Toh 3180Untitled

Exposition of Toh 3180 — Tengyur, Treatise Collection

Context

This scripture belongs to the Tengyur, a collection of treatises explaining the Buddha Dharma in the Northern Canon Mahayana tradition, compiled anew in Tibet from the eighth century onward. The number Toh 3180 locates it within the Treatise Collection (Abhidharmakośa-bhāṣya or a similar category), where works discussing dharmata, mind, and the path of practice are contained.

Although the original title has not yet been translated into Vietnamese, according to the context of the Tengyur and especially the Treatise Collection, this scripture is very likely an exegetical treatise on the nature of mind, formations (saṃskāra), or methods of practice according to the bodhisattva path of the Mahayana tradition. Works in this collection often give profound explanations of general Buddhist scriptures, especially concerning cause and effect, mind and consciousness, and the way to transcend suffering through wisdom and compassion.

Main Content

Like other treatises in the Tengyur, Toh 3180 is based on the core principles of Mahayana: the bodhisattva path is the complete path to attaining buddhahood. Unlike the Lesser Vehicle perspective, which aims only toward the Hearer (Śrāvaka) or the Solitary Buddha (Pratyekabuddha), Mahayana affirms that all beings can become Buddhas, and that this path is developed through the Six Perfections (Ṣaḍ-pāramitā): generosity, discipline, patience, diligence, meditation, and wisdom.

This treatise may focus on the unity of theory (śāstra) and practice, explaining that spiritual cultivation is not merely intellectual understanding, but the transformation of each and every event of mind in accordance with the Dharma. It also emphasizes the nature of non-self-existence (śūnyatā) of all dharmas, and the way in which profound understanding of non-self-existence is the key to liberation from the cycle of birth and death (saṃsāra).