Toh 3693Untitled

Exposition of the Treatise Collection (Toh 3693) - Northern Canon Mahayana Tradition

Context

This work is found in the Tengyur, the collection of treatises (Śāstra) of the Northern transmission of the Buddha Dharma, consisting of explanations and developments of doctrine from the principal scriptures. Toh 3693 is a treatise on the profound meaning of the Dharma, reflecting Tibet’s essential Mahāyāna tradition, where advanced masters such as Nāgārjuna, Āryadeva, and other great bodhisattva noble beings clarified the practice of the true Dharma.

In the historical context of Tibetan Buddhism (from the eighth century onward), the Tengyur became the foundation of all schools of cultivation, from Nyingma to Gelug. Each treatise was carefully selected to protect the integrity of the Dharma as it is and to guide practitioners onto the bodhisattva path.

Main Content

Although the specific title of each scripture has not been fully published, Toh 3693 belongs among treatises on the Dharmakāya or on aspects of Bodhicitta in the Northern Canon Mahayana. Such works often explore deeply:

The selfless nature (śūnyatā) and perfect knowledge (jñāna) of the Buddhas. The treatise does not merely explain philosophy, but points out the concrete path of cultivation, from establishing the bodhisattva mind to opening the wisdom of Buddha-nature.

The unsurpassed Dharma of mind (anuttarayoga tantra) or the stages of sādhana practice are also often developed through treatises such as this, guiding practitioners to understand clearly the connection between mind, speech (words), and body (身) in the process of cultivation.

What is distinctive in the Northern Canon tradition is the emphasis on the perfect union of reasoning (pratisamvit) and direct practice (anuprayoga), so as to avoid the condition of practicing without understanding the principle, or understanding the principle but being unable to carry it out.