pali discourse SN 56.11 the Buddha, staying in the deer park at Isipatana near Varanasi, addresses five mendicants and sets out the four noble truths. Once dated c. 560-480 BCE, the Buddha's life is now often placed later: many scholars hold he died c. 405 BCE (SEP). He taught for 45 years.	Date disputed · Early Buddhism Mark Siderits, 'Buddha', Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy
c. 480 or c. 405 BCE	Rajgir (ancient Rajagaha), Bihar, India	First council: the teaching recited at Rajagaha. According to the Vinaya's account of the first council, five hundred senior monks spent the rains retreat after the Buddha's death at Rajagaha, reciting his Teaching and Monastic Law together. Its date follows the disputed date of the Buddha's death: c. 480 BCE in Access to Insight's account, c. 405 BCE for many scholars (SEP).	Traditional account · Early Buddhism Vinaya, Cullavagga, chapter on the first council (Kd 21), trans. Bhikkhu Brahmali, SuttaCentral
c. 262 BCE	Dhauli, Khordha district, Odisha, India (ancient Kalinga)	Ashoka's Kalinga war and his turn to Dhamma. Ashoka's Rock Edict XIII records that he conquered Kalinga eight years after his coronation, with huge loss of life, and afterwards felt deep remorse and a love of the Dhamma. Separate edicts were carved at Dhauli. The edict dates by regnal year; 262 BCE is the translator Dhammika's conversion, and he notes that Ashoka's exact dates are disputed.	Historical record · Early Buddhism The Edicts of King Asoka, trans. Ven. S. Dhammika, Access to Insight
c. 256 BCE	Kalsi, Dehradun district, Uttarakhand, India (a Rock Edict XIII site)	Rock Edict XIII names five Greek kings. Ashoka's edict claims 'conquest by Dhamma' as far as the realms of Antiochos, Ptolemy, Antigonos, Magas and Alexander, and south to Tamraparni (Sri Lanka), and refers to his envoys. Dhammika dates the Kalsi version to 256 BCE. The edict states Ashoka's claim; it does not say who went where.	Historical record · Early Buddhism The Edicts of King Asoka (Rock Edict 13), trans. Ven. S. Dhammika, Access to Insight
3rd century BCE	Patna (ancient Pataliputta), Bihar, India	Third council at Pataliputta, in the chronicles. The Sri Lankan chronicle the Mahavamsa says the elder Moggaliputta Tissa held a council at the Asokarama in Ashoka's capital, then sent elders to found the religion in neighbouring lands. Known from the Southern (Theravada) tradition. Geiger notes repeated scholarly discussion of whether the councils' history is authentic.	Traditional account · Theravāda The Mahavamsa, trans. Wilhelm Geiger (Pali Text Society, 1912), ch. V and XII, Internet Archive
3rd century BCE	Sanchi, Raisen district, Madhya Pradesh, India	Ashoka's sanctuary and the Great Stupa at Sanchi. Ashoka, whose queen came from nearby Vidisha, founded or at least embellished a Buddhist sanctuary at Sanchi and set up a pillar carved with his edicts. Its early brick stupa, Stupa 1, was enlarged in the 2nd and 1st centuries BCE. ICOMOS (1989) says the site 'would appear' to have been settled in Ashoka's time.	Approximate date · Early Buddhism ICOMOS, advisory body evaluation of the Buddhist Monuments at Sanchi (no. 524, 1989), UNESCO archive
c. 249 BCE	Lumbini, Rupandehi, Nepal	Ashoka's pillar marks the Buddha's birthplace. An inscription on a pillar at Lumbini records that Ashoka came there twenty years after his coronation and worshipped 'because here the Buddha, the sage of the Sakyans, was born', lowering the village's tax to an eighth of its produce. Twenty years after coronation; Dhammika converts this to 249 BCE.	Historical record · Early Buddhism The Edicts of King Asoka (Lumbini pillar), trans. Ven. S. Dhammika, Access to Insight
3rd century BCE	Mihintale (the Missaka mountain), near Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka	Mahinda brings Buddhism to Sri Lanka. According to the Mahavamsa, the elder Mahinda and four companions were sent to 'found in the lovely island of Lanka the lovely religion of the Conqueror', alighting on the Missaka mountain, today's Mihintale. The chronicle's account. Its translator Geiger shows that the chronicles' own year counts for these events do not fully agree.	Traditional account · Theravāda The Mahavamsa, trans. Wilhelm Geiger (1912), ch. XII-XIII, Internet Archive
