Maitreya-nātha is a name whose use was pioneered by Buddhist scholars Erich Frauwallner, Giuseppe Tucci, and Hakuju Ui to distinguish one of the three founders of the Yogacara school of Buddhist philosophy, along with Asanga and Vasubandhu. Some scholars believe this Maitreya to be a historical person in India. The traditions themselves have held that it is referring to Maitreya, the future buddha.
Tibetan depiction of Asanga receiving teachings from Maitreya in the Tushita heaven.
Yogachara is an influential tradition of Buddhist philosophy and psychology emphasizing the study of cognition, perception, and consciousness through the interior lens of meditation, as well as philosophical reasoning (hetuvidyā). Yogachara was one of the two most influential traditions of Mahayana Buddhism in India, along with Madhyamaka.
Maitreya meditating, 2nd century CE, Loriyan Tangai, Indian Museum, Kolkata
The bodhisattva Maitreya and disciples, a central figure in Yogacara origin myth. Gandhara, 3rd century CE.
Panorama of the site of Vikramaśīla university (Bhagalpur district, Bihar). Vikramaśīla was an important center for late Indian Yogacara scholars, including the great panditas like Jñānaśrīmitra and Ratnākaraśānti.
Statue of a traveling Xuanzang at Longmen Grottoes, Luoyang
