Toh 1163Untitled

Exposition of Toh 1163 — A Treatise on the Mahayana Bodhisattva Path

Context

Toh 1163 is an important treatise belonging to the Tengyur (the Abhidharma Piṭaka) of the Tibetan Buddhist tradition. The Abhidharma Piṭaka (the Abhidharmakośa-bhāṣya and other treatises) represents profound explanations of the Dharma from Mahayana masters, learned monastics who devoted their entire lives to understanding and transmitting the true Dharma.

In the Tibetan tradition, the Tengyur contains nearly 4,000 works translated from Sanskrit and Pāli, including treatises on the study of mind, ethics, and dharmatā. Although Toh 1163 currently has no specific title in Vietnamese, it is an exegetical work within this body of material, intended to clarify an aspect of the Buddha Dharma from the Mahayana perspective.

The context of this treatise’s composition is connected with the period of great teachers such as Vasubandhu, Asaṅga, and the early patriarchs of the Mahayana schools, who established a profound foundation of thought. The Abhidharma Piṭaka is precisely the treasury of wisdom that guides practitioners in clearly understanding each aspect of the bodhisattva path.

Main Content

Although the specific content of this scripture has not yet been fully translated into Vietnamese, based on its position in the Abhidharma Piṭaka and the Mahayana tradition, we may affirm that this is a work explaining a fundamental aspect of the Buddha Dharma.

In the Mahayana, the Northern Transmitted Tibetan tradition, treatises on mind and dharmatā occupy a central place. Exegesis often focuses on: (1) the nature of consciousness and its transformation through practice, (2) the relationship between true knowledge and ignorance, and (3) the bodhisattva’s path of practice leading to Buddhahood.

The treatises in the Tengyur emphasize that both sentient beings and Buddhas possess Buddha-nature, but because they are obscured by ignorance and afflictions, sentient beings have not yet recognized it. Practicing according to the bodhisattva path is the process of gradually removing these obscurations and restoring innate wisdom.