Toh 4163Untitled

Exposition of Scripture Toh 4163—Tengyur (Northern Tibetan Tradition)

Background

This scripture belongs to the Tengyur (གསུང་འབུམ་ – Northern Tibetan Tradition), a collection of explanatory treatises and commentaries by Buddhist sovereigns and holy masters accumulated throughout the period when the Buddhadharma was transmitted to Tibet. Scripture Toh 4163 is one of these precious treatises, profoundly reflecting the Mahāyāna tradition and especially the thought of Tibetan Mahayana Buddhism—a lineage of practice integrating teachings from many schools of ancient Indian Buddhism.

Although the scripture’s title has not been clearly identified in the present materials, the Tengyur generally preserves exegetical works on central subjects: the Four Noble Truths, the nature of mind, the doctrine of emptiness (śūnyatā), bodhisattva practice, and especially the esoteric practices of Vajrayāna. Scripture Toh 4163 is very likely a treatise on one of these subjects, written by a paṇḍita, a master of Buddhist learning, or a bodhisattva who made significant contributions to transmitting and protecting the Buddhadharma.

Main Content

Treatises in the Tengyur of the Northern Mahayana tradition often revolve around the principle that Buddha-nature is present in all sentient beings and that the path of liberation is not limited to attaining arhatship but extends to attaining Buddhahood for the boundless benefit of all sentient beings (bodhicitta—the mind of awakening).

Based on its Tengyur context, Scripture Toh 4163 may address: (1) the stages of bodhisattva practice through the bhūmis (spiritual stages); (2) the relationship between emptiness (śūnyatā) and the ultimate nature (Buddha-nature); (3) esoteric methods for transforming body, speech, and mind into the Buddha’s body, speech, and mind within this very lifetime; or (4) the doctrine of the two truths—conventional truth and ultimate truth—and how they are applied to attain liberation.