Tibetan Leaders Endorse Jonang

Last week, during the 11th conference of Tibetan religious leaders that was held in Dharamsala, India, the Jonang was endorsed as a distinct and autonomous tradition of Tibetan Buddhism. This confirmation comes after years of petitioning the representative authorities in exile for official status. The next step in this deliberation process is approval from Tibetan Parliament. There is hope that the issue will be raised and approved during the congress of Parliament next spring.

Presiding over the conference, His Holiness the Dalai Lama strongly urged members to seriously consider the issue of granting status to the Jonang. Conference members who made this endorsement were the heads and high-ranking lamas of each of the Tibetan religious traditions: Sakya, Geluk, Nyingma, Kagyu and Bon.