Toh 3860Untitled

An Exposition of Toh 3860 — The Tibetan Mahayana Collection of Treatises

Background

This text belongs to the Collection of Treatises (Tengyur)—a compilation of commentaries and treatises explaining the Dharma, composed by eminent Mahayana and Tibetan masters in the centuries after the Buddha entered nirvana. Toh 3860 is one of the important treatises of the Northern Mahayana tradition, reflecting the profound development of Buddhist thought from the flourishing period of Buddhism in India through its reception and exposition by Tibetan Dharma masters.

The Collection of Treatises is the intellectual foundation of Tibetan Mahayana. These treatises are not merely dry explanations but mirrors that clearly reveal the bodhisattva path—the journey toward buddhahood for the sake of all sentient beings. The appearance of Toh 3860 marks the transmission of precious Dharma teachings between generations of noble sages.

Main Content

Although its title has not been fully identified in the present source materials, Toh 3860 belongs to a class of treatises discussing central subjects of Tibetan Mahayana: the nature of mind (cittasvabhāva), the nature of the Buddha element (Buddha-dhātu), or the bodhisattva path. Such treatises commonly investigate the profound relationship between theory and practice.

In the Tibetan tradition, a treatise is regarded as a form of direct experience expressed through logic and philosophy. The author of Toh 3860—whether Āryadeva, Candrakīrti, Dharmakīrti, or another eminent master—endeavored to dispel the darkness of delusion (avidyā), helping sentient beings understand more clearly the nature of reality (tathatā).

This treatise affirms a fundamental principle: all phenomena lack an independent intrinsic nature (anātman), yet this does not mean that existence is entirely meaningless. Rather, it opens the way to an understanding of dependent origination (pratītyasamutpāda)—the infinitely subtle interrelationship of all things. This is the key to liberation.