The Vijñaptimātrins

When Vasubandhu embarked upon the study of the Prajñapāramitā Sutras along with his elder brother Asanga, he instantaneously knew why she was the mother of all Buddhas. Prajñapāramitā means the perfection of wisdom and it is the perfection of wisdom which gives birth to a bodhisattva and nurtures her to buddha-hood. He quickly became as proficient in wisdom sutras as his elder brother and dedicated the rest of his life to practicing and promoting the Buddha's teachings.

However, before we learn more about Vasubandhu, Asanga and the Vijñaptimātrins here's a bit of historical background on Buddhism. One hundred years after Buddha's parinirvāna, his "Order of Enlightenment" split. This happened because a large majority of the monks were dissatisfied with the manner in which Arhats were being recognized. They felt that many vinaya rules needed revision and that the Bodhisattva ideal needed to be promoted over arhat-ship as seeking happiness for others was a more desirable quality than seeking happiness for oneself and because it is, after all, the Bodhisattva who goes on to become a Buddha. These monks were greater in number and hence called themselves the Mahāsanghikās (the greater community) and their sect was later termed as Mahāyāna (the greater vehicle). Those who opposed them were termed Sthaviras (elders) and their sect was to be known as Sthavirvāda. As the Sthaviras were minority, they had to move to Kashmir. From Sthavirvāda originated many schools like Sarvāstivāda and modern day Theravāda.

Vasubandhu was born in the Gāndhāra province (now in Afghanistan and Pakistan). There were many philosophical schools in his time. The smartest among the youth preferred to study philosophy. They would study in monastic universities and practice vegetarianism and celibacy. Those who accepted the authority of the Vedās were termed āstikas (theists) and those who didn't were known as nāstikas (atheists). Prominent among the nāstika schools were Cārvāka, Buddhist and Jain schools. Prominent among the āstika schools were Mimāmsa, Sankhya, Yoga, Nyāya, Vaisheshika and Vedānt. They studied together in the same universities despite the contrasting beliefs. There were two prominent Sarvāstivāda (the school that teaches that everything exists) schools in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Kashmir regions - the Sautrāntikas (those who uphold the sutras) and the Vaibhāshikas (those who uphold the Abhidharma Mahāvibhasha).

Vasubandhu first studied the Sautrāntika philosophy and then moved to Kashmir to study the Vaibhāshika philosophy. He then taught philosophy at a monastery in Sialkot before settling down in Ayodhyā, Uttar Pradesh. At that time the King of India was Vikramāditya (Chandra Gupta ll) of the Gupta dynasty. When Vasubandhu's elder brother, Asanga, realized emptiness after twelve years of meditation he hurried to Ayodhyā to share his wisdom with his sibling. That is how Vasubandhu came into contact with the Prajñapāramitā teachings. Together, the two brothers founded what was later known as the Yogacāra (the practice of Yoga) group of schools. Among the many texts that Vasubandhu wrote were the verses on Vijñaptimatra (manifestation only) theory. Those who upheld the Vijñaptimatra theory were termed Vijñaptimātrins - the ones who believe that everything is a manifestation.

It was common in those days for scholars to debate. Through debate one would know the shortcomings of one's view. The scholar who would win the debate would share his insights with one who lost. Using the insight the he had acquired from studying the Prajñaparamita sutras, Vasubandhu defeated all prominent scholars on the debate ground. Thus Ayodhyā became the home of Yogacāra/Vijñaptimatra philosophy. One of the famous arguments put forward by Vasubandhu shattered the Sarvāstivad belief that everything exists. Vasubandhu argued that there was no evidence to suggest that anything existed. If an object was deemed to be existent because it is cognizable, then all objects in a dream are also cognizable. Vasubandhu pointed out to the Sarvāstivādins that their idea of reality was no better than a dream. Vasubandhu created the foundation for the development of logical thoughts for the future generations.

Finally when the most prominent Sankhya scholar admitted defeat, a delighted King Chandra Gupta ll awarded Vasubandhu 300,000 gold coins. Vasubandhu used this money to build two monasteries for monks and a nunnery. One monastery he gifted to the Sarvāstivādins and the other to those who focused on the Prajñapāramitā teachings.

The Vijñaptimatra teachings were transmitted to China through monks like Bodhidharma and Xuanzang (Huen Tsang). From China the teachings traveled to Japan, Korea and Vietnam. Today, thanks to the kind and benevolent Buddha Thich Nhat Hanh, we all have access to Vijñaptimatra teachings. We are forever grateful to him.

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