# The eastern paths The Buddha, the Vedas, Confucius, Laozi, the gurus of Sikhism, and the younger faiths. *This story part of: Infrastructure and logistics* ## c. 1500 BCE to c. 500 BCE — Vedic period begins Indo-Aryan peoples compose the Vedas, the oldest scriptures of Hinduism, beginning with the Rigveda. The rituals, hymns, and social order of this era form the deepest layer of Hindu tradition. ## c. 1000 BCE — Zoroaster's revelation The prophet Zoroaster preaches devotion to Ahura Mazda and a cosmic struggle between truth and falsehood, founding Zoroastrianism. Traditional and scholarly datings range widely, from around 1500 BC to the sixth century BC. ## c. 800 BCE to c. 500 BCE — The Upanishads are composed Sages compose the principal Upanishads, philosophical texts exploring the self, Brahman, karma, and liberation. They redirect Vedic religion toward the ideas at the heart of later Hinduism. ## c. 551 BCE — Laozi and the Daodejing Tradition attributes the Daodejing to the sage Laozi, placed in the sixth century BC, though scholars date the text's compilation centuries later. The short work becomes the foundational text of Daoism. ## c. 528 BCE — The Buddha's enlightenment Buddhist tradition holds that Siddhartha Gautama attains enlightenment while meditating under the Bodhi tree, becoming the Buddha. His subsequent teaching of the dharma founds Buddhism; the traditional date is around 528 BC, though scholars propose later dates. ## c. 527 BCE — Mahavira and the founding of Jainism Jain tradition holds that Mahavira, the twenty-fourth tirthankara, attains liberation in 527 BC after decades of teaching nonviolence and asceticism. He organizes the Jain community of monks, nuns, and lay followers that continues today. ## c. 500 BCE — Confucius teaches in Lu Confucius gathers disciples and teaches an ethic of humaneness, ritual propriety, and good government. His teachings, collected in the Analects, become the moral foundation of Chinese civilization. ## c. 483 BCE — First Buddhist Council Tradition holds that shortly after the Buddha's death, five hundred senior monks gather at Rajagriha to recite and fix his teachings and the monastic rules. The council begins the preservation of the Buddhist canon. ## c. 260 BCE — Ashoka embraces Buddhism After the bloody conquest of Kalinga, the Mauryan emperor Ashoka turns to Buddhism and promotes it through edicts and missionaries. His patronage transforms Buddhism from a regional sect into a pan-Asian religion. ## c. 200 BCE to c. 200 — The Bhagavad Gita is composed The Bhagavad Gita, Krishna's discourse to Arjuna within the Mahabharata, is composed sometime in the centuries around the turn of the era. It becomes one of Hinduism's most beloved and influential scriptures. ## c. 100 BCE to c. 100 — Emergence of Mahayana Buddhism New sutras and the bodhisattva ideal give rise to the Mahayana movement within Indian Buddhism. Mahayana becomes the dominant form of Buddhism in East Asia. ## c. 29 BCE — Pali Canon written down in Sri Lanka Sri Lankan monks commit the Buddhist scriptures to writing for the first time, according to Theravada tradition. The written Pali Canon anchors the Theravada school of Southeast Asia and Sri Lanka. ## c. 67 — Buddhism reaches China Chinese tradition dates the official arrival of Buddhism to an embassy under Emperor Ming, followed by the founding of the White Horse Temple at Luoyang. Buddhism goes on to become one of China's three major teachings. ## c. 142 — Way of the Celestial Masters founded Tradition holds that Laozi appeared to Zhang Daoling, who founded the Way of the Celestial Masters. It is the first organized Daoist religious community, ancestor of later Daoist churches. ## c. 240 — Mani begins preaching Manichaeism The prophet Mani proclaims a new universal religion built on a dualism of light and darkness, drawing on Christian, Zoroastrian, and Buddhist ideas. Manichaeism spreads from the Roman Empire to China before dying out centuries later. ## c. 400 — Avesta compiled under the Sasanians Zoroastrian priests under the Sasanian dynasty collect and write down the Avesta, the scriptures of Zoroastrianism, after centuries of oral transmission. The canon anchors the faith that was then Persia's state religion. ## c. 520 — Bodhidharma and the origins of Chan Tradition credits the Indian monk Bodhidharma with bringing to China the meditation-centered teaching that becomes Chan Buddhism. Transmitted to Japan centuries later, the school is known there as Zen. ## c. 552 — Buddhism reaches Japan The king of Baekje in Korea sends Buddhist images and scriptures to the Japanese court, the traditional date of Buddhism's arrival in Japan. Some sources place the event in 538. The new religion soon wins imperial patronage. ## c. 641 — Buddhism established in Tibet Tradition links Tibet's conversion to King Songtsen Gampo and his Buddhist wives from Nepal and China. Later kings invite Indian masters such as Padmasambhava, and Buddhism becomes the core of Tibetan civilization. ## 712 — Kojiki compiled, recording Shinto tradition The Japanese court compiles the Kojiki, followed by the Nihon Shoki in 720, recording the myths of the kami and the divine descent of the imperial line. The chronicles give Shinto its first written formalization. ## c. 800 — Adi Shankara and Advaita Vedanta The philosopher Adi Shankara travels across India teaching Advaita Vedanta, the doctrine that the self and Brahman are one, and founds monastic centers. His synthesis deeply shapes later Hindu thought. ## c. 1499 — Guru Nanak's revelation Sikh tradition holds that Guru Nanak emerged from three days at the river with the message that there is neither Hindu nor Muslim, only one God. His teaching founds Sikhism, carried forward by nine successor gurus. ## 1578 — Dalai Lama title conferred The Mongol ruler Altan Khan bestows the title Dalai Lama on the Gelug lama Sonam Gyatso, applied retroactively to his two predecessors. The institution later becomes the spiritual and, for centuries, political leadership of Tibet. ## 1604 — Adi Granth compiled Guru Arjan compiles the Adi Granth, the first authoritative scripture of Sikhism, and installs it in the Harmandir Sahib. Expanded later, it becomes the Guru Granth Sahib, revered as the eternal Guru. ## April 1699 — Founding of the Khalsa At the Vaisakhi festival, Guru Gobind Singh initiates the first five members of the Khalsa, a community of initiated Sikhs bound to a common discipline and identity. The Khalsa defines Sikh practice and community to this day. ## 23 May 1844 — Declaration of the Bab Sayyid Ali Muhammad declares himself the Bab, the gate to a promised divine messenger, founding the Babi movement. Baha'is count this night as the beginning of their faith's history. ## 21 April 1863 — Baha'u'llah's declaration in the Garden of Ridvan Baha'u'llah declares to his companions that he is the messenger foretold by the Bab, founding the Baha'i Faith. The twelve days in the Garden of Ridvan are the holiest festival of the Baha'i calendar. ## 1868 — State Shinto established in Meiji Japan The new Meiji government orders the separation of Shinto from Buddhism and organizes shrine worship under state control. The policy turns Shinto into a formal national institution until its disestablishment in 1945. ## July 1930 — Nation of Islam founded Wallace Fard Muhammad founds the Nation of Islam among Black migrants in Detroit, blending Islamic themes with Black nationalism. Under Elijah Muhammad it grows into a significant American religious movement. ## 2 November 1930 — Coronation of Haile Selassie and the birth of Rastafari Ras Tafari is crowned Emperor Haile Selassie I of Ethiopia. In Jamaica, preachers influenced by Marcus Garvey hail the coronation as the fulfillment of prophecy, and the Rastafari movement takes shape around his divinity.