The Consciousness-only school of thought， which took as its major tenet the concept that the experienced world is nothing other than the manifestation of our own consciousness. This basic view of the world formed the cornerstone of the doctrines of the Yoga^ca^ra school 瑜伽行派 in India as well as the "Dharma-characteristic" sects 法相宗 of East Asia， and therefore the term "School of Consciousness-only" is regularly used to refer to either one of these sects. The Yoga^ca^ra 瑜伽行派 school of Indian Buddhism， which together with the Middle Way （Ma^dhyamika; 中观派） school， represented one of the two main branches of Maha^ya^na philosophy. Its great teachers in India were Asan%ga （fourth century CE） 无著?无著 and his brother Vasubandhu 世亲. When Asan%ga's works were first translated into Chinese in the sixth century CE， the school was known as Shelun 摄论宗， but eventually it was absorbed into the school of the great Chinese translator-monk Hsüan-tsang 玄奘 （596-664）. Hsüan-tsang's school was known as the Fa-hsiang （'dharma-characteristic'） school， after this main feature of its teachings.