3rd century BCE	Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka	Sanghamitta and the Bodhi-tree branch. The chronicle says the nun Sanghamitta came from Pataliputta with the southern branch of the Bodhi tree, which was carried to Anuradhapura and planted in the Mahamegha grove. Told in the Mahavamsa (ch. XVIII-XX); the chronicle's account, not an independent record.	Traditional account · Theravāda The Mahavamsa, trans. Wilhelm Geiger (1912), ch. XVIII-XX, Internet Archive
1st century BCE	Sri Lanka (shown at the island centre; the sources name no site)	The Pali canon is written down. The Mahavamsa says monks who had handed down the three pitakas and their commentary orally wrote them down in books under King Vattagamani, so 'that the true doctrine might endure'. Nanamoli places it in King Vattagamani's reign, in the 1st century BCE, done in the provinces; Access to Insight says about 100 BCE.	Approximate date · Theravāda Bhikkhu Nanamoli, introduction to The Path of Purification (Visuddhimagga), BPS / Access to Insight
1st century CE	Luoyang, Henan, China (shown here; Lai names no site)	Buddhism reaches Han China. Buddhism was first introduced into China under the Han dynasty in the 1st century CE, at first probably as the faith of a small community of foreign traders. The Encyclopedia of Korean Culture says it reached Luoyang and Chang'an first, dates Prince Ying of Chu's devotion to 65 CE, and calls a 2 BCE report legendary.	Approximate date · Several traditions Karyn L. Lai, An Introduction to Chinese Philosophy (Cambridge University Press, 2008), ch. 11 summary
Accession between 78 and 144 CE	Peshawar (ancient Purushapura), Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan	Kanishka, Kushan king and patron of Buddhism. Kanishka, the greatest Kushan king, ruled probably from Purushapura (Peshawar) and is chiefly remembered as a great patron of Buddhism. Xuanzang later recorded a stupa he built near the city and an assembly of monks in Kashmir. Britannica: his accession 'has been estimated as occurring between 78 and 144 CE'. The Mahavamsa says the elder Majjhantika had been sent to Kashmir and Gandhara.	Date disputed · Several traditions Kanishka (biography), Encyclopædia Britannica
c. 2nd century CE	Luy Lau, northeast of Hanoi, Vietnam (approximate position, shown at Thuan Thanh, Bac Ninh)	Early Buddhism at Luy Lau in northern Vietnam. Scholars have generally held that Buddhism reached Vietnam around the 2nd century CE from China. Luy Lau, northeast of today's Hanoi, became one of East Asia's three major centres for translating Buddhist scriptures. Hsu Wen-tang (2021) finds no solid evidence for the route from China and argues it came from the south by sea.	Date disputed · Several traditions Hsu Wen-tang, 'The Wild Girl and the Localization Process of the Buddhism in Vietnam', Taiwan Journal of Religious Studies 20.2 (2021), abstract, DLBS (National Taiwan University)
366 CE	Mogao Caves, near Dunhuang, Gansu, China	The first cave at Mogao, Dunhuang. According to legend, in 366 a monk named Yuezun had a vision of a thousand radiant Buddhas on the cliff at Mogao and began excavating caves. Nearly 500 decorated caves remain today. Both the Getty and the University of Washington's Silk Road Seattle present the 366 founding as legend or tradition.	Traditional account · Several traditions Annelisa Stephan, '14 Fascinating Facts about the Cave Temples of Dunhuang', Getty (10 September 2016)
