Vasubandhu 世親論師
Vasubandhu (Skt.; Tib. དབྱིག་གཉེན་, Yiknyen; Wyl. dbyig gnyen) numbers among the ‘Six Ornaments’, the greatest Buddhist authorities of Ancient India. He was the younger brother of Asanga, and composed The Treasury of Abhidharma (Skt. Abhidharmakosha), a complete and systematic account of the Abhidharma, the peak of scholarship in the Fundamental Vehicle. Later he followed the Mahayana Yogachara view, and wrote many works, such as Thirty Stanzas on the Mind (Trimsikavijñapti-karika).
His Writings
- Abhidharmakosha
- Analysis of the Five Skandhas
- Thirty Stanzas
- Treatise on Karma
- Treatise on the Three Natures
- Twenty Stanzas
- Well Explained Reasoning
His Disciples
He famously had four students who were more learned than himself: Sthiramati, who was more learned in Abhidharma; Dignāga, who was more learned in Pramāṇa; Guṇaprabha, who was more learned in the Vinaya; and Arya Vimuktasena, who was more learned in Prajñāpāramitā.
Further Reading
- Lobsang N. Tsonawa, Indian Buddhist Pandits from The Jewel Garland of Buddhist History, Dharamsala: Library of Tibetan Works and Archives, 1985.
- Stefan Anacker, Seven Works of Vasubandhu: The Buddhist Psychological Doctor, Motilal Banarsidass, 2nd Edition, 2002
