Toh 2473Untitled

Exposition of Scripture Toh 2473 — Northern Canon

Background

Toh 2473 belongs to the Tengyur, that is, the Treatise Collection of Tibetan Buddhism, a collection of treatises, commentaries, and instructions for practice compiled in the time of King Songtsen Gampo and later kings, reflecting the profound inheritance from the Indian Mahayana tradition, especially works by eminent masters of the Yogācāra and Madhyamaka schools.

In the spirit of the Mahayana, treatises such as these are not merely dry philosophical theory, but practical instructions intended to guide beings to liberation. The Northern Canon especially emphasizes the unity between accurate understanding (praṇidhāna) of the nature of reality and the practice of rites, chanting, and visualization (bhāvanā) in order to transform the mind and reach buddhahood.

Scripture Toh 2473, although its title has not yet been fully translated, belongs to the stream of treatises giving detailed guidance to practitioners following the Mahayana-Vajrayāna path, where outer practice (walking meditation and regular practice) is closely linked with inner training of the mind.

Main Content

Treatises in the Tengyur often focus on the principle of the bodhisattva path (Bodhisattva-yāna): the path of those who wish to become Buddhas in order to liberate all beings, not merely themselves. This differs from the Lesser Vehicle, where the chief goal is to attain the fruit of an arhat.

In the context of the Northern Canon, Toh 2473 may focus on one of the key aspects of Mahayana practice: (1) clear understanding of emptiness (śūnyatā), the nature of being devoid of self and lacking inherent existence in all phenomena; (2) the arising of bodhicitta, the aspiration to attain enlightenment for the benefit of beings; or (3) the dharmakāya and the bodies of the Buddha, the transcendent aspects of the Buddha.