372 CE	Gungnae, the Goguryeo capital (today Ji'an, Jilin, China)	Buddhism reaches Goguryeo. In the sixth month of 372 the Former Qin ruler Fu Jian sent the monk Sundo to Goguryeo with Buddha images and scriptures; King Sosurim sent thanks and later built temples for Sundo and Ado. The encyclopedia draws on the Goryeo-era histories Samguk sagi and Samguk yusa, which differ on details such as the first temple's name.	Traditional account · Mahāyāna Lee Ki-young, 'Bulgyo' (Buddhism), Encyclopedia of Korean Culture, Academy of Korean Studies
384 CE	Namhansan, Gyeonggi Province, South Korea (the Baekje capital area)	Marananta brings Buddhism to Baekje. In 384 the Indian monk Marananta crossed the sea from Eastern Jin China to Baekje; the king lodged him in the palace, and the next year ten Baekje men were ordained. As dated in the Encyclopedia of Korean Culture, which then reports no Baekje Buddhist record for some 160 years.	Traditional account · Mahāyāna Lee Ki-young, 'Bulgyo' (Buddhism), Encyclopedia of Korean Culture, Academy of Korean Studies
401 CE	Xi'an (ancient Chang'an), Shaanxi, China	Kumarajiva reaches Chang'an and leads translators. Taken to China as a prisoner, the monk Kumarajiva reached Chang'an in 401. There he won the approval of the imperial family and headed a famous school of translators. BDK's translators say he came from the royal family of Kucha and that his Lotus Sutra translation is generally dated to 406.	Historical record · Mahāyāna Kumarajiva (biography), Encyclopædia Britannica
early 5th century CE	Anuradhapura (the Great Monastery), Sri Lanka	Buddhaghosa works at the Great Monastery. Buddhaghosa came to Sri Lanka from India and studied at Anuradhapura, home of the Great Monastery. He set himself to edit and render its Sinhalese commentaries into Pali, and wrote the Visuddhimagga. Nanamoli dates his appearance to the first quarter of the 5th century; the chronicle account of him was written in about the 13th century.	Approximate date · Theravāda Bhikkhu Nanamoli, introduction to The Path of Purification (Visuddhimagga), BPS / Access to Insight
from the 450s CE	Yungang Grottoes, Datong (ancient Pingcheng), Shanxi, China	Northern Wei carves the Yungang caves. After a persecution in 446, the Northern Wei reinstated Buddhism as state religion and from the 450s carved cave temples at Yungang near its capital; five colossal Buddhas are said to commemorate its founding rulers.	Approximate date · Mahāyāna Dorothy C. Wong, 'Colossal Buddha Statues along the Silk Road', Acta Via Serica 4.2 (2019)
527 or 528 CE	Gyeongju, the Silla capital, South Korea	Ichadon's martyrdom and Silla's acceptance. Buddhism reached Silla from Goguryeo but met opposition from the nobility. In 527, after the martyrdom of Ichadon, King Beopheung overcame the opponents and proclaimed Buddhism accepted. Usually dated 527, following the Samguk yusa; the Samguk sagi and Choe Chiwon's Bongamsa stele inscription give 528 (Encyclopedia of Korean Culture).	Date disputed · Mahāyāna Lee Ki-young, 'Bulgyo' (Buddhism), Encyclopedia of Korean Culture, Academy of Korean Studies
538 or 552 CE	Yamato court, Japan (shown at Asuka, Nara Prefecture; the source names no site)	Buddhism officially reaches Japan from Baekje. Buddhism was officially introduced to the Japanese court from the Korean kingdom of Baekje (Paekche) in the reign of Emperor Kinmei. It had probably been practised earlier among immigrant clans. The Nihon shoki gives 552; a biography of Prince Shotoku and the Gangoji records give 538.	Date disputed · Mahāyāna Sato Makoto, 'Shinto and Buddhism', Encyclopedia of Shinto, Kokugakuin University
6th-7th century CE	Bamiyan valley, Afghanistan	The colossal Buddhas of Bamiyan. Two colossal Buddhas, 53 and 38 metres tall, were carved into the cliffs at Bamiyan, in a kingdom with Buddhist rulers. Xuanzang passed through in the early 7th century. Radiocarbon dates reported in 2011: smaller 544-595, larger 591-644 CE. Wong (2019) dates the larger to the 7th century and the smaller probably to the 8th.	Date disputed · Several traditions Dorothy C. Wong, 'Colossal Buddha Statues along the Silk Road', Acta Via Serica 4.2 (2019)
