In the history of the Jonang tradition Tāranātha is second in importance only to Dölpopa himself. He was responsible for the Jonang renaissance in U-Tsang during the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries, and the widespread revitalization of the zhentong teachings. Like his previous incarnation, Kunga Drolchok, Tāranātha practiced and taught from many different lineages and was nonsectarian in his approach to realization. He was also one of the last great Tibetan translators of Sanskrit texts. The abbot of Jonang Monastery, he emphasized the practice of the Sakya teachings of Lamdre and the esoteric instructions of the Shangpa Kagyu, but he specially focused on the explication of the Kālacakra Tantra and the practice of its Six-branch Yoga as the most profound of all the teachings given by the Buddha. It is clear in his writings that Tāranātha considered Dölpopa to be the ultimate authority in matters of doctrine and practice. ... read more at
Philosophical positions of this person
Is buddha-nature considered definitive or provisional?
Definitive
Do all beings have buddha-nature?
Yes
To which "turning of the wheel" do the buddha-nature teachings belong?
Third Turning
Is buddha-nature equated with emptiness or alayavijnana?
Madhyamaka
Do buddha-nature teachings belong to the zhentong or rangtong view of emptiness?
Zhentong
Are there one or three vehicles on the path to buddhahood?
Do the author's writings belong to the analytic or meditative tradition of Uttaratantra exegesis?
Meditative Tradition
What is Buddha-nature?
Tathāgatagarbha as the Emptiness That is an Implicative Negation (with enlightened qualities)
Does the author advocate the Svatantrika or Prasangika view of emptiness?