Toh 2433Untitled

Exposition of Scripture Toh 2433 — Tengyur Treatise Collection

Background

Toh 2433 from the Tengyur (Translated Treatises) is a treatise (Śāstra) belonging to the Northern Tibetan Mahayana tradition. The treatises in the Tengyur are commentaries, explanations, and developments of the teachings of the Buddha-Dharma based on the principal sūtras. They were composed by the great patriarchs of India and Tibet in order to clarify the profound meaning of the scriptures.

The Tengyur was recompiled and completed from the eighth to the twelfth centuries, under the direction of great masters such as Vasubandhu, Nāgārjuna, Asaṅga, and many other realized beings. Toh 2433, as one of the treatises whose title has not been clearly determined, represents profound lines of teaching on the nature of mind, wisdom, and the path of liberation according to the Mahayana view. It reflects the context of spiritual cultivation in Tibet, where the Buddha-Dharma was preserved with the highest integrity.

Main Content

Although the name has not been fully determined, treatises of the same type in the Tengyur often explain profound aspects of: mind (Vijñapti), Buddhahood (Buddhata), the dhatu of form (Rūpadhātu) and the dhatu of mind (Cittadhātu), as well as the relationship between phenomena and ultimate reality (Paramārtha).

According to the Northern Tibetan tradition, this treatise may focus on elucidating that the entire dharmadhātu is not separate from mind. This is a central theme of the Yogācāra school and the Madhyamaka school, two Mahayana philosophical currents widely disseminated in Tibet. The treatise aims to guide practitioners to understand that existing dharmas do not arise from absolutely independent causes and conditions, but arise from our mind; therefore, eliminating wrong views about self is the key to attaining Bodhi.