636 CE	Nalanda, Bihar, India	Xuanzang studies at Nalanda. The Chinese pilgrim Xuanzang spent most of his time abroad at Nalanda, a walled monastic city with over ten thousand Mahayana monks, and in 636 became the disciple of its abbot Silabhadra.	Historical record · Mahāyāna Der Huey Lee, 'Xuanzang (Hsuan-tsang)', Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy
7th century CE	Lhasa, Tibet, China	Songtsen Gampo introduces Buddhism to Tibet. Tibetan accounts credit King Songtsen Gampo with introducing Buddhism in the 7th century. His Nepalese and Chinese brides are remembered for their contributions to it, and he sent students, among them Thonmi Sambhota, to India. This is the tradition's own account, as the Central Tibetan Administration gives it.	Traditional account · Mahāyāna Dorjee Thinley (ed.), Tibet at a Glance (Central Tibetan Administration)
629-645 CE	Xi'an (ancient Chang'an), Shaanxi, China	Xuanzang returns to Chang'an with scriptures. Defying an imperial ban, Xuanzang left Chang'an for India in 629. He returned by way of Khotan and Dunhuang in 645 with Sanskrit texts, and spent the rest of his life translating them.	Historical record · Mahāyāna Der Huey Lee, 'Xuanzang (Hsuan-tsang)', Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy
671 CE	Palembang, South Sumatra, Indonesia (Yijing's Bhoga or Sribhoja, as identified by his translator)	Yijing studies Sanskrit at Bhoga in Sumatra. In 671 the Chinese monk Yijing sailed south from Kwang-tung on a Persian ship, reached Bhoga within twenty days and stayed six months learning Sanskrit grammar. Its capital was a centre of Buddhist learning with over a thousand monks. Takakusu (1896) identifies Bhoga (Sribhoja) with Palembang. The monks were mostly Mulasarvastivada, with a few Mahayanists in Malayu.	Historical record · Several traditions I-tsing, A Record of the Buddhist Religion, trans. J. Takakusu (Oxford, 1896), Internet Archive
751-774 CE	Seokguram, Mount Toham, Gyeongju, South Korea	Seokguram cave-temple under Unified Silla. On Mount Toham outside Gyeongju, the Silla chief minister Kim Daeseong dedicated the Seokguram cave-temple. Work began in 751 and was completed after his death in 774, when the government took the project over.	Historical record · Mahāyāna Dorothy C. Wong, 'Colossal Buddha Statues along the Silk Road', Acta Via Serica 4.2 (2019)
752 CE	Todai-ji, Nara, Japan	Todai-ji's Great Buddha is completed. Emperor Shomu, who adopted Buddhism as a state religion and founded a network of state temples, ordered a colossal Vairocana in 743. Completed in 752, it was housed in Todai-ji's Great Buddha Hall. The original statue and hall were later destroyed; today's are smaller.	Historical record · Mahāyāna Dorothy C. Wong, 'Colossal Buddha Statues along the Silk Road', Acta Via Serica 4.2 (2019)
8th century CE	Samye, Dranang County, Lhoka, Tibet, China	Samye, Tibet's first monastery. The Indian philosopher Shantarakshita founded Tibet's first Buddhist monastery at Samye, served as its first abbot and ordained the first seven Tibetan monks. SEP dates him 725-788, with his last fifteen years in Tibet. The Central Tibetan Administration's account credits King Trisong Detsen's invitation and Padmasambhava's help.	Approximate date · Vajrayāna James Blumenthal and James Apple, 'Santaraksita', Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy
c. 800 CE	Borobudur, Magelang, Central Java, Indonesia	Borobudur is built in Central Java. Founded by a king of the Sailendra dynasty, Borobudur was built around 800: stupas, terraces and a ritual diagram (mandala) raised on several levels around a natural hill. Eiji Hattori (UNESCO Courier, 1994) writes that the Sailendra rulers had converted to Mahayana Buddhism.	Approximate date · Mahāyāna ICOMOS, advisory body evaluation of Borobudur Temple Compounds (no. 592), UNESCO archive
