Toh 1390Untitled

Exposition of Toh 1390 — Tengyur

Background

Toh 1390 is one of the precious treatises preserved in the Tengyur, the collection of annotations and treatises on the Buddhadharma of the Northern Tibetan Mahayana tradition. The works in the Tengyur were translated from Sanskrit into Tibetan by learned monastic masters of the centuries after the Buddha, in order to explain and develop profound theories from the principal sutras.

The Northern Tibetan Mahayana tradition, especially Tibet, places great importance on the distinctions among levels of understanding of selflessness (śūnyatā). In this context, the treatises (śāstra) serve as authoritative guides for monastics from the beginning level to the highest level of the Buddhadharma, from ordinary knowledge to direct vision (dṛṣṭi) into the actual nature of phenomena.

This treatise reflects the spirit of study and debate (samvada) that Indian and Tibetan scholars of the Buddhadharma regarded as essential for illuminating the darkness of ignorance (avidyā).

Main Content

Although the specific title is not provided, as a work in the Tengyur, this treatise exemplifies the methodology of masters learned in the Buddhadharma concerning the central topics of Mahayana. The treatises in this collection often focus on:

First, the analysis of the nature of mind (citta) and mental factors (caitta-dharma). The Tibetan tradition emphasizes that mind is not a static entity, but a continuous stream of moments of consciousness (ksana) arising from causes and conditions.

Second, the teaching on Buddha-nature (Buddha-nature, buddha-dhātu), that is, the potential contained within all sentient beings to attain buddhahood. These treatises often argue that all sentient beings have the capacity to become Buddhas, and explain the bodhisattva practice (bodhisattva-pratipat) in stages.

Third, the theory of the two truths (dvaya-satya): conventional truth (samvṛti-satya) and ultimate truth (paramārtha-satya).