Toh 1881Untitled

Commentary on the Tantric Scripture (Toh 1881)

Context

This scripture belongs to the Kangyur collection, the gathering of Buddhist scriptures translated from Sanskrit into Tibetan, especially the tantras of the Vajrayana tradition. The Kangyur was compiled in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries under the direction of Tibetan Dharma kings and is the scriptural basis for the schools of Tibetan Buddhism.

The Tantric scriptures in the Kangyur are divided into five main types according to the profundity of the Dharma: Kriyā Tantra, Caryā Tantra, Yoga Tantra, and Highest Yoga Tantra (Anuttarayoga Tantra). Each of these scriptures instructs practitioners who possess vigorous effort and a deep foundation of practice, from arousing bodhicitta to realizing the most exalted meditative concentrations.

The position of Toh 1881 in the Kangyur shows that this is part of the transmission of Vajrayana secret teachings, where the Buddha is manifested in the forms of yidams and noble bodhisattvas, or yidams within complex mandalas, in order to teach the disciples of Tantra.

Main Content

The specific content of this scripture has not yet been fully translated in currently public materials. However, according to the Tantric tradition, the scriptures in the Kangyur usually instruct on core matters such as: the manifestation of the yidam in the process of sadhana practice, the relation between the yidam and our own Buddha-nature (Buddhata), methods of visualizing settings (mandala) and secret mantra syllables (mantra), as well as the transformation of mental energy (nadi, prana, bindu) through techniques of breathing and mental concentration (pranayama, dharana).

Tantric scriptures emphasize that Buddha-nature is not something far away, but is hidden directly within the nature of mind itself. Through yidam practice, we do not create something new, but recognize again what is already present, namely the Buddha-nature, or śūnyatā, of our own mind.