843-845 CE	Xi'an (ancient Chang'an), the Tang capital, China (shown here; the suppression was empire-wide)	Emperor Wuzong's suppression of Buddhism. In 843-845 the Tang emperor Wuzong suppressed Buddhism. Britannica notes an economic motive: amid a financial crisis, he and his advisers hoped to seize the monasteries' lands and wealth. The Encyclopedia of Korean Culture says the suppression and later wars dealt Chinese Buddhism a severe blow, though Chan and Pure Land kept growing.	Historical record · Mahāyāna Wuzong (entry), Encyclopædia Britannica
1042, or 1038	Toling, Zanda County, Ngari, Tibet, China	Atisha arrives in Tibet. Invited by the rulers of Purang-Guge in western Tibet, the Bengal-born master Atisha came to Tibet and stayed for the rest of his life. He wrote the Lamp for the Path to Enlightenment at the Toling temple. Britannica gives 1038 or 1042. Go Lotsawa's Blue Annals settles on 1042, saying all Kadampas agree on a Horse year but not its element.	Date disputed · Vajrayāna Introduction to Atisha, Lamp for the Path to Enlightenment, Lotsawa House
1057 (Thaton story); reign 1044-77	Bagan (Pagan), Mandalay Region, Myanmar	Anawrahta (Aniruddha) of Pagan and the Thaton story. Britannica says Anawrahta, king at Pagan from 1044 to 1077, introduced his people to Theravada Buddhism and in 1057 captured the Mon city of Thaton. Michael Aung-Thwin (2005) finds no evidence for the Thaton conquest; its full story first appears in U Kala's chronicle of 1712-1720.	Date disputed · Theravāda Anawrahta (biography), Encyclopædia Britannica
1070s CE	Polonnaruwa, Sri Lanka	Monks from Burma restore Sri Lanka's ordination. After defeating the Cholas in 1070, King Vijayabahu I, ruling from Polonnaruwa, could not find the five ordained monks an ordination needs. At his request King Anuruddha (Anawrahta) of Burma sent senior monks who re-established the Sangha. Perera adds that Sri Lanka later restored higher ordination from Siam in the 18th century, and from Amarapura in Burma for the Amarapura Nikaya, founded 1803.	Approximate date · Theravāda H. R. Perera, Buddhism in Sri Lanka: A Short History (BPS Wheel 100), Access to Insight
1181-c. 1220 CE (reign)	Bayon, Angkor Thom, Siem Reap, Cambodia	Jayavarman VII and the Bayon at Angkor. Jayavarman VII ruled the Khmer empire of Angkor from 1181 to about 1220. Among many new temples he built the Bayon, which Britannica calls a distinctively Mahayana Buddhist temple at the centre of the royal cult. The Cleveland Museum of Art says that after his death other forms of Buddhism, such as Theravada, became prevalent in Cambodia.	Historical record · Mahāyāna Jayavarman VII (biography), Encyclopædia Britannica
1244 CE	Gansu Province, China (Koten's court; shown at Lanzhou, as the source names only the province)	Sakya Pandita is summoned by the Mongol prince Koten. In 1244 the Tibetan master Sakya Pandita was summoned to the court of the Mongol prince Koten, his young nephew Phagpa entering the empire as a hostage. Sakya Pandita helped establish Tibetan relations with the Mongols. Phagpa later served Qubilai Khan as imperial preceptor.	Historical record · Vajrayāna Christopher P. Atwood, 'Mongol Messenger's Badge (Paiza or Gerege) in Pakpa Script', Project Himalayan Art, Rubin Museum of Art
early-to-mid 2nd millennium CE	India (shown at Sarnath; the decline was gradual and India-wide)	Buddhism declines in India. Buddhism declined across mainland South Asia. Lars Fogelin dates its collapse to the early-to-mid 2nd millennium CE, after monasteries had withdrawn from regular contact with lay people. Causes are debated: Fogelin stresses monasteries' withdrawal from lay life; Giovanni Verardi, Brahmanical opposition and a compromise between orthodox powers and Muslims.	Approximate date · Several traditions Lars Fogelin, An Archaeological History of Indian Buddhism (Oxford University Press, 2015), abstract, DLBS record
1308 CE	Kok Svay Cek, south of the West Baray, near Angkor, Cambodia (approximate position)	Cambodia's earliest dated Pali inscription. A stele dated 1308 CE, from Kok Svay Cek near Angkor Wat, records a donation by Srindravarman in Pali verse and Khmer prose. It is Cambodia's earliest dated Pali composition. Britannica says Theravada was dominant in Cambodia by the 13th and 14th centuries. Skilling notes an undated Pali inscription from Angkor Borei that may be 7th-8th century.	Historical record · Theravāda Peter Skilling, 'The Theravamsa Has Always Been Here: K. 1355 from Angkor Borei', Journal of the Siam Society 107.2 (2019)
