© Nanabozho (Gichi Wabush)

Dernière mise à jour: 25 mai 2007

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Cette chronologie expose certains des événements et des personnalités les plus signifiants pour l'évolution du Bouddhisme Theravada, et qu'on trouve, d'une manière ou d'une autre, à une place importante dans les lectures qu'on trouve sur ce site. Ce qui n'implique en rien qu'elle se veuille exhaustive.

Comme les sources utilisées pour la rédiger (indiquées entre accolades {} et dont on trouvera la liste à la fin de ce document) donnent souvent des dates différentes pour la nativité du Bouddha, j'ai parfois dû interpoler afin que les événements (surtout les plus anciens) s'insèrent dans une chronologie cohérente. Néanmoins, cette chronologie devrait donner une image assez claire de la séquence relative de ces événements, sinon les dates absolues où ils ont eu lieu.



BE1   EC2
-80   -624/-560
Le Bodhisatta (sanscrit: Bodhisattva), ou Buddha-à-être, nait à Lumbini (dans l'actuel Népal) Siddhattha (sct: Siddhartha) Gotama,  prince du clan Sakya. {1,2}
-51   -595/-531
Le Bodhisatta renonce à la vie domestique (âgé de 29 ans).
-45   -589/-525
Alors qu'il médite sous l'arbre Bo dans la forêt de Gaya (maintenant Bodhgaya, Inde) pendant la nuit de la pleine lune de mai, le Bodhisatta devient le Bouddha (âgé de 36 ans).

Au cours de la nuit de pleine lune de juillet, le Bouddha donne son premier discours près de Varanasi, annonçant au monde les Quatre Noble Vérités et amorçant une carrière de 45 ans à enseigner la religion qu'il appelle "Dhamma-vinaya."

1   -544/-480
Parinibbana (sct: Parinirvana; mort et libération finale) du Bouddha, à Kusinara (maintenant Kusinagar, Inde) (âgé de 80 ans). {1,3}

Au cours de la retraite de mousson qui suit son Parinibbana, le Premier Concile (sangayana) se réunit à Rajagaha, Inde, et 500  bhikkhus arahants, menés par le vén. Mahakassapa, s'y rassemblent pour réciter le corps tout entier de ses enseignements. La récitation du Vinaya par le vén. Upali est acceptée comme Vinaya Pitaka; la récitation du Dhamma par le vén. Ananda est établie comme Sutta Pitaka. {1,4}

