History of Buddhism

The “three turnings of the wheel of Dharma” were transmissions of the Dharma by the Buddha, skillfully teaching different topics at different times in his life to suit the place and times of the occasion and meet the needs and capacities of his audience.

The Four Buddhist Councils were convened to codify Buddha's teachings. Because of differing opinions among the participants, different Buddhist traditions and tenet systems emerged from many of them.

A short introduction to how Buddhism spread from its beginnings in northern India to become the major belief system across much of Asia.

At a time of massive political upheavals between warring republics and kingdoms, many, including the Buddha, joined the “shramanas” – wandering mendicant spiritual seekers. Buddhism became the fifth of the five shramana schools of the time.

The first women ordained as nuns were Buddha’s maternal aunt and 500 female followers. They were given additional vows to those given to the monks in order to avoid suspicion of this mixed-gender celibate order from society at that time.

The Tibetan monastic tradition of wearing yellow hats began with the revival of the monk ordination in the 11th century and was later adopted by the Gelug tradition as a symbol of renewed monastic purity.

The Mulasarvastivada bhikshu ordination was established in Tibet on three occasions. It was never possible, however, for the Mulasarvastivada bhikshuni ordination lineage to be transmitted to Tibet.

The Theravada monastic ordinations reached Sri Lanka and Myanmar in the 3rd century BCE. Over the centuries, it was re-established in Sri Lanka from Myanmar after a short repression, was spread from Sri Lanka to Thailand, and then from Thailand to Cambodia and from Cambodia to...

Muara Jambi is an ancient center of knowledge in Sumatra that spreads over more than 2,000 hectares and encloses 84 red-brick “temple complexes,” with a similar layout to those of Nalanda University.

Dzogchen is found earliest in the Nyingma and Bon traditions and later incorporated into some of the Kagyu traditions. Learn about its historical development in Tibet from the 8th century to the present.