1350s CE	Luang Prabang, Laos	Lan Xang receives the Pra Bang from Angkor. According to historical chronicles, Fa Ngum, raised at Angkor, founded Lan Xang in 1353. At his request the Khmer king sent a mission, and in 1358 the Pra Bang image arrived with monks to promote Theravada. Dates come from Lao chronicles.	Traditional account · Theravāda 'Luang Prabang & the Sacred Pra Bang Image', SEAsite Laos, Northern Illinois University (2002)
1361 CE	Sukhothai, Thailand	Sukhothai invites a Sri Lankan-lineage patriarch. In 1361 King Mahadharmaraja I of Sukhothai invited a Mahasami Sangharaja from Martaban, home of 'Ceylon monks' of the most orthodox Theravada tradition, to settle at Sukhothai. The Martaban brotherhood's founder had lived at Udumbaragiri, the forest branch of the Mahavihara at Anuradhapura.	Historical record · Theravāda A. B. Griswold and Prasert na Nagara, 'The Epigraphy of Mahadharmaraja I of Sukhodaya, Part I', Journal of the Siam Society 61.1 (1973)
1578 CE (1577 in one source)	Hohhot, Inner Mongolia, China (Altan Khan's seat; the source does not name the meeting place)	Altan Khan gives Sonam Gyatso the title Dalai Lama. Altan Khan of the Tumed met the Geluk hierarch Sonam Gyatso and granted him the title Dalai Lama, in a period of mass reconversion of Mongols to Buddhism. In 1579-1580 he had a temple built at Hohhot. The Rubin's own glossary gives 1577 for the title; the essay gives 1578.	Date disputed · Vajrayāna Isabelle Charleux, 'Erdeni Juu Monastery', Project Himalayan Art, Rubin Museum of Art (2023)
1586-1587 CE	Erdene Zuu, Kharkhorin, Ovorkhangai, Mongolia	Erdene Zuu, the first Khalkha monastery. Following Altan Khan's example, Abatai Khan met the Dalai Lama, who entrusted him with founding the first Khalkha monastery. Its central temple rose in 1586-1587 beside the ruins of the old Mongol capital, Qara-Qorum. The essay's caption dates the monastery's founding to 1582 and its central temple to 1586-1587.	Historical record · Vajrayāna Isabelle Charleux, 'Erdeni Juu Monastery', Project Himalayan Art, Rubin Museum of Art (2023)
1616 CE	Cheri, north of Thimphu, Bhutan	The Zhabdrung takes refuge in Bhutan. After a dispute in Tibet over his recognition as a rebirth, the Drukpa lama Zhabdrung Ngawang Namgyal (1594-1651) took refuge in 1616 with patrons in what is now Bhutan, worked from monasteries such as Cheri, and founded the state.	Historical record · Vajrayāna John Ardussi, 'Formation of the State of Bhutan', Journal of Bhutan Studies 11 (2004)
1893	Chicago, Illinois, United States	The World's Parliament of Religions, Chicago. At the 1893 Parliament, Anagarika Dharmapala of Ceylon spoke as a Buddhist delegate, and a paper by the Japanese priest Shaku Soyen, 'The Law of Cause and Effect as Taught by Buddha', was read out.	Historical record · Several traditions John Henry Barrows (ed.), The World's Parliament of Religions, vol. 1 (1893), Internet Archive
1899	San Francisco, California, United States	Shin Buddhist missionaries arrive in San Francisco. On 1 September 1899 Shuye Sonoda and Kakuryo Nishijima arrived in San Francisco at the Hongwanji's direction to serve Japanese immigrants. Their work led to the Buddhist Mission of North America, formalised in 1914, and today's Buddhist Churches of America. BCA says today's organisation was signed into being in 1944 at the Topaz camp in Utah.	Historical record · Mahāyāna Steve Terusaki, 'Looking at Our Past as We Look to Our Future', Buddhist Churches of America (12 August 2024)
1924	London, United Kingdom	The Buddhist Society is founded in London. Christmas Humphreys founded the Buddhist Society in 1924, building on the Buddhist Society of Great Britain and Ireland (1907-1926). It describes itself as non-sectarian and one of Europe's oldest Buddhist societies.	Historical record · Several traditions The Buddhist Society, 'History'
