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Asanga
From Citizendium, the Citizens' Compendium
Asaṅga (無着, also called Aryasanga; born c. 300 C.E.) was an Indian exponent of Yogācāra and is considered, along with his brother Vasubandhu, to have been the founder of this religious school.
Asanga was born during the fourth century in Gandhāra in north India, as a Brahmin's son. He was perhaps originally a member of the Mahīśāsaka, or the Mūlasarvāstivāda school. But after many years of intense meditation, he converted to Mahāyāna. some traditions say that, during this meditative period, he often visited Tushita Heaven to receive teachings from Maitreya-nātha. [1] Asanga wrote many of the key Yogācāra treatises, including the Yogācārabhūmi-śāstra, the Mahāyāna-samgraha and the Abhidharma-samuccaya, although there are discrepancies between Chinese and Tibetan traditions as to which works should be attributed to him and which to Maitreya-nātha.[2]
References
Bibliography
- Giuseppe Tucci On Some Aspects of the Doctrines of Maitreya (natha) and the Asanga. Calcutta, 1930
- Alex Wayman "Doctrinal Affiliation of the Buddhist Master Asanga", in his Untying the Knots in Buddhism: Selected Essays. Buddhist Tradition Series, volume 28. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, 1997. ISBN 81-208-1321-9
