Toh 3155Untitled

Explanation of Toh 3155 — A Treatise from the Tengyur

Background

This text belongs to the Treatise Collection (śāstra) in the Tengyur of the Northern Transmission tradition, a part of the Mahayana Buddha Dharma. The Tengyur is a collection of commentaries and annotations on the scriptures of the Buddha Dharma, compiled on the basis of works by great bodhisattva scholars and Buddhist masters. Text number Toh 3155 belongs to the classification system of the Tibetan Buddhist Canon Institute, indicating a profound work on doctrine or practice within the Mahayana tradition.

Although the title has not been fully translated, works in the Tengyur often explain important aspects of the Buddha Dharma, such as: the bodhisattva path, ultimate truth (paramārtha-satya), Buddha-nature, or methods of practice related to great compassion (mahākaruṇā) and bodhicitta. These treatises were composed by great masters such as Āryadeva, Candrakīrti, Bhāvaviveka, or later scholars, with the aim of clarifying the deeply hidden meanings of the Dharma.

Main Content

The treatises in the Tengyur often begin by presenting the scriptural basis (sūtra) on which they comment, and then analyze philosophical or practical issues in detail. In the Northern Transmission tradition, especially in the Gelug, Nyingma, Kagyu, and Sakya schools, the Tengyur is regarded as an expression of the four bodhisattva presences — Samantabhadra, Mañjuśrī, Avalokiteśvara, and Kṣitigarbha.

Toh 3155 most likely delves into one of the core themes: the teaching on the twofold emptiness (śūnyatā-dvaya), the three bodies of the Buddha (trikāya), the pure mind (tathāgatagarbha), or the theory of compassion (karuṇā) and fearlessness (abhaya). This approach requires the use of formal logic, Yogācāra reasoning, or Madhyamaka analysis to clarify seeming contradictions and guide practitioners beyond errors in wisdom.