14 October 1956	Deekshabhoomi, Nagpur, Maharashtra, India	Ambedkar's conversion at Nagpur. On 14 October 1956 at Deeksha Bhoomi, Nagpur, the monk Chandramani gave B. R. Ambedkar the three refuges and five precepts. Ambedkar then led the assembled crowd, put at five to six lakh, through them.	Historical record · Several traditions Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar: Writings and Speeches, vol. 17 part III (Dr. Ambedkar Foundation, Government of India), pp. 528-530
1959	Dharamsala, Himachal Pradesh, India	The Dalai Lama goes into exile. After the Chinese army crushed the 1959 uprising in Lhasa, the Dalai Lama and some 80,000 Tibetans fled to India, Nepal and Bhutan. His exile administration, set up at Mussoorie, moved to Dharamsala in May 1960. This is the exile administration's own account.	Historical record · Vajrayāna 'About CTA', Central Tibetan Administration
1967	Eskdalemuir, Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland	Samye Ling, a Tibetan centre in Scotland. Choegyam Trungpa and Akong Tulku co-founded a Tibetan Buddhist centre in southern Scotland, naming it in 1967 after Samye; the centre calls it the first Tibetan centre in the West.	Historical record · Vajrayāna Kagyu Samye Ling, 'A Brief History of Kagyu Samye Ling'
1959-1967	Tassajara, Monterey County, California, United States	Shunryu Suzuki and Tassajara. The Soto Zen priest Shunryu Suzuki came to San Francisco in 1959; San Francisco Zen Center grew around him, and in 1967 he founded Tassajara Zen Mountain Center, a Soto Zen training monastery.	Historical record · Mahāyāna San Francisco Zen Center, 'Tassajara' and 'San Francisco Zen Center Lineage'
March 2001	Bamiyan valley, Afghanistan	The Taliban destroy the Bamiyan Buddhas. On 2 March 2001 the Taliban began firing artillery at the two Bamiyan Buddhas; explosives finally dislodged them, and by the end of the month the statues were gone.	Historical record · Several traditions Andrew Lawler, 'Back to Bamiyan, Ten Years Later', Archaeology 64.4 (2011)

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Frequently asked questions

How did Buddhism spread out of India?

Along several paths. South to Sri Lanka, where the chronicles credit the elder Mahinda in the 3rd century BCE; north-west through Gandhara and the Silk Road to China by the 1st century CE, and from China on to Korea and Japan; and, by Tibetan accounts, over the Himalaya to Tibet in the 7th century. Monks also went by sea: in 671 Yijing sailed from China to Sumatra.

When did Buddhism reach China, Korea and Japan?

Buddhism reached China under the Han dynasty in the 1st century CE. The Korean histories date its arrival in Goguryeo to 372 and in Baekje to 384, and Silla's acceptance to 527 or 528. Japanese sources give two dates for its official arrival from Baekje, 552 and 538, and it had probably been practised earlier among immigrant clans.

Why are some routes on the map dashed?

A dashed route rests on a tradition's own account or a disputed date, such as the Sri Lankan chronicles' story of Mahinda or the two dates for Buddhism's arrival in Japan. A solid route rests on firmer evidence. Every event also carries a label saying which kind of evidence it has, and its source.

Why did Buddhism disappear from India?

Not all at once. The archaeologist Lars Fogelin dates its collapse to the early-to-mid second millennium CE, and historians still debate why: Fogelin stresses the monasteries' withdrawal from lay life, Giovanni Verardi Brahmanical opposition. Buddhism returned to India in the 20th century, notably with B. R. Ambedkar's conversion at Nagpur in 1956.

Is anything I do on the map saved?

No. Nothing is stored or sent anywhere. The year and the event you are looking at are kept in the page address, so you can bookmark a view or send it to someone.