Toh 3960Untitled

Exposition of Toh 3960 — Tengyur, Collection of Treatises

Background

This text belongs to the collection of treatises (Abhidharmakośa) in the Tengyur of the Northern Tibetan tradition, an important part of the Buddhist Tripitaka according to the Tibetan Mahayana tradition. The Tengyur is a collection of commentaries that follows the Kangyur, the primary scriptures, and is used to develop wisdom and a profound understanding of the Dharma. This work was composed to support monastics and practitioners on the bodhisattva path, helping them master the Dharma body (Dharmakaya) through reasoning and skillful means.

The collection of treatises generally consists of explanations of Abhidharma—the teaching on causes and conditions and on mental and material dharmas. In the Tibetan Mahayana tradition, these works combine the rational inquiry of Prasangikapada (Self-Cognizing Madhyamaka) with realized practice. Text number Toh 3960 is one of these works. Although its title has not been clearly recorded, it is classified within a highly valued canonical system.

Main Content

Works in the collection of treatises generally focus on three central issues: the nature of the self (ātman), the nature of phenomena (dharma), and the path of liberation. According to the Tibetan tradition, this text may explain how mind and matter interact and how one may deeply impress upon one’s understanding the emptiness (śūnyatā) of subject and object.

The specific content of this text has not yet been fully translated. Based on the context of the Tengyur, however, it may be conjectured that it addresses categories such as cause and result (karma-phala), the process of rebirth (saṃsāra), and the stages of practice leading to awakening. The Tibetan tradition emphasizes thoroughly understanding the impermanence (anicca), suffering (dukkha), and non-self (anattā) of all dharmas; this is called the “three branches of impermanence” (trikála-anitya).

This text may also address the doctrine of consciousness (vijñapti) and how mind creates the world (cittamātra), an important teaching in Mahayana Yogacara.