Toh 1404Untitled

An Exposition of Toh 1404 - Tengyur Treatise Collection

Context

Toh 1404 is found in the Tengyur, the early collection of treatises in Northern Tibetan Buddhism, compiled from the works of eminent Indian teachers. The Treatise Collection (Abhidharmakosha and related works) represents the line of the Sarvāstivāda school, one of the most detailed traditions for explaining the Dharma and consciousness in early Buddhism.

This collection was translated into Tibetan during the eighth to tenth centuries, the golden age of Buddhism in Tibet. As the Indian scriptural traditions began to decline, the Northern Tibetan masters preserved and developed these teachings into a comprehensive system of practice, especially through the four great schools: Nyingma, Kagyu, Sakya, and Gelug.

In this context, Toh 1404 serves to explain an important aspect of the Dharma, guiding students in how to understand and practice properly in accordance with the teaching of Buddha Shakyamuni through the eight official lines of reference.

Main Contents

Although the original title has not been fully disclosed in the descriptive information, Toh 1404 belongs to the group of works explaining consciousness (vijñapti), habitual tendencies (vaṣanā), and the way phenomena appear within human experience. According to the Yogācāra-Sautrāntika tradition of the Northern Tibetan transmission, these treatises analyze:

The distinction among types of consciousness (chitta and the fifty-one mental factors): From the consciousnesses of eye, ear, nose, tongue, and body to the most subtle consciousness, aya-vijnana, the storehouse consciousness. Each type has its own function in making contact with objects and generating accompanying mental factors, such as attachment, aversion, delusion, faith, and diligence.

The causes of mind and subtle hindrances: This treatise examines how past impressions (bija), latent within the storehouse consciousness, become present experiences, thereby leading to rebirth within the cycle of samsara.