Toh 2377Untitled

Exposition of Tengyur Toh 2377

Mahayana Tradition - Northern Transmission

Context

This text (Toh 2377) from the Tengyur, the Treatise Collection of the Northern Transmission tradition, belongs to the scriptural treasury compiled under the patronage of the Dharma kings in Tibet in the eighth century. The Tengyur is a collection of treatises and commentaries explaining the teachings from holy beings of the Buddhadharma, supplementing the Kangyur (the original collections of scriptures). The Northern Transmission tradition, especially the Gelug, Kagyu, Nyingma, and Sakya schools, all regard the Tengyur as one of the most profound expressions of Mahayana-Vajrayana thought in the East Asian context.

This work is situated in the context of the Mahayana Buddhadharma, where the aim of practice does not stop at personal liberation (as in the Lesser Vehicle), but is directed toward one’s own awakening in order to liberate all sentient beings. This is the spirit of the bodhisattva path (Bodhisattva-yana), the foundation of all Mahayana schools.

Main Content

Although the original title has not been clearly identified in the descriptive information, Toh 2377 belongs to a stream of treatises on the nature of mind, the nature of phenomena, and the theory of Buddha-nature (Buddha-dhatu), which are core themes of the Northern Tibetan Mahayana. These Tengyur texts often focus on questions such as the nature of mind (citta), the relationship between phenomena and emptiness (sunyata), as well as the way bodhisattvas practice in order to attain the state of a Buddha.

In the context of Northern Tibetan practice, such treatises are often applied through meditation (dhyana) and ritual practice (sadhana). Practice is not merely understanding theory, but transforming it into direct experience within the mind. That is precisely why the Northern Tibetan tradition emphasizes the role of the spiritual teacher (guru/lama) as the one who directly instructs practitioners in the way to transform mind and perception.