Toh 2103Untitled

Exposition of the Śāstra Piṭaka Toh 2103 — The Northern Tibetan Mahāyāna Tradition

Background

This text is recorded in the Tengyur (Bstan 'gyur), the Tibetan Buddhist canon of scriptural exegesis, a venerable collection of the Northern Mahāyāna tradition. Toh 2103 is a commentarial work belonging among profound scholastic compositions, reflecting the spirit of seeking to understand the Dharma among Buddhist scholars from India and Tibet across many centuries.

In the context of the Northern Mahāyāna tradition, the śāstras are regarded as bridges between the Three Jewels (the Buddha), the Dharma (the Teaching), and us, practitioners today. They help us understand the scriptures more deeply, going beyond the ambiguity of words to touch the nature of the Dharma. Although this work has no specific title recorded in the present file, according to its position in the Tengyur it certainly addresses an essential aspect of Mahāyāna theory or practice.

The preservation and classification of this text in the Tengyur is evidence of the profound respect that the Tibetan tradition has for works of Buddhist reasoning, especially compositions originating from Indian sages such as Nāgārjuna, Vasubandhu, and Asaṅga.

Main Content

The śāstras in the Tengyur often revolve around central themes such as: the Four Noble Truths, refuge (皈依, Śaraṇa), the wisdom of emptiness (Śūnyatā), Buddha-nature, or branches of the Vinaya. Although the specific content of Toh 2103 has not been fully translated in the descriptive information, it may be understood through the history of the development of the Tengyur and similar commentaries.

According to the Northern tradition, śāstras such as this often apply the method of the Four Truths (Catvāry Āryasatyāni) to analyze mental phenomena and the world, while also using the logic of reductio reasoning (Mādhyamika or Yogācāra) to disclose the emptiness of all that exists.