Toh 1943Untitled

Exposition of the Northern Transmission Tengyur (Toh 1943)

Context

The Tengyur of the Northern Transmission is a collection of treatises and expositions of Buddhist scriptures composed by great masters from the eighth century onward. In the Mahayana system of the Northern Transmission, the Treatise Section (Abhidharmakośa-bhāṣya) plays an important role in explaining Dharma methods, especially matters related to the nature of consciousness (citta), mental factors (caitasika), and the principle of cause and effect (karma-phala).

Toh 1943, a part of the Tengyur, belongs to the system of discursive treatises on the profound Buddha Dharma. The Northern Transmission regards the Tengyur as an indispensable treasury of knowledge for accurately understanding the intent of the root scriptures (Kangyur). The authors of these treatises, such as Vasubandhu, Bhāvaviveka, and Candrakīrti, were Buddhist philosophers with profound realization of the Dharma.

Main Content

Although the title has not yet been fully translated, based on the context of Toh 1943 within the Tengyur, this work is directed toward analyzing subtle aspects of Mahayana Buddhism. Usually, such treatises discuss:

First, the nature of selflessness (anātman). The Northern Transmission emphasizes selflessness in two aspects: the selflessness of persons (pudgalanairātmya) and the selflessness of phenomena (dharmanairātmya). This does not deny the existence of phenomena, but points out that there is no independent, unchanging essence behind the functioning of phenomena.

Second, the concept of emptiness (śūnyatā). In this emptiness, all dharmas lack any inherently existing nature (svabhāva), yet still exist in dependent relation (pratītyasamutpāda). This is the balance between existence and nonexistence that the Madhyamaka of the Northern Transmission always maintains.

Third, the doctrine of the knowable ground (ālaya-vijñāna), or “storehouse mind.” According to the Northern Transmission, the storehouse mind is the basis for the conveyance of karmic seeds (bīja) through lifetimes.