Hsuan-tsang
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(596-664) (Xuan Zang) : One of the foremost translators of Chinese Buddhist texts and a great enlightened master in his own right. He lived during the early Tang Dynasty, a golden age for Buddhism in China. During his early years as a monk in China he became aware of a number of doctrinal controversies concerning the Mahayana teachings, particularly those of the Yogachara. He then decided to journey to India to resolve his own doubts and to bring back authoritative texts that would help establish the correct teachings in China. After his fourteen (or according to some, seventeen) year journey, he established a translation bureau under imperial patronage. He succeeded in translating the major Yogachara texts as well as many others. His teachings and translations served as the foundation for what was considered the orthodox Consciousness-Only School in China. His most famous work is the Treatise on Consciousness-Only which is a commentary on Vasubandhu's Thirty Verses on Consciousness Only (Trimsika), a commentary on his half-brother Asanga's Treatise on the Stages of Yogic Practice (Yogachara Bhumi Shastra). Hsuan-tsang's travels to India became the basis for the Chinese classic Journey to the West.
see also; Xuanzang
