Toh 1181Untitled

An Exposition of the Tantric Scripture (Toh 1181)

Background

This scripture belongs to the Kangyur, the collection of teachings translated from Sanskrit into Tibetan during the period when Buddhism was propagated in Tibet (eighth to eleventh centuries). In the Vajrayāna tantric tradition, the teachings are divided into four levels (Kriyā, Charyā, Yoga, and Anuttarayoga Tantra), each of which has its own characteristics regarding techniques of practice, duration of practice, and ultimate aim.

Toh 1181 lies within the corpus of tantric Tantras, where the Buddha Śākyamuni, or another Buddha, a Tathāgata, teaches methods that go beyond the ordinary understanding of common people. These tantric scriptures were not proclaimed publicly before great assemblies like the Mahāyāna sūtras, but were transmitted privately between teacher and student after deep spiritual preparation and cultivation.

Main Content

Although the title of the scripture has not been fully provided, based on the context of the Vajrayāna Tantras, this scripture certainly teaches one of the core elements of the tantric path: the transformation of consciousness through the union with mental imagery (devatā visualization), the training of subtle energy (prāṇa) within the channels of energy (nāḍī), and the mapping of abstract concepts onto the subtle body.

In Tantra, the sole aim is not merely to escape samsāra as in the Lesser Vehicle, nor only to attain immediate buddhahood as in the Mahāyāna. The aim is to transform oneself into a perfected Buddha within a single lifetime, by making use of the human and cosmic elements contained within the human body.

This scripture teaches that these elements are not separate or isolated truths, but expressions of a single reality, the quality of Tathātā, suchness. When a tantric practitioner completes the practice (sādhana), step by step he uses wisdom (prajñā) to see through to the fact that these very elements are also without self-nature (anātman).