Toh 1937Untitled

Explanation of Treatise Collection Toh 1937 — Northern Tibetan Mahayana Tradition

Background

The Treatise Collection (Tengyur) of the Northern Tibetan tradition is a collection of commentaries, explanations, and treatises by great teachers of the Buddhadharma, compiled in order to clarify the intent of the Sutra Collection. In the Tibetan Mahayana tradition, the Treatise Collection is regarded as an extremely important foundation for correctly and deeply understanding the scriptures, especially weighty and profound texts such as the Prajñāpāramitā scriptures or the scriptures on tathāgatagarbha.

This collection of treatises was transmitted from great sages such as Nagarjuna, Asanga, and Vasubandhu to Indian and Tibetan scholars of later periods. For this reason, each treatise in the Tengyur bears the imprint of profound wisdom and experience in practice. Toh 1937, although its title has not yet been clearly identified in the present materials, lies within this collection, and is certainly a work explaining fundamental or advanced issues in Mahayana Buddhadharma.

Main Content

According to the position and context of the Northern Tibetan Treatise Collection, treatises are arranged by main subject: treatises on the Buddhadharma (Abhidharma), treatises on Mind, treatises on Prajñāpāramitā, or treatises on tathāgatagarbha and Buddha-nature. Treatise Toh 1937 very likely explains profound aspects of the Dharmakāya or the inherent qualities of Buddha Mind, or it may be a commentary on the stages of practice on the bodhisattva path.

In the Mahayana tradition, Mind (Citta) is regarded as self-abiding luminous awareness, not defiled by basic mental afflictions but only temporarily obscured. These treatises often reveal that, through practice, we can directly recognize the true nature of Mind, thereby opening the way to Enlightenment. They also explain concepts such as Buddha-nature and the transformation of all sentient beings into Buddhas.