100   -444/-380
100 ans après le Parinibbana du Bouddha, le Second Concilese réunit à Vesali pour discuter des points controversés du Vinaya. Un premier schisme déchire le Sangha, alors que l'école Mahasanghika se sépare des traditionnalistes Sthaviravadins. Le problème était la réticence des Mahasanghika à accepter les Suttas et le Vinaya en tant qu'autorité suprême des enseignements du Bouddha. Ce schisme marque les tout débuts de ce qui deviendrait plus tard le Bouddhisme Mahâyana, qui devait dominer l'Asie septentrionale (Chine, Tibet, Japon, Corée). {1}
294   -250
Le troisième Concile est convoqué par l' Empereur Asokaà Pataliputra (Inde). Les dissensions sur divers points de doctrine entaînent de nouveaux schismes, qui donnent naissance aux écoles Sarvastivadin et Vibhajjavadin. On récite l'Abhidhamma Pitaka lors de ce Concile, en plus des sections traditionnelles du Khuddaka Nikaya. Le Tipitaka Pali moderne est désormais essentiellement complet, même si certains spécialistes ont pu suggérer qu'au moins deux parties du canon existant — le Parivara dans le Vinaya, et l'Apadana dans les Suttas — pourrait bien dater d'une période ultérieure. {1, 4}
297   -247
L'empereur Asoka envoie son fils, le vén. Mahinda, en mission pour porter le bouddhisme au Sri Lanka. Conversion du roi Devanampiya Tissa du Sri Lanka. {5}
304   -240
Le vén. Mahinda fonde le Mahavihara (Grand Monastère) d'Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka. La communauté Vibhajjavadin qui y vit finit par être connue sous le nom de Theravadins. Mahinda compile les premiers commentaires du Tipitaka, en langue Sinhala. La soeur de Mahinda, la vén. Sanghamitta, arrive au Sri Lanka avec une bouture de l'arbre Bo d'origine, et fonde le sangha des bhikkhuni au Sri Lanka.{1, 5}
444   -100
Famine et schismes au Sri Lanka font comprendre la nécessité d'archives écrites du Tipitaka pour préserver le bouddhisme. Le roi Vattagamani convoque un Quatrième Concile, au cours duquel 500 récitants et scribes du Mahavihara mettent le Tipitaka Pâli par écrit pour la première fois, sur des feuilles de palmier. {4, 5, 6}
544   1
Début de l'Ere courante (EC); 1ère de l'ère chrétienne (AD).
644   100
Première apparition du Bouddhisme Theravada en Birmanie et en Thaïlande centrale. {1}
744   200
L'Université monastique bouddhique de Nalanda, Inde, s'épanouit; elle restera un centre mondial d'études pour le Bouddhisme pendant plus de 1,000 ans. {1}
ca. 1000   5th c.
Ven. Buddhaghosa collates the various Sinhala commentaries on the Canon — drawing primarily on the Maha Atthakatha (Great Commentary) preserved at the Mahavihara — and translates them into Pali. This makes Sinhala Buddhist scholarship available for the first time to the entire Theravadan world and marks the beginning of what will become, in the centuries to follow, a vast body of post-canonical Pali literature. Buddhaghosa also composes his encyclopedic, though controversial, meditation manual Visuddhimagga (The Path of Purification). Vens. Buddhadatta and Dhammapala write additional commentaries and sub-commentaries. {7}
ca. 1100   600's
Buddhism in India begins a long, slow decline from which it would never fully recover. {1}
ca. 1100? 1400?   6th c.? 9th c.?
Dhammapala composes commentaries on parts of the Canon missed by Buddhaghosa (such as the Udana, Itivuttaka, Theragatha, and Therigatha), along with extensive sub-commentaries on Buddhaghosa's work. {7}
1594   1050
The bhikkhu and bhikkhuni communities at Anuradhapura die out following invasions from South India.{1, 5}
1614   1070
Bhikkhus from Pagan arrive in Polonnaruwa, Sri Lanka to reinstate the obliterated Theravada ordination line on the island. {5}
1697   1153
Buddhist Concile (the 5th by Sri Lankan reckoning; the 7th by Thai reckoning) in Sri Lanka. {12}
1708   1164
Polonnaruwa destroyed by foreign invasion. With the guidance of two monks from a forest branch of the Mahavihara sect — Vens. Mahakassapa and Sariputta — King Parakramabahu reunites all bhikkhus in Sri Lanka into the Mahavihara sect. {1, 8}
1780   1236
Bhikkhus from Kañcipuram, India arrive in Sri Lanka to revive the Theravada ordination line. {1}
1823   1279
Last inscriptional evidence of a Theravada Bhikkhuni nunnery (in Burma). {8}
1831   1287
Pagan looted by Mongol invaders; its decline begins. {1}
ca. 1900   13th c.
A forest-based Sri Lankan ordination line arrives in Burma and Thailand. Theravada spreads to Laos. Thai Theravada monasteries first appear in Cambodia shortly before the Thais win their independence from the Khmers. {1}
ca. 2000   1400's
Another forest lineâgé de is imported from Sri Lanka to Ayudhaya, the Thai capital. A new ordination line is also imported into Burma. {1}
2297   1753
King Kirti Sri Rajasinha obtains bhikkhus from the Thai court to reinstate the bhikkhu ordination line, which had died out in Sri Lanka. This is the origin of the Siyam Nikaya. {8}
