Vasubandhu was an influential Buddhist monk and scholar from Gandhara. He was a philosopher who wrote commentary on the Abhidharma, from the perspectives of the Sarvastivada and Sautrāntika schools. After his conversion to Mahayana Buddhism, along with his half-brother, Asanga, he was also one of the main founders of the Yogacara school.
Gandharan monk and Yogacara philosopher Vasubandhu as Chan patriarch in a Chinese illustration.
Vasubandhu: Wood, 186 cm height, about 1208, Kofukuji Temple, Nara, Japan
The Abhidharma are a collection of Buddhist texts dating from the 3rd century BCE onwards, which contain detailed scholastic presentations of doctrinal material appearing in the canonical Buddhist scriptures and commentaries. It also refers to the scholastic method itself, as well as the field of knowledge that this method is said to study.
Depiction of the First Council at Rajgir, a painting at the Nava Jetavana, Shravasti.
Seated Buddha from the Sarvāstivādin monastery of Tapa Shotor, 2nd century CE
Buddhaghosa (c. 5th century), the most important Abhidhamma scholar of Theravāda, presenting three copies of the Visuddhimagga.
Vasubandhu's Abhidharmakośabhāsya is a major source in Tibetan and East Asian Buddhism.