Vasubandhu is considered the co-founder of the Yogacara school (“practices of spiritual discipline”) of Mahayana Buddhism. In reality, he is a populizer of the teachings, as much of the yogacarin system was circulating for at least 100 years prior to his career. Be that as it may, Vasubandhu’s works have profoundly impacted East Asian Buddhism; primarily through Ch’an and its descendants.
Ben Connelly, a dharma heir in the Dainin Katagiri lineage of Soto Zen, has written a wonderful and accessible piece based on Vasubandhu’s 30 Verses. He enlivens an explanation of the Buddhist psychology presented in the verses with personal anecdotes that give us a direct entry point to practice.
This easy-to-read translation and commentary is a gateway into the very foundations of non-dual Buddhist thought and the foundational framework for deep meditation practice. What I love about this system is how it presents a rigorous intellectual exploration of the way we create our reality and how our reality creates us.
In my view, the most powerful teachings will include:
- a coherent and rational philosophical perspective.
- a rigorous intellectual examination of non-rational belief structures.
- an actual practice that leads to a hyper-rational experience that proves the validity of the first two.
Yogacara checks all the boxes!