Toh 2371Untitled

Explanation of Treatise Collection Toh 2371

From the Tengyur — The Mahayana Tradition of the Northern Transmission

Context

This text is found in the Tengyur of the Northern Transmission, the collection of treatises and commentaries by Indian Buddhist masters after the time of the Buddha. Toh 2371 is part of the Treatise Collection (Sūtra-śāstra), belonging to the Mahayana tradition, which emphasizes the bodhisattva path, the course of liberation through which practitioners aspire to buddhahood in order to rescue all sentient beings.

In the Mahayana Northern Transmission, these treatises are regarded as proclamations of the Buddha or commentaries by renowned bodhisattvas, helping practitioners understand the Dharma more deeply. Although the title of the text has not yet been fully translated into Vietnamese, according to the context of the Tengyur Treatise Collection, this work guides the fundamental elements of Mahayana practice.

Main Content

Works in the Tengyur often focus on three areas: the theory of the dharmadhātu, the universal nature of phenomena; the conduct of the bodhisattva; and the method for attaining buddhahood. Treatise Collection Toh 2371, like similar works, may discuss:

First, the nature of the bodhisattva path, distinct from the Lesser Vehicle, in which the practitioner does not seek only personal nirvana but gives rise to bodhicitta, the vow to liberate immeasurable sentient beings. This is the ethical foundation of Mahayana.

Second, the bodhisattva practices (Bodhisattva-caryā), the six paramitas: generosity, ethical discipline, patience, diligence, meditation, and wisdom. Each paramita is a sphere of perfection in practice, training the mind and character.

Third, the obstacles on this path and how to overcome them through the signless mind (animitta-citta), the mind that does not cling to objects and does not distinguish among the liberator, those to be liberated, and the act of liberation.