Toh 3450Untitled

Exposition of Scripture Toh 3450 — Tengyur Treatise Basket

Background

This scripture is recorded in the Tengyur, the collection of supporting treatises and teachings of Mahayana Buddhadharma in the Northern Tibetan tradition. The Tengyur, the “commentarial” section of the Tibetan Buddhist Canon, contains hundreds of treatises by bodhisattvas and Buddhist scholars from the golden age of Indian Buddhism, from the fourth century to the twelfth century.

Toh 3450 is one of the important treatises within the Treatise Basket, where eminent teachers of the Northern Tibetan tradition such as Nagarjuna, Asanga, Vasubandhu, and later masters commented upon and clarified the hidden meanings of the Mahayana scriptures. This work reflects the impartial inheritance of the Buddhadharma from the land of the Buddha to the land of Tibet, while also sheltering countless sentient beings on the journey into the Path.

Main Content

Although the title of this scripture has not yet been fully translated in the descriptive information, based on its position in the Tengyur Treatise Basket, this scripture focuses on one of the cores of Northern Tibetan Mahayana: correct understanding of the nature of mind, selflessness (śūnyatā), and the bodhisattva’s path of wisdom toward awakening for the benefit of all sentient beings.

According to the Northern Tibetan tradition, the treatise-master wrote this scripture in order to explain the metaphors and teachings in the Mahayana scriptures from the philosophical perspective of Madhyamaka or 唯识 (Yogācāra), the two most important schools in Mahayana Buddhism. This treatise may address the correct understanding of emptiness, the relationship between philosophical view and meditative practice, or the stages of practice of a bodhisattva on the journey into the awakening of Buddhahood.

The outstanding feature of this treatise-master is the close integration of theory (darsana) and practice (sādhana), so that thought does not become abstract and useless; on the contrary, all commentary has the purpose of guiding the student’s mind toward gradual transformation.