When did Asanga live and where was he born?
Asanga flourished in the fourth century of the Common Era. Some records place his birth in Puruśapura, a city now known as Peshawar in Pakistan within the ancient kingdom of Gandhāra.
Questions about Asanga
Short answers, pulled from the story.
What is the story behind Asanga's journey to Tuśita Heaven?
Paramārtha recounted that Asanga used meditative powers to travel to Tuśita Heaven to receive teachings directly from Maitreya Bodhisattva regarding emptiness. Modern scholars disagree on whether this figure named Maitreya was an actual historical person or a tutelary deity experienced through deep meditation.
Which three works are widely agreed upon by scholars to be written by Asanga himself?
The first work is the Mahāyānasańgraha, a systematic exposition of Yogacara school tenets divided into ten chapters. The second major work is the Abhidharma-samuccaya, a short summary of main Mahayana Abhidharma doctrines. The third text is the Xianyang shengjiao lun, available only through Xuanzang's Chinese translation.
How many monasteries did Asanga found and what happened at Veluvana?
Taranatha's History of Buddhism in India claims he founded twenty-five Mahayana monasteries in India. At Veluvana located in the Magadha region, Asanga hand-picked eight chosen disciples who became famed teachers later.
What are the Five Dharmas of Maitreya attributed to Asanga?
Tibetan hagiographies state that five specific treatises were taught to Asanga by Maitreya directly including the Mahāyānasūtrālamkāra-kārikā and the Madhyāntavibhāga-kārikā. These works appear in Sanskrit sources from the 11th century onwards only and remain subject to modern scholarly questioning regarding their attribution.