Introduction to the Jonang School
The Jonang School is the 4th of the major schools in Tibetan Buddhism. Although once persecuted for views which were considered heretical, the Jonang School now enjoys renewed support from His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama, and is taking on a revival in Tibet.
The practice of Kalachakra yoga is a speciality of the Jonang tradition, and this is viewed as an especially important form of buddhist practice and meditaton.
The first Jonang monastery in India is the Jonang Takten Phuntsok Chosling Monastery at Shimla - which preserves the practice of Palchowk yoga under the leadership of Abbot Chokyi Nangwa.
Two of the most important founders of the Jonang tradition are Taranatha and Dolpopa. Dolpopa is responsible for bringing the view of "Other Emptiness" to popularity, and blending it with the practice of Kalachakra yoga.
Further reading:
Stearns, Cyrus. (1999) The Buddha from Dolpo: A Study of the Life and Thought of the Tibetan Master Dolpopa Sherab Gyaltsen. New York: State University of New York Press.
- Includes a short biography of Dolpopa, an introduction to the view of 'Other Emptiness', and selected translated texts.
Nyingpo, Taranatha Kunga. (1575-1635) Tarantha’s Indian Buddhist History.
- A history of Buddhism in India written by the most eminent master of the Jonang tradition and great Tibet scholar and historian.
