Śīlabhadra

He is best known as being an abbot of Nālandā monastery in India, as being an expert on Yogācāra teachings, and for being the personal tutor of the Chinese Buddhist monk Xuanzang.

The pilgrim was met by twenty grave-looking monks, who introduced him to their chief, the venerable "Treasure of the True Law," whose proper name of Śīlabhadra they did not dare to pronounce.

Xuanzang advanced towards him according to the established etiquette on his elbows and knees, a custom which is still preserved in Burma under the name of Shikoh.Xuanzang records the number of teachers at Nālandā as being around 1510.

Upon his return from India, Xuanzang brought with him a wagon-load of Buddhist texts, including important Yogācāra works such as the Yogācārabhūmi-śastra.

According to the Indian translator Divākara, Śīlabhadra divided the Buddhist teachings into three turnings of the Dharma Wheel, following the divisions given in the Saṃdhinirmocana Sūtra:[11] Śīlabhadra considered the teachings from the third turning (Yogācāra) to be the highest form of Buddhism, because it fully explains the three natures, but the Mādhyamaka teacher Jñānaprabha notably opposed this idea.