2312   1768
Burmese destroy Ayudhaya (Thai capital).
2321   1777
King Rama I, founder of the current dynasty in Thailand, obtains copies of the Tipitaka from Sri Lanka and sponsors a Concile to standardize the Thai version of the Tipitaka, copies of which are then donated to temples throughout the country. {1}
2347   1803
Sri Lankans ordained in the Burmese city of Amarapura found the Amarapura Nikaya in Sri Lanka to supplement the Siyam Nikaya, which admitted only brahmans from the Up Country highlands around Kandy. {9}
2372   1828
Thailand's Prince Mongkut (later King Rama IV) founds the Dhammayut movement, which would later become the Dhammayut Sect. {1}
ca. 2400   1800's
Sri Lankan Sangha deteriorates under pressure from two centuries of European colonial rule (Portuguese, Dutch, British). {5}
2406   1862
Forest monks headed by Ven. Paññananda go to Burma for reordination, returning to Sri Lanka the following year to found the Ramañña Nikaya. {9} First translation of the Dhammapada into a Western languâgé de (German). {2}
2412   1868
Buddhist Concile (the 5th by Burmese reckoning) is held at Mandalay, Burma; Pali Canon is inscribed on 729 marble slabs. {2}
2417   1873
Ven. Mohottivatte Gunananda defeats Christian missionaries in a public debate, sparking a nationwide revival of Sri Lankan pride in its Buddhist traditions. {8}
2423   1879
Sir Edwin Arnold publishes his epic poem Light of Asia, which becomes a best-seller in England and the USA, stimulating popular Western interest in Buddhism.
2424   1880
Helena Blavatsky and Henry Steel Olcott, founders of the Theosophical Society, arrive in Sri Lanka from the USA, embrace Buddhism, and begin a campaign to restore Buddhism on the island by encouraging the establishment of Buddhist schools. {1}
2425   1881
Pali Text Society is founded in England by T.W. Rhys Davids; most of the Tipitaka is published in roman script and, over the next 100 years, in English translation.
2435   1891
Maha Bodhi Society founded in India by the Sri Lankan lay follower Anagarika Dharmapala, in an effort to reintroduce Buddhism to India. {1}
2443   1899
First Western Theravada monk (Gordon Douglas) ordains, in Burma. {2}
ca. 2444   ca. 1900
Ven. Ajaan Mun and Ven. Ajaan Sao revive the forest meditation tradition in Thailand. {1}
2445   1902
King Rama V of Thailand institutes a Sangha Act that formally marks the beginnings of the Mahanikaya and Dhammayut sects. Sangha government, which up to that time had been in the hands of a lay official appointed by the king, is handed over to the bhikkhus themselves.
2493   1949
Mahasi Sayadaw becomes head teacher at a government-sponsored meditation center in Rangoon, Burma. {10}
2498   1954
Burmese government sponsors a Buddhist Concile (the 6th by Burmese and Sri Lankan reckoning) in Rangoon.
2500   1956
Buddha Jayanti Year, commemorating 2,500 years of Buddhism.
2502   1958
Ven. Nyanaponika Thera establishes the Buddhist Publication Society in Sri Lanka to publish English-languâgé de books on Bouddhisme Theravada. » Sarvodaya Shramadana Movement is founded in Sri Lanka to bring Buddhist ideals to bear in solving pressing social problems. Two Germans ordain at the Royal Thai Embassy in London, becoming the first to take full Theravada ordination in the West. {1, 2}
ca. 2504   1960's 3
Washington (D.C.) Buddhist Vihara founded — first Theravada monastic community in the USA. {11; and Bhavana Society Brochure}
ca. 2514   1970's
Refugees from war in Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos settle in USA and Europe, establishing many tight-knit Buddhist communities in the West. Ven. Taungpulu Sayadaw and Dr. Rina Sircar, from Burma, establish the » Taungpulu Kaba-Aye Monastery in Northern California, USA. Ven. Ajaan Chah establishes » Wat Pah Nanachat, a forest monastery in Thailand for training Western monks. » Insight Meditation Society, a lay meditation center, is founded in Massachusetts, USA. Ven. Ajaan Chah travels to England to establish a small community of monks at the Hamsptead Vihara, which later moves to Sussex, England, to become Wat Pah Cittaviveka (Chithurst Forest Monastery).
ca. 2524   1980's
Lay meditation centers grow in popularity in USA and Europe. First Theravada forest monastery in the USA (» Bhavana Society) is established in West Virginia. » Amaravati Buddhist Monastery established in England by Ven. Ajaan Sumedho (student of Ven. Ajaan Chah).
ca. 2534   1990's
Continued western expansion of the Theravada Sangha: monasteries from the Thai forest traditions established in California, USA (» Metta Forest Monastery, founded by Ven. Ajaan Suwat; » Abhayagiri Monastery, founded by Ven. Ajaans Amaro and Pasanno). Buddhism meets cyberspace: online Buddhist information networks emerge; several editions of the Pali Tipitaka become available online.

