Tags: Kunga Drolchok

Finding the Original Jonang Monastery

The Jonangpa have longstanding historical and cultural ties to locality.[1] So much so that their very identity is derived from and enmeshed within their place of origin. The term “Jonang”…

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The Quintessence of Rangtong

A long time coming, actually a year to the day since my last January 13th posting, The Quintessence of Zhentong from the collection of 108 Quintessential Instructions, I thought to…

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On the Shangpa & Jonangpa

Commentators on earlier posts have asked or made reference to relationships between the Shangpa lineage and the Jonangpa.[1] In response, I thought to sketch some of the overlapping threads among…

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A Ngor Kalachakra Mandala

One of my favorite themes in tantric Buddhism is the mandala. The replicated symmetry of a perfected space and the implicit dialogue between the deity and the various facets of…

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Kongtrul’s Jonangpa Connections

One of the most fascinating figures in Tibetan history, Jamgon Kongtrul Lodrö Thayé (1813-1899) is also one of the most studied Tibetan masters. In addition to several articles on his…

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The Quintessence of Zhentong

Thinking about this well structured collection of 108 instructions, I thought to pick a few and post them. Feeling predictable, I wanted to start with what you may expect to…

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108 Quintessential Instructions

As I’ve recently been reading through the collection of 108 Quintessential Instructions that was arranged by the Jonang master Kunga Drolchok (1507-1566), I’ve been thinking through the seemingly simple question,…

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