Toh 1947Untitled

Exposition of the Tengyur Text Toh 1947

Context

Toh 1947 belongs to the Treatise Section (Abhidharma) of the Tengyur, the collection of scriptures and treatises in Northern Transmission Buddhism. The Tengyur is the largest collection of great commentaries, comprising more than 3,600 works that explain the scriptures of the Buddhist canon. The Treatise Section in the Tengyur contains works on Abhidharma, the doctrine that analyzes in detail the Dharma-nature of phenomena and consciousness.

The Mahayana Northern Transmission tradition, also called Tibetan Buddhism or the tradition of the four classes of Tantra, inherits the entire Vinaya, Sutra, and Treatise sections from the early Buddhist traditions, while also developing the additional theories of Mind-Only (Cittamātra) and Madhyamaka. It is a comprehensive integrative tradition in which Abhidharma is not only an analytical doctrine but also the theoretical foundation for the higher practical requirements of Mahayana, especially Tantra.

Main Content

Although the title of the text has not been identified, Toh 1947 is an Abhidharma-type commentary, focusing on analysis of the structure of reality from the Buddhist perspective. The specific content of this text has not yet been fully translated, but based on the context of the Tengyur Treatise Section, it may address themes such as:

Analysis of the five skandhas: form, feeling, perception, formations, and consciousness, the basic components that make up an individual; or the function of Dharma-nature (dharma-lakṣaṇa), the fundamental characteristics of each type of dharma; or the relation of dependent origination (pratītyasamutpāda) in the understanding of the Northern Transmission.

Under the influence of Mind-Only and Madhyamaka thought, the Northern Transmission tradition often interprets Abhidharma in a more penetrating way, not stopping at the description of lists of dharmas (dharma-niyama), but going more deeply into the lack of self-nature (śūnyatā) of all phenomena.