Toh 1562Untitled

Commentary on Toh 1562 - Tengyur (Tibetan Treatise Collection)

Context

The Tengyur, or Bstan-'gyur (གསྟན་འགྱུར་), translated as the "Treatise Collection," is a compilation of commentaries, treatises, and teachings explaining the Buddhist scriptures in the Northern Tibetan Mahayana tradition. Unlike the Kangyur, the main collection of scriptures, the Tengyur contains works by Buddhist scholars and noble sages originating from the ancient Indian Hindu-Buddhist scholastic tradition, preserved in Tibetan from approximately the eighth to the fourteenth century.

The text Toh 1562 in this collection represents one of the profound systems of interpretation of the Buddha Dharma. The Northern Tibetan Mahayana tradition emphasizes the bodhisattva path, a path for all beings and not merely for the individual, together with teachings on Buddha-nature present in every living being. Works in the Tengyur often reflect the integration of Buddhist logical thought with the distinctive profound philosophy of the Madhyamaka and Yogacara schools.

Main Content

Although the title has not been specifically identified in the descriptive information, Toh 1562 belongs to the class of explanatory treatises (śāstra-bhāṣya), an important genre of Buddhist literature. Such treatises often present theories concerning the Buddha's enjoyment body (Sambhogakāya), emanation body (Nirmāṇakāya), and the path of practice of bodhisattvas.

In the context of the Northern Tibetan tradition, works such as this emphasize cittamātra, the teaching on the nature of mind and cognition, and the theory of emptiness (śūnyatā) from the Madhyamaka perspective. They explain how the phenomena we perceive do not exist by their own independent nature, but depend upon causes and conditions (pratītyasamutpāda).

This treatise also likely discusses subjects related to the five skandhas, the twelve links of dependent origination, and especially the bodhisattva path of practice through the stages (bhūmi).