Toh 1936Untitled

Explanation of Treatise Collection Toh 1936 — Northern Tibetan Mahayana Tradition

Background

Toh 1936 is a treatise belonging to the Tengyur — the Treatise Collection of the Northern Tibetan Mahayana tradition (Tibetan Buddhist Mahāyāna), compiled and preserved in the treasury of Tibetan Buddhadharma from the eighth century onward. The Tengyur is a collection of exegetical treatises, commentaries, and Buddhist philosophical works translated from Sanskrit into Tibetan, under the patronage of King Trisong Detsen and great masters such as Padmasambhava.

The works in the Tengyur have the function of explaining in detail the Mahayana teachings, especially the theory of the bodhisattva path, Buddha-nature, and the path to liberation. This scripture, although its title has not been fully translated, belongs to the lineage of traditional commentaries on the true Buddhadharma of the bodhisattvas and ancestral Buddhas. It reflects the combination of Mahayana philosophy and the practical cultivation tradition of Tibet.

Main Content

In the Northern Tibetan Mahayana tradition, treatises such as Toh 1936 often focus on explaining core matters: the nature of Mind (Citta), the theory of Buddha-nature present in all sentient beings (tathāgatagarbha), and the path of practice leading to Buddhahood. These treatises are based on renowned scriptures such as the Ratnagotravibhāga and other similar Mahayana works.

In the spirit of Northern Tibetan Mahayana, the Bodhisattva Path is understood as the process of training in the six Perfections (Pāramitā): generosity, discipline, patience, diligence, meditative concentration, and wisdom. These commentaries explain how each of these perfections functions to transform the mind, remove obscurations (avaraṇa), and finally attain bodhi.

The Tengyur works also emphasize the role of innate knowing (Buddha-nature) and the understanding of emptiness (śūnyatā) as not annihilation, but liberation from imagined concepts. They indicate that genuine practice begins with the correct recognition of the nature of phenomena.