Toh 1651Untitled

Explanation of the Kangyur Tantric Scripture Toh 1651

Context

This scripture belongs to the Kangyur, the collection of the most important esoteric teachings of Vajrayana Buddhism, compiled and translated from Sanskrit into Tibetan in the ninth century. The Kangyur is the scriptural foundation of the Tibetan tantric tradition, containing tantras (Tib. rgyud), scriptures that set forth swift methods of practice directed toward buddhahood.

Toh 1651 is one of the tantras of the Tantra section, belonging either to the class of higher tantra (anuttarayoga-tantra) or to an intermediate tantra, built upon the foundation of basic Buddhist doctrine while developing special methods that use mind-wind energy (citta-prana) to transform the aggregates (skandha), sense fields (ayatana), and the subtle bodily elements.

This scripture is traditionally regarded as deriving from Buddha Shakyamuni or other creative Buddhas, though in substance it is the crystallization of the wisdom of masters who practiced the profound Buddhist path over many centuries.

Main Content

Although the scripture's title has not yet been fully translated, scriptures of the Kangyur Toh 1651 type often present the core elements of tantric practice: sadhana (method of practice) with three principal stages.

First, the generation stage (utpatti-krama), in which practitioners visualize their own wisdom in the form of a Buddha or bodhisattva, with details of color, marks, and mantra. This is not baseless imagination, but a means for activating innate wisdom.

Second, the stage of practice in the path (sthiti-krama), in which practitioners fix their concentration upon the form that has arisen, train in expressive gestures (mudra), work with subtle energy, and gather the mental field of bodhicitta at the energy centers (cakra).

Third, the completion stage (sampatti-krama), in which, upon attaining the union of the innate nature and the active form of buddhahood, practitioners are liberated from all opposing concepts.