Toh 1707Untitled

Exposition of Toh 1707 - Northern Transmission Tibetan Canon

Background

This scripture belongs to the Tengyur (Bka' 'gyur), that is, the Abhidharma-pitaka of Tibetan Buddhism, a collection of commentaries, treatises, and teachings by bodhisattvas and noble sages after the time of Buddha Shakyamuni. Toh 1707 is a work within the Northern Tibetan Mahayana tradition, where the teachings were transmitted through Tibetan masters from India.

In the context of Tibetan Buddhism, especially the Gelug, Kagyu, Nyingma, and Sakya schools, the Tengyur serves as a treasury that explains and elaborates upon the principal scriptures (Kangyur). The works in the Tengyur help guide those who study the bodhisattva Dharma, providing concrete methods of practice for attaining the Wisdom of Emptiness (Sunyata) and actualizing bodhicitta.

Main Content

Although the title of this scripture has not yet been fully translated, based on its place in the Tengyur, Toh 1707 may be a treatise or profound teaching on an important aspect of the Mahayana path. In the Tibetan tradition, such works often focus on:

Teachings on the nature of Buddha-nature and how all sentient beings possess the potential to become Buddhas. The treatise explains that Buddha-nature is not a fixed entity, but the understanding of the emptiness of mind and phenomena.

Or it may be a work on the Bodhisattva-yana, the path of bodhisattvas who are committed to liberating all sentient beings. It may present the stages of practice (bhumi) that a bodhisattva must pass through, from the First Bhumi to the Tenth Bhumi, gradually developing compassion, loving-kindness, sympathetic joy, equanimity, and finally unsurpassed wisdom.

Another possibility is that Toh 1707 focuses on Tantric Mind (Tantra), which noble masters such as Naropa or Marpa made widely known. These teachings guide the training of the mind through visualization and the gathering of subtle energy (prana) in order to accelerate the process of awakening.