Toh 1170Untitled

Exposition of Toh 1170 — The Tibetan Treatise Collection

Context

The Tengyur, or Treatise Collection, is a compilation of commentaries, treatises, and instructions by great bodhisattvas and Buddhist Dharma scholars in the Mahayana tradition, translated from Sanskrit into Tibetan. Scripture number Toh 1170 belongs to the commentarial section of the Northern Tibetan tradition, where profound explanations were established to guide devotees closer to the Buddha’s state through the bodhisattva path.

The Northern Tibetan Transmission, Vajrayana Buddhism, emphasizes the direct and comprehensive nature of transformative methods (tantra), combined with profound understanding of luminous emptiness (sunyata). The Treatise Collection provides a detailed doctrinal framework, helping practitioners not only grasp the words but also understand the essence of the Dharma path.

Main Content

The commentaries in the Treatise Collection, including this work, often focus on three essential aspects: (1) the theory of the luminous emptiness of all phenomena, (2) the transformative path (tantra) as a swift means to attainment, and (3) the relationship between Buddhahood and all sentient beings.

In the Northern Tibetan tradition, these commentaries lay the foundation for the practice of deities (yidam) and non-dual contemplation — the state in which mind and phenomena are no longer separate. They also clarify the path from the ordinary mind of a sentient being to the Buddha-mind through systematic practice.

These teachings are often composed according to the command of omniscient masters or authors of high renown in the explanation of the Dharma, in order to remove doubts and mistakes in practice. They provide the key for opening the profound meaning of the most difficult scriptures.

Practical Meaning

The practical value of these commentaries lies in their capacity to transform mind. A Northern Tibetan practitioner cannot practice a Dharma method without clearly understanding its intent.