VASUBANDHU'S CONVERSION
"Asanga, teacher of the Law [Dharma], saw that his younger
brother was endowed with an intelligence surpassing that of others,
his knowledge being deep and wide, and himself well-versed in
esoteric and exoteric doctrines. He was afraid that the latter
might compose a sastra and crush the Mahayana. He was
living then in the land of the Hero (Purusa-pura) and sent a
messenger to Vasubandhu in Ayodhya with the following message: "I
am seriously ill at present. You had better attend to me quickly."
Vasubandhu followed the messenger to his native land, saw his
brother and inquired what was the cause of his illness. He
answered: "I have now a serious disease of the heart, which arose
on account of you." Vasubandhu again asked: "Why do you say on
account of me?" He answered: "You do not believe in the Mahayana
and are always attacking and discrediting it. For this wickedness
you will be sure to sink forever in a miserable Life. I am now
grieved and troubled for your sake to such an extent that my life
will no long survive. On hearing this Vasubandhu was surprised and
alarmed and asked his brother to expound the Mahayana for him. He
then gave him a concise explanation of the essential principles of
the Mahayana. Thereupon the Teacher of the Law (Vasubandhu), who
was possessed of clear intelligence and especially of deep insight,
became at once convinced that the truth of the Mahayana excelled
even that of the Hinayana.
"He then fully investigated, under his brother, the principles
of the Mahayana. Soon after he became as thoroughly acquainted with
the whole as his brother was. When its meaning was already clear to
him, he would meditate on it. From the beginning to the end
everything was perfectly in accordance with the truth, there being
nothing contradictory to it. For the first time he realized that
the Hinayana was wrong and the Mahayana right. If there were no
Mahayana, then (he thought) there would be no path (marga)
and no fruition (phala) of the Tri-yana [Three Vehicles].
Since he formerly did harm by speaking ill of the Mahayana, in
which he then had no faith, he was now afraid that he might
fall into a miserable life on account of that wickedness. He deeply
reproached himself and earnestly repented of his previous fault. He
approached his brother and confessed his error, saying: 'I now
desire to make a confession. I do not know by what means I can be
pardoned for my former slander.' He said (further): 'I formerly did
harm speaking ill (of the truth) by means of my tongue. I will now
cut out my tongue in order to atone for my crime.' His brother
answered: 'Even if you cut out your tongue a thousand times, you
cannot wipe out your crime. If you really want to wipe out your
crime, you must find some other means.' Thereupon he asked his
brother to explain the means of wiping out the offence. The latter
said: 'Your tongue was able to speak very skillfully and
effectively against the Mahayana, and thus discredit it. If you
want to wipe out your offence, you must now propound the Mahayana
equally skillfully and effectively.'" (The Life of
Vasubandhu, J. Takakusu, tr., pp. 290-292)
http://online.sfsu.edu/~rone/Buddhism/Buddhism/BuddhistDict/BDV.html#Vasubandhu