| c.500BC | The Buddha delivers his silent, yellow flower lecture to Mahakasyapa |
| c.405 BC | Shortly after the Buddha's death, the monks meet to formalize the teachings and regulations. This is referred to as the First Buddhist Council. |
| c.300 BC | Second Buddhist Council is convened to reform delinquent Buddhist groups. New rules are made to more tightly control the behaviour or monks. |
| 200 BC | first Mahayana texts are written |
| c.272-231 BC | Asoka rules India becoming a strong supporter of Buddhism after feeling regret for the people who died in the wars he waged. |
| Circa 50 AD | First Buddhist teachings arrive in China form India. Fairly well received. |
| 372 | Buddhism reaches in Korea |
| 399 | Fa Hsien travels from China to India to retrieve Buddhist texts. His 15 year journey becomes legendary, and is the inspiration for the Monkey Magic stories. |
| 520 | Bodhidharma arrives in China Detail |
| 552 | Buddhist texts arrive in Japan. |
| 638 | Zen Master Huineng is born Detail |
| c750 | Borobudur built |
| 868 | The Diamond Cutting Sutra is printed using high quality printing blocks. This becomes the earliest existing example of printed text. |
| 1141-1215 | Eisai takes Linchi Ch'an to Japan, starting Rinzai Zen |
| 1150 | The Blue Cliff Record, a collection of Koan, is compiled. |
| 1200 | Dogen takes Ts'ao-tung Ch'an to Japan, starting the Soto Zen school |
| 1227 | Linchi Zen is transferred to Rinzai |
| 1500 | Japanese Zen Gardens gain popularity |
| c.1800 | Buddhism reaches the West |
| 1930 | Platform Sutra translated into English |
| 1950 | D.T. Suzuki begins lecturing on Zen in America |
| 1959 | Empty Cloud passes away. Detail |
