Toh 1173Untitled
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Exposition of Toh 1173 — The Northern Tibetan Mahayana Tradition
Context
Toh 1173 is part of the Tengyur — the Tibetan Treatise Collection (Bstan 'gyur), a compilation of teachings and treatises that expand upon the Buddha’s words. The Northern Tibetan Transmission, through its transmission from India into Tibet from the seventh to the thirteenth centuries, preserves the Mahayana Buddhist teachings with the highest degree of scholarly precision. The Treatise Collection contains commentaries by the most eminent masters, from Nagarjuna and Asanga to Candrakirti, who clarified the profound intent of the scriptures.
Toh 1173, although it does not yet have a clear title in the present reference source, is classified within the standard Tengyur system. It may be a commentary on fundamental principles of the Mahayana Buddha Dharma, or a treatise on one of the three trainings: discipline, meditation, and wisdom. According to the Northern Tibetan tradition, such scriptures are transmitted within the context of practicing the two stages (skye rim, rdzogs rim) of the new tantra.
Main Content
Within the scope of the Northern Tibetan Mahayana tradition, treatises from the Tengyur often revolve around three core themes: emptiness (sunyata), transformation of the basis (asraya-paravrtti), and the bodhisattva path.
If Toh 1173 is a commentary on theory or practice, it may unfold the way in which we understand the selfless nature (anatman) of all phenomena. The special feature of the Northern Tibetan tradition is the integration of Nagarjuna’s Madhyamaka philosophy with Asanga’s study of mind (Yogacara), creating a comprehensive system of understanding. In particular, the Gelug tradition (bka' brgyud) emphasizes that emptiness is not non-nature or absolute nothingness, but the absence of independent, self-existing intrinsic nature (svabhava).
The Treatise Collection also highlights the stages of meditative practice, especially the process of insight meditation (vipasyana) on emptiness after attaining calm abiding (samatha).
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