Rev. Danny Fisher

Today’s quote is from Vasubandhu (4th century CE), whose life and worked are summed up well by the great Buddhist scholar Dan Lusthaus:

Vasubandhu, who lived around the Fourth century CE, was one of India’s most prominent Buddhist philosophers. His prolific writings record an odyssey through the systems of the leading Buddhist schools of his day. Though primarily venerated by later Buddhists as co-founder of the Yogaacaara school with his half-brother Asa`nga, his pre-Yogaacaara works, such as the Abhidharma-ko`sa and his auto-commentary (-bhaa.sya) on it, have continued to be seriously studied until the present day. He wrote commentaries on many Mahaayaana texts, works on logic, devotional poetry, works on Abhidharma classifications (see below), as well as original and innovative philosophical treatises. Many of his writings survive in their original Sanskrit form, but others, particularly his commentaries, are extant only in Chinese or Tibetan translations.

This is it:

Those who wish to teach the meaning of the sūtras,

Should be offered a few words of practical advice.

The practical instruction I refer to is as follows:

Relate the teaching’s purpose and its basic theme,

The meaning of the words and the logic of their sequence,

And offer a response to any possible objections.