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Exposition of Tengyur Scriptures — Northern Tibetan Mahayana Tradition

Background

The Tengyur, provisionally translated as “Translation of the Teachings,” is a collection of the treatise piṭaka (śāstra): commentaries, explanations, and developments of the Buddhadharma written after the time of the Buddha by scholars, great masters, and bodhisattvas. It is an important part of the Tibetan Buddhist Canon, together with the Kangyur, the original scriptures.

The Northern Tibetan Mahayana tradition, also called Vajrayāna Buddhism, developed on the foundation of the Mahayana but with deeper methods of practice. The scriptures in the Tengyur are not words directly spoken by the Buddha, but essential instructions and methods of practice handed down by teachers in order to help beings draw nearer to awakening in this age.

Although this particular scripture has no clear title, its value lies in the very nature of the Tengyur tradition: teachings passed from mind to mind (mano-abhisaṃcāra), oral traditions that the great masters wrote down in order to preserve them.

Main Contents

The treatises in the Tengyur often revolve around core themes: understanding Buddha-nature, the bodhisattva path (bodhisattva-mārga), and Tantric practices. They emphasize that all beings have the capacity to become Buddhas, not only through theoretical approach, but through direct practice.

In the Northern Tibetan tradition, these scriptures guide practitioners in how to unite wisdom (prajñā) and compassion (karuṇā) into a complete path of practice. This differs from the Lesser Vehicle because it does not regard nirvana as the final goal, but regards becoming a Buddha in order to liberate immeasurable beings as the supreme ideal.

These commentaries also explain in detail thangkas, visual symbols, mantras, formulas of veneration, and ritualistic practices regarded as means of transforming consciousness. They are not magic, but profound psychological tools for purifying obstacles so that the mind becomes clear and lucid.