By Kurtis Schaeffer (University of Virginia, 2009)
The section on secular treatises, or more accurately “treatises of common traditions” (ཐུན་མོང་བ་ལུགས་ཀྱི་བསྟན་བཅོས་, thun mong ba lugs kyi bstan bcos), contains eighteen works in roughly half a volume. Topics include secular ethics, narrative, and horse medicine.
The most popular works in this section are the nītiśāstras, or treatises on proper moral conduct. These eight works (D.4356-D.4363) are all composed in verse, and are addressed to secular leaders. They have remained popular sources for Tibetan discussions of statecraft.
Two short works on prognostication based upon human physical features follow (D.4364-D.4365). Note that one (D.4364) is translated by Orgyenpa Rinchenpel (ཨོ་རྒྱན་པ་རིན་ཆེན་དཔལ་, o rgyan pa rin chen dpal, 1235-1280), whose translations of short works on alchemy are found in the previous section of the Tengyur on fine arts.
Next are six brief narrative works on the spiritual accomplishments of individual figures (D.4368-D.4373).
The section ends with a treatise on veterinary medicine for horses (D.4373). This served as a major source for Tibetan treatises on the subject.
Literature: