Toh 1391Untitled

Exposition of Toh 1391 – Treatise Collection (Tengyur)

Background

Toh 1391 belongs to the Treatise Collection (Tengyur) of the Northern Tibetan Mahayana tradition, where the commentaries and treatises of great Buddhist masters from India and Tibet are preserved. This collection, completed in Tibet in the ninth to tenth centuries, represents the effort of Mahāyāna Buddhists to transmit and protect the Dharma.

Although the title of this scripture has not been fully identified in the present data, according to the structure of the Tengyur it is very likely a treatise explaining Mahayana teachings or a commentary on the scriptures. Works in this category were often composed by scholars such as Vasubandhu, Asaṅga, or later masters, in order to clarify aspects of the Buddhadharma for pilgrims on the path seeking awakening.

Main Content

In the Northern Tibetan Mahayana tradition, Tengyur treatises often focus on three core aspects: (1) the theory of Buddha-nature (Buddhata), (2) the Bodhisattva Vehicle (Bodhisattvayana), and (3) methods of practice leading to Buddha-wisdom (Buddhabuddhi).

Scripture Toh 1391, as part of the Treatise Collection, may be an expansion or detailed commentary on the principles of Madhyamaka or Yogācāra, the two principal philosophical schools of Mahayana. These treatises enter deeply into the nature of bodhisattva thought, the relationship between emptiness (śūnyatā) and compassion (karunā), as well as the complete path of practice that leads all sentient beings to buddhahood.

One important feature of the Tengyur is its emphasis on the Four Truths (Catvāri Āryasatyāni) interpreted through the bodhisattva lens. Unlike the Lesser Vehicle, which aims only at arhatship, Mahayana expands the six aims (Ṣaṭ Pāramitā – the Six Perfections) and encourages all sentient beings to attain the unsurpassed Buddha Way.