Toh 3775Untitled

Exposition of Scripture Toh 3775 - Tengyur Treatise Treasury

Context

This scripture belongs to the Treatise Treasury (Śāstra) within the Tengyur of the Northern Treasury Mahayana tradition, preserved and maintained by the Tibetan Buddhist Dharma tradition. The Treatise Treasury is a collection of treatises and commentaries that deeply explain the scriptures of the bodhisattva path, composed by bodhisattvas and noble ones of different eras in the history of the Buddhist Dharma.

In the Mahayana context, especially in the Northern Treasury school, the Treatise Treasury plays an extremely important role. It not only explains the fundamental scriptures but also guides those who practice the Dharma according to the bodhisattva path, that is, toward supreme wisdom (Bodhi) in order to liberate all sentient beings from the cycle of samsara. The Tengyur was translated from original works in Sanskrit and Tibetan, reflecting the accumulation and development of Buddhist Dharma theory over many centuries.

Scripture Toh 3775 is one of the precious treatises. Although its title is not currently available in the descriptive information, it certainly addresses central Mahayana issues such as bodhisattva conduct, the wisdom of emptiness (śūnyatā), or practice in accord with absolute truth.

Main Content

As a treatise in the Northern Treasury tradition, this scripture focuses profoundly on the fundamental truths of the Mahayana. According to this tradition, treatises often analyze in detail aspects of the bodhisattva path, including:

First, the treatise discusses the nature of Buddha-nature and the capacity of all sentient beings to become Buddhas. This differs from other traditions in affirming that every sentient being possesses latent Buddha-nature, and that the process of practice is the realization of this nature, not the creation of it from nothing.

Second, it focuses on the unreal nature of all dharmas (śūnyatā-śūnyatā, that is, the emptiness of emptiness itself). This is the profound point of the Madhyamaka school, transmitted through bodhisattva commentators such as Nāgārjuna and Candrakīrti.