Toh 2321Untitled

EXPLANATION OF A SCRIPTURE FROM THE TENGYUR — THE NORTHERN TRANSMISSION TREATISE COLLECTION

Context

This work appears in the Tengyur (བསྟན་འགྱུར།), that is, the “Treatise Collection” of the Northern Transmission Tibetan tradition, one of the richest treasuries of Buddhist scripture. The Treatise Collection consists of commentaries and explanations by the great meditation masters of the Mahāyāna and Vajrayāna schools. These works were composed to clarify the profound meaning of the scriptures taught by the Buddha or by bodhisattvas.

The fact that the work has no specific title indicates that it may be a commentary on an important Dharma theme in the Mahayana, perhaps related to wisdom (prajñāpāramitā), buddha-nature, or the bodhisattva mind. According to the Northern Tibetan tradition, such commentaries were often composed to guide practitioners in clearly understanding the Mahayana path of enlightenment.

Main Content

Although the specific content of this scripture has not yet been fully translated, we can recognize that works in the Treatise Collection often focus on core themes. In the context of the Northern Transmission Tibetan tradition, these commentaries often explain the six bodhisattva perfections (paramitā): generosity, discipline, patience, diligence, meditation, and wisdom.

In particular, in the Mahāyāna tradition of Northern Tibet, emphasis is placed on “buddha-nature” present in all sentient beings, and on the capacity of each individual to attain buddhahood not only for oneself but for the enlightenment of all beings. These commentaries also often go deeply into the “three bodies” (trikāya) of the Buddha, the dharmakāya, sambhogakāya, and nirmāṇakāya, to help practitioners clearly understand how the Buddha and bodhisattvas act to save sentient beings.

According to the Vajrayāna tradition, an inseparable aspect of the Northern Transmission Tibetan tradition, the commentaries may also refer to “visualization” of deities, using mind, sound, and action to transform wrong views into innate wisdom.