vasubandhu — the author of treatise “Abhidharmakoša”

Abstract

The article tells about the life of the great Buddhist thinker Vasubandhu (IV—
V centuries C. E.), who was the author of treatise “Abhidharmakoša” (Depository,
Encyclopedia of Abhidharma). “Abhidharmakoša” – the text of the Abhidharma
philosophy, it is one of the most impotent treatises in the history of Buddhist philosophy.
The information on Vasubandhu is derived from his Tibetan and Chinese
biographies is analyzed in the article. The Buddhological problems which are connected
with the attempts of historical “reconstruction” of the events of the great
thinker’s life are examined here. These are the problem of being of “one” or “two
Vasubandhu” and the problem of firm dating of his lifetime.