Notes

1. BE = Buddhist Era. Year 1 of the Buddhist Era calendar is the year of the Buddha's Parinibbana (death and final release), which occurred in the Buddha's eightieth year (480 BCE according to the "historical" timeline; 544 BCE by tradition).

The actual date of the Buddha's birth is unknown. According to Buddhist tradition, the Buddha's birth took place in 624 BCE, although some recent estimates place the Buddha's birth much later — perhaps as late as 448 BCE {1}. 560 BCE is one commonly accepted date for the Buddha's birth, and the "historical" date for that event that I adopt here.

Events in the timeline prior to -250 CE are shown with two CE dates: the date based on the "traditional" nativity of 624 BCE, followed by the date based on the "historical" date of 560 BCE. After -250 CE the "historical" date is dropped, since these dates are more appropriate only in discussions of earlier events.

To calculate the CE date corresponding to an event in the Buddhist traditional calendar, subtract 544 years from the BE date. The BE dates of well-documented historical events (particularly those in the twentieth century) may be off by one year, since the CE and BE calendars start their years on different months (January and May, respectively).

2. CE = Common Era. Year 1 of the Common Era corresponds with the year 1 AD (Anno Domini) in the Christian calendar. -1 CE (or 1 BCE — "Before the Common Era") corresponds with the year 1 BC ("Before Christ"). By convention there is no year zero; the year 1 BCE is followed by 1 CE.

3. Events of the last few decades are still much too fresh in our collective experience to argue intelligently for or against their historical significance.


Sources

  • {1} The Buddhist Religion: A Historical Introduction (fourth edition) by R.H. Robinson & W.L. Johnson (Belmont, California: Wadsworth, 1996)
  • {2} The Buddha's Way by H. Saddhatissa (London: Allen & Unwin, 1971)
  • {3} Pali Literature and Languâgé de by Wilhelm Geiger (New Delhi: Oriental Books, 1978)
  • {4} Beginnings: the Pali Suttas by Samanera Bodhesako (Kandy: Buddhist Publication Society, 1984)
  • {5} Buddhism in Sri Lanka by H.R. Perera (Kandy: Buddhist Publication Society, 1966)
  • {6} The Path of Purification (Visuddhimagga) (Introduction) by Ven. Bhikkhu Ñanamoli (Kandy: Buddhist Publication Society, 1975)
  • {7} Indian Buddhism (second edition) by A.K. Warder (Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, 1980)
  • {8} Bouddhisme Theravada: A Social History from Ancient Benares to Modern Colombo by Richard Gombrich (London and New York: Routledge and Kegan Paul, 1988)
  • {9} The Forest Monks of Sri Lanka: An Anthropological and Historical Study by Michael Carrithers (Delhi: Oxford University Press, 1983)
  • {10} The Progress of Insight by Mahasi Sayadaw (Kandy: Buddhist Publication Society, 1994)
  • {11} World Buddhist Directory by The Buddhist Information Centre (Colombo, Sri Lanka: Buddhist Information Centre, 1984)
  • {12} Buddhism in Thailand: Its Past and Its Present by Karuna Kusalasaya (Kandy, Sri Lanka: Buddhist Publication Society, 2005), note 3.