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ŚRĀVAKABHŪMI
In the same way in the exposition of the Transcendent Reality, Asanga along with the Mahāyāna Sūtras, seems to have been influenced by the concept of the Upanisadic Brahman. Both describe the ultimate in similar terms1.
These are some of the most striking resemblances between the Brāhmaṇic sources and the works of Asanga who seems to have been amply influenced by the Brāhmaṇic theology and the Upanisadic speculation. Having assimilated the main ideas contained in these texts he expounded them in his own way.
Among the Buddhist sources, Asanga utilised mostly the Sandhinirmocanasūtra which is regarded as the main source-book and the canon of the Yogācāra Buddhism. It seems that Asanga anonymously refers to this work2.
Among the nava-dharmas, the Daśabhumika has been referred to at several places and forms the basic source-book of the portions of the Bodhi.4 and the MSAB5. The extant ten bhūmis of this sūtra have been
1. Vide, Hinduism and Buddhism, pp. 58-59 and elsewhere. 2. cf. YBS, I.108 : यथोक्तं । कर्महेतुरुपपत्तये । तृष्णाहेतुरभिनिवृत्तये । ; cf. also, ibid., 99, pp. 127-8; MSAB, pp. 106, 83; 114-5; we also learn that Asanga commented upon the Sandhinirmocanasūtra.
3. Bodhi, pp. 229, 231, 232, 233, 234, 236, 240, 242, MSAB, pp. 26, 391, 91, 127, 143, cp. MSAB., pp. 182-3.
4. Viharapaṭala and bhumipaṭala, Bodhi, pp. 216-44, 253-5; DBS, Appendix II.
5. MSA with Bhāṣya, VII, VIII, XVII.46; p. 143 sq. and elsewhere.
