Toh 3253Untitled

Commentary on Toh 3253 — Tengyur, Treatise Collection

Context

This work belongs to the Tengyur (Bstan 'gyur), the Northern Collection of the Mahayana tradition, and is part of the vast treasury containing explanations and commentaries on the scriptures of the Buddha Dharma. The Tengyur was first compiled and printed in Beijing in the eighteenth century, and was later widely transmitted in Tibetan, Mongolian, and Himalayan monasteries.

Scripture number Toh 3253 is found in the catalogue of the Treatise Collection, the section reserved for works that explain, analyze, and comment on the Dharma. In the Mahayana Northern tradition, or Tibetan Buddhism, these commentaries are regarded as gathering the essence of the Buddha's teaching, helping monks and lay Buddhists grasp the profound Dharma through a more accessible mode of understanding.

Although the title of the scripture has not been fully identified in the descriptive information, this work is certainly related to one of the central themes of the Mahayana: such as bodhisattva conduct (bodhisattva-carya), the theory of emptiness (sunyata), or aspects of tantric practice. Every treatise is composed with the purpose of helping students better understand the path of liberation.

Main Content

The treatises in this tradition usually analyze, comment on, or expand upon a particular Mahayana sutra. They are not the direct words of the Buddha, but the explanations of learned masters and noble monks (arya-bhiksu), those who have deeply penetrated the Dharma.

If this work belongs to the type of treatise on bodhisattva conduct, it will emphasize the ten paramitas: the six or ten meritorious practices of the bodhisattva, namely giving (dana), discipline (sila), patience (ksanti), diligence (virya), meditative concentration (dhyana), and wisdom (prajnaparamita), together with additional paramitas such as skillful means (upaya) and aspiration (pranidhana). Each practice is analyzed in detail in terms of psychology, practice, and its fruits.