Jonang

The Jonang are a tradition of Tibetan Buddhism. Founded by Dolpopa Sherab Gyeltsen (1292–1361), it is sometimes considered an offshoot of the Sakya tradition. Best known for the great scholar Taranatha (1575–1634), the Jonang emphasize the teachings of the Kalacakra Tantra, and are known for a unique interpretation of the doctrine of emptiness, which holds that all human concepts are empty of inherent nature, but the true substance of the universe is pure, radiant Buddhahood. The Jonang were suppressed by the Fifth Dalai Lama in the mid-seventeenth century in central Tibet, but the tradition survives in the Dzamtang region of Amdo, Eastern Tibet. A follower of the Jonang is called a Jonangpa.