Toh 2367Untitled

Exposition of Scripture Toh 2367 — The Tengyur Treatise Collection

Context

Scripture Toh 2367 belongs to the Tengyur (bTan 'gyur), the largest collection of Buddhist commentarial works in the Northern Tibetan tradition. It is one of the Mahayana Buddhist philosophical works composed in accordance with the teachings of the Buddha and the great patriarchs. The Tengyur comprises more than 200 volumes, containing treatises, declarations, and commentaries by Indian and Tibetan masters.

This scripture's place within the Northern Tibetan tradition is that of a philosophical text that upholds the fundamental principles of emptiness (śūnyatā) and the bodhisattva path. Based on the Madhyamaka or Yogācāra tradition, this teaching developed from ideas transmitted by Indian patriarchs such as Nāgārjuna, Asaṅga, and Vasubandhu, who founded some of the most profound schools of Buddhist philosophy.

Main Content

Although its title has not been precisely identified, this scripture follows the treatise (śāstra) style of the Northern Tibetan tradition, focusing on a profound analysis of the fundamental principles of Mahayana Buddhism. It discusses the nature of consciousness (cittamātra), the relationship between conceptual imagination (vikalpa) and ultimate reality (paramārtha-satya), as well as the bodhisattvas’ path of practice.

Its principal content centers on the concept of “the nonexistence of subject and object” (pudgala-nairātmya and dharma-nairātmya). The scripture analyzes how material phenomena and consciousness do not function independently, but through interdependent relationships (pratītyasamutpāda). This guides practitioners to recognize that there is no absolute “self,” nor does any dharma exist by virtue of an eternal intrinsic nature.

The scripture also addresses the stages of a bodhisattva’s spiritual development, from the arising of bodhicitta to the fulfillment of boundless compassionate activity (mahākaruṇā). In particular, it emphasizes that liberation is not reserved solely for arhats, but that all sentient beings are capable of attaining buddhahood through the bodhisattva path.

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