Toh 3901Untitled

An Exposition of Toh 3901—The Tengyur (Tibetan Collection of Treatises)

Background

The Tengyur (Bstan ’gyur), belonging to the Northern Tibetan tradition, is a collection of treatises (śāstra) explaining the Buddha’s teachings. Toh 3901 is listed among the treatises of the Mahayana Northern Tibetan tradition, composed by Indian and Tibetan masters in the centuries after Buddha Śākyamuni’s parinirvana. Although its title has not yet been fully identified, this text forms part of a comprehensive system of teachings in which learned masters such as Vasubandhu and Asaṅga, as well as Tibetan masters, profoundly analyzed the Mahayana Dharma.

In the context of the Mahayana Northern Tibetan tradition, all these treatises are regarded as means of helping sentient beings develop bodhicitta and cultivate bodhisattva conduct. The Tengyur is not merely a theoretical resource but also a radiant guide to practice for hundreds of generations of Tibetan monastics and Buddhists.

Main Content

Although the detailed content of Toh 3901 has not been fully translated, in the spirit of Mahayana treatises such works commonly focus on three essential subjects: (1) the Two Truths—the distinction between relative truth and ultimate truth; (2) mind and its objects—the nature of mind and sensation, and how sentient beings become ensnared by ignorance (avidyā); and (3) the path of liberation—how to cultivate causes and conditions so that Buddhahood may arise.

In the Tibetan tradition, such treatises are received through four principal schools: Nyingma, the ancient tradition; Kagyu; Sakya; and Gelug. Each school relies upon the Tengyur but explains it differently according to its philosophical orientation. Notably, the treatise masters never separate theory from practice—every philosophical reflection is intended to illuminate a specific path of practice, from cultivating loving-kindness (maitrī) to realizing non-self (anattā) or emptiness (śūnyatā).