Toh 2268Untitled

Commentary on Toh 2268 — Tengyur (Northern Transmission Canon)

Context

Toh 2268 belongs to the Tengyur, the Treatise Collection of the Northern Transmission Mahayana tradition, a compilation of treatises explaining the Buddhist scriptures. The Tengyur was compiled from works of various Buddhist Dharma schools, especially the treatises of eminent Dharma masters in the Mahayana tradition.

Although the title has not been determined, the position of this text within the Northern Transmission Canon shows that it is an important commentary on a Dharma method of practice in the Mahayana. The Tengyur is the theoretical portion of the Tibetan canon, supplementing the Kangyur (the scriptures directly proclaimed by the Buddha) with the purpose of clarifying and guiding the practice of the Buddha Dharma.

The works in the Tengyur were often composed by eminent teachers such as Asanga, Vasubandhu, Nagarjuna, Candrakirti, and other great masters in order to defend, explain, and develop Buddhist theory. They are the result of profound understanding of the Buddha Dharma through centuries of practice and transmission.

Main Content

Although the specific content of this text has not yet been fully translated in the available materials, we may understand that Toh 2268 is part of the system of commentaries in the Tengyur, directed toward the analysis and interpretation of aspects of the Buddha Dharma.

In the Northern Transmission Canon, treatises often focus on three main areas: doctrinal study (the teaching of theory), reasoning (debating views), and meditative practice. The Tengyur contains extensive commentaries on the Four Noble Truths, the Four Lands (in the Mahayana), methods of meditation (dhyana), the Six Perfections (Paramita), and theories concerning Mind-Only (Cittamatra) or Madhyamaka, the prominent philosophical schools of the Buddha Dharma.

The compilers of the treatises in the Tengyur not only transmitted the teachings of the Buddha but also developed these theories to accord with the practice needs of disciples in many different stages of the path.