Toh 3449Untitled

Exposition of the Tengyur Treatise Basket Toh 3449

Background

The Northern Tibetan tradition (Mahāyāna Tibetan Buddhist Tradition) is a Buddhist tradition that developed powerfully in the Himalayan region, and is almost the most complete philosophical-practical system humanity has ever known. The Tengyur, or “Treatise Basket” (Tibetan bstan 'gyur), is a collection of treatises (śāstra) and commentaries by Indian and Tibetan sages on the Buddhist scriptures. The Northern Tibetan tradition regards the Tengyur as a “lens” that helps people thoroughly understand the scriptures.

Toh 3449 belongs to the Treatise Basket and has no clear title, which reflects the character of many works in the Tengyur: they are profound instructional works, often composed by great Buddhist scholars of late Indian Buddhism in order to clarify subtle points in the Dharma. These works are often collectively called “treatises on the Dharmakāya” (Dharmadhātu śāstra) or “treatises on the womb of reality” (Tattvagarbha śāstra) in the context of the Yogācāra and Madhyamaka schools.

Main Content

Although there is no specific title, untitled treatises in the Tengyur often revolve around core Mahayana issues: the nature of mind, impermanence (anicca), selflessness (anattā), and the bodhisattva’s progress toward awakening. These treatises originate in the tradition of commentaries on the Middle Way Treatise (Mūlamadhyamakakārikā) of Greatly Expansive Self (Nāgārjuna), and on the Avataṃsakasūtra or the Sandhinirmocana.

In the Northern Tibetan tradition, these treatises are taught through the methods of “reasoning” (pramāṇa, the method of inference) and “demonstration” (prayoga), helping students not only to trust the Dharma through the Buddha’s teaching, but also to reason and realize it for themselves. This is a distinctive feature of the Northern Tibetan tradition: it does not depend on blind faith, but on profound understanding through reasoning and meditation.