Tags: shentong

Reflecting ‘The Crystal Mirror’

Maybe its the dark magnetism of impending all hallows’ eve, but I’m feeling a mischievous urge to rile up all the ghouls and goblins of unapologetic dogmatism and have them…

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At the Great Stupa of Jonang

The following is a transcript of a talk, The Legacy of the Jonangpa by Michael Sheehy at the Great Stupa of Jonang in Tibet on July 17, 2009. So, the…

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Tsoknyi Gyatso on Zhentong

Without jumping the gun (as we continue to set the text), I thought to write a post with the hope to help contextualize a forthcoming publication in the Tibetan language…

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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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Are there Geluk Zhentongpas?

Are there Geluk zhentongpas? This is a question that I’ve been asking for some time. Fortunately, a set of rare texts that were recently recovered from Tibet may shed some…

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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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Tibetan Zhentong Discourse II

Kongtrul also lists Rangjung Dorje’s and Dolpopa’s contemporary, the celebrated Nyingma master Kunkhyen Drimé Odzer or Longchen Rabjam (1308-1363). Longchenpa does use similar terminology but in a context and with…

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Tārāyogīni Tantra & Practice

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This post is titled, The Transmission of the Tantra and Practices of Tārāyogīni (Sgrol ma rnal ‘byor ma): A Little-Known Jonang Specialty. By Thomas Roth, a contributing author to the…

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Zhentong isn’t Cittamātra

For some reason, those unfamiliar with the zhentong presentation tend to associate it with the Cittamāra (“Mind Only” or “Mentalist”) system, as if Madhyamaka was only divided into Svātantrika and…

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Dolpopa’s Experience

With “expressions of emptiness” on my mind, I thought it might be nice to reflect on Dolpopa Sherab Gyaltsen’s experience of this quintessential phenomena, and how this experience acted as…

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