Toh 1595Untitled

Explanation of Toh 1595 - Tibetan Treatise Collection

Context

The Tengyur (Bstan 'gyur) is a collection of treatises commenting on Mahayana Buddhist scriptures, translated from Sanskrit into Tibetan. Toh 1595 belongs to the Treatise Collection, the section that gathers the philosophical works and Dharma discourses of Mahayana noble sages and Dharma masters. This Northern Tibetan tradition developed from the languages and philosophies of ancient India and was then received and preserved by Tibetan great masters such as Bodhisattva Translators.

Within the historical context of Buddhism, the treatises in the Tengyur play a fundamental role in systematizing the teachings of the Buddha. They help scholars understand the scriptures deeply and apply the Dharma to the realities of practice. The Tibetan Treatise Collection especially emphasizes the relationship between theory (理論 prajñapti) and practice (實踐 pratipatti), between wisdom (prajñā) and skillful means (upāya).

Main Content

Although the specific title of Toh 1595 has not been fully translated into Vietnamese, this work, in the Northern Tibetan Mahayana tradition, often revolves around key themes such as Buddha-nature (Buddha-dhātu), the understanding of emptiness-wisdom (śūnyatā-prajñapti), or the path of bodhisattva practice (Bodhisattva-yāna).

Treatises of this kind often present philosophical positions concerning the character of no-self (anātman), the mark of lack of inherent nature (anatta-lakṣaṇa), and the way these concepts are understood and integrated into the life of practice. They also explore the relationship between phenomena (samvṛtti-satya, conventional truth) and ultimate nature (paramārtha-satya, ultimate truth).

Especially in the Tibetan tradition, these treatises include logical arguments (pramāṇa) and methods of analysis (analytic method) to help students overcome mistaken views (mithyā-dṛṣṭi) and accomplish the wisdom of right view (samyag-dṛṣṭi).