Tsongkhapa Lobzang Drakpa was one of the most influential Tibetan Buddhist scholars of the last millennium. Born in Amdo, he travelled to U-Tsang in his youth, never to return to his homeland. In U-Tsang he studied with numerous teachers of all traditions and engaged in many retreats resulting in his development of a fresh interpretation of Nāgārjuna's Madhyamaka view and a reinvigoration of the monastic Vinaya. Widely regarded as an emanation of Mañjuśrī, Tsongkhapa composed eighteen volumes of works of which the majority dealt with tantric subjects. He was the founder of Ganden Monastery, which became the central monastery of the Geluk tradition that was founded on his teachings and writings. ... read more at
Philosophical positions of this person
Is buddha-nature considered definitive or provisional?
Do all beings have buddha-nature?
To which "turning of the wheel" do the buddha-nature teachings belong?
Second Turning
Wangchuk quotes mkhas grub rje as stating, "In our system, Jé Rinpoché (rje rin po che, that is, Tsongkhapa) mentions that the Uttaratantra primarily comments on the meaning of those sutras that are in conformity with the middle-wheel teachings, such as the Tathāgatagarbhasūtra, Samādhirājasūtra, Jnānālokasūtra, Aṅgulimālāsūtra, Śrīmālādevīsūtra, and so forth." Wangchuk, Tsering, The Uttaratantra in the Land of Snows, p. 89.
Is buddha-nature equated with emptiness or alayavijnana?
Madhyamaka
Note that Wangchuk maintains that he developed this certainty later in his career.
He quotes his Golden Rosary of Excellent Exposition as stating that the Mind-Only presentation of buddha-nature as, "the viewpoint explicated in the Uttaratantra." Wangchuk, Tsering, The Uttaratantra in the Land of Snows, p. 90.
Though he later quotes his presumably final stance as: "In his Illuminating the Thoughts of the Madhyamaka, Tsongkhapa clearly states, "The great master Asaṅga also did not explain the Uttaratantra according to the Cittamātra School, rather he explicated it according to the Madhyamaka School." Wangchuk, Tsering, The Uttaratantra in the Land of Snows, p. 93.
Do buddha-nature teachings belong to the zhentong or rangtong view of emptiness?
Rangtong
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?
What is Buddha-nature?
Tathāgatagarbha as the Emptiness That is a Non-implicative Negation (without enlightened qualities)
Does the author advocate the Svatantrika or Prasangika view of emptiness?
Prāsaṅgika (ཐལ་འགྱུར་)
Wangchuk cites Tsongkhapa's students and commentators on this issue:
He quotes mkhas grub rje as stating, "In our system, Jé Rinpoché (rje rin po che that is, Tsongkhapa) mentions that... The content of the Uttaratantra is in conformity with Prāsaṅgika-Madhyamaka." Wangchuk, Tsering, The Uttaratantra in the Land of Snows, p. 89.
And later on,, "Similarly, Chöwang Drakpé Pel states, "The All-knowing Jétsün (rje btsun, that is, Tsongkhapa) repeatedly made the roar of a lion amongst an assembly of scholars proclaiming that the ultimate view of the Abhisamayālamkāra and the Uttaratantra falls within the system of Prāsaṅgika-Madhyamaka." Wangchuk, Tsering, The Uttaratantra in the Land of Snows, p. 89.
