Toh 4221Untitled

Exposition of Tengyur Scripture Toh 4221

Background

The Tengyur is a collection of treatises and commentaries on Buddhist scriptures, compiled within the Tibetan Buddhist tradition. Toh 4221 belongs to the Treatise Canon (Sastra Pitaka), in which Buddhist masters and scholars presented profound explanations of the Buddha’s Dharma teachings. The Mahayana Northern Canonical Tradition (or Tibetan Buddhism) emphasizes the interaction between the Sutra teachings (scriptures and Vinaya) and the esoteric teachings (secret Dharma methods), with the aim of helping sentient beings attain complete awakening within a single lifetime.

Although the specific title of this scripture has not yet been fully translated, its position within the Tengyur indicates that it is a philosophical treatise or a work on Buddhist practice. Works in the Tengyur commonly explain profound aspects of the Dharma, including the theory of emptiness (sunyata), Buddha-nature, or methods of practice leading to awakening.

Main Content

In the Mahayana Northern Canonical Tradition, Tengyur treatises commonly explore the relationship between ultimate truth (the absolute) and conventional truth (relative worldly reality). They teach that all phenomena have the nature of emptiness (sunyata)—they lack an independent intrinsic nature—yet at the same time, all possess an inherent capacity for awakening. This is the foundation of the teaching of Buddha-nature: that all sentient beings have possessed the Buddha-nature since beginningless time.

These treatises also frequently address the threefold sphere of generosity (Dana Paramita)—the giver, the recipient, and the gift—all being absent from conceptual consciousness (Trisunyata). This approach combines the Sutra and esoteric teachings, for it teaches how an action may simultaneously be practical while also being understood as devoid of intrinsic nature.