The state of being devoid of that which is wholly different rather than being void of its own nature. The term is generally used to refer to the ultimate, or buddha-nature, being empty of other phenomena such as adventitious defiling emotions but not empty of its true nature.
There is no monolithic Shentong School but a great variety of ways in which different Tibetan masters understand this term and how they formulate the associated view. A text by the twentieth-century Kagyü scholar Surmang Padma Namgyal (Zur mang pad ma rnam rgyal n.d., 60.3–61.6) lists seven different kinds of views held by various Jonang, Sakya, Kagyü, and Nyingma masters on the distinction between rangtong and shentong (I am indebted to Anne Burchardi for drawing my attention to this text and providing me with a copy of it). According to this text, (1) Dölpopa and his followers hold consciousness to be rangtong and wisdom to be shentong. (2) Śākya Chogden considers phenomena—appearances—as rangtong and the nature of phenomena—luminosity—as shentong. (3) Sabsang Mati Paṇchen maintains subject and object to be rangtong and expanse (dbyings) and wisdom to be shentong. (4) The Thirteenth Karmapa considers saṃsāra to be rangtong and nirvāṇa to be shentong. (5) The Eighth Karmapa and his followers take the pure kāyas and wisdom to be rangtong in terms of their actual mode of being and to be shentong in terms of the way they appear. (6) The Eighth Situpa considers the side of negation as rangtong and the side of affirmation as shentong. (7) The Nyingma master Gédsé Paṇchen from Gaḥto Monastery (Tib. Kaḥ thog dge rtse paṇ chen, 1761–1829) regards the phase of conclusive resolve during meditative equipoise to be rangtong and the phase of clearly distinguishing during subsequent attainment to be shentong. Among these seven views, Padma Namgyal explicitly considers views (4), (6), and (7) to be good positions. Summarizing the seven into three, Padma Namgyal says that Dölpopa asserts wisdom to be shentong, Śākya Chogden holds the expanse to be shentong, and all others take both wisdom and the expanse to be shentong. When summarized into two, the first five are said to present rangtong and shentong mainly by way of what is to be determined, while the latter two do so primarily by way of the means to determine that. Note though (and this complicates matters further) that these seven distinctions are obviously based on three very different categories of comparison in terms of what rangtong and shentong mean. The first—and most common—category takes rangtong and shentong to refer to phenomena as belonging to two different levels of reality (seeming and ultimate), which underlies views (1)–(5). The second category refers to rangtong and shentong as two approaches to conceptually determine the subject in question (6). The third category considers rangtong and shentong as distinct (nonconceptual) experiences or phases in the process of attaining realization (7). - Karl Brunnhölzl, ''When the Clouds Part'', p. 1018, nt. 532.
jo nang pas 'dod pa'i lta ba ste/ yul gzung ba dang yul can 'dzin pa gnyis su med pa rtogs pa'i gzung 'dzin gnyis med kyi ye shes de yongs grub yin la/ de gzhan dbang dang kun btags sogs kun rdzob pa'i chos gzhan gyis stongs pas na gzhan stong zhes zer/
Since adventitious, relative entities do not exist at all in reality, they are empty of their own essences; they are self-empty. The innate ultimate, which is the ultimate emptiness of these relative things, is never nonexistent; therefore, it is other-empty.
Dölpopa Sherab Gyaltsen, ''Collected Works'' ('Dzamthang ed., 1998), Vol. 6: 416. Translated by Douglas Duckworth in "Onto-theology and Emptiness: The Nature of Buddha-Nature." (2014), page 1075.
:དེ་ལ་ཀུན་རྫོབ་གློ་བུར་བའི་དངོས་པོ་རྣམས་ནི་གནས་ལུགས་ལ་གཏན་ནས་མེད་པའི་ཕྱིར་རང་གི་ངོ་བོས་སྟོང་སྟེ་དེ་ནི་རང་སྟོང་ངོ་། ཀུན་རྫོབ་དེ་རྣམས་ཀྱིས་སྟོང་པའི་དོན་དམ་སྟོང་པའི་དོན་དམ་གཉུག་མ་ནི་ནམ་ལང་མེད་པ་མ་ཡིན་པའི་ཕྱིར་གཞན་སྟོང་ངོ་། ::དོལ་པོ་པ་ཤེས་རབ་རྒྱལ་མཚན་ གསུང་འབུམ་ལས་པོད་དྲུག་པ་༤༡༦ (འཛམ་ཐང་: ཕྱིའི་ལོ་༡༩༩༨)
gzhan stong;gzhan stong;Zhentong;shentong; zhentong; other-emptiness; empty of other; Zhentong; Shentong;
gzhan stong - The state of being devoid of that which is wholly different rather than being void of its own nature. The term is generally used to refer to the ultimate, or buddha-nature, being empty of other phenomena such as adventitious defiling emotions but not empty of its true nature. Tib. གཞན་སྟོང་
Key Terms/gzhan stong
gzhan stong# QUERYea4eddf5826f2492e34b9aa03e1977b1
~"gzhan stong"
gzhan stong# QUERYbad203a336348db0f6c3b52a3e61e39e
gzhan stong# QUERYf13e94e25fed9a5fc95e433cb3b3b442
Book '"`UNIQ--noglossary-00000000-QINU`"'
gzhan stong# QUERY86e6f9228bb7d6e9cf10ba7d2b9b264d
Article '"`UNIQ--noglossary-00000001-QINU`"'
gzhan stong# QUERYf7a31a643031c3a3e961a2a940eeddfe
|Sanskrit Text '"`UNIQ--noglossary-00000002-QINU`"'
gzhan stong# QUERYeaf9b1364423ee90a667f03d0093b634
Interview '"`UNIQ--noglossary-00000003-QINU`"'
gzhan stong# QUERY36f732ee6ebef56f461e89a1b5f942d4
|Video '"`UNIQ--noglossary-00000004-QINU`"'
gzhan stong# QUERYb0baf2ad38c803e50394b8f105bcf491
Books/A Direct Path to the Buddha Within: Go Lotsāwa's Mahāmudrā Interpretation of the Ratnagotravibhāga
A Direct Path to the Buddha Within: Go Lotsāwa's Mahāmudrā Interpretation of the Ratnagotravibhāga
Articles/A Late Proponent of the Jo nang gZhan stong Doctrine: Ngag dbang tshogs gnyis rgya mtsho (1880–1940)
A Late Proponent of the Jo nang gZhan stong Doctrine: Ngag dbang tshogs gnyis rgya mtsho (1880–1940)
Articles/A Look at the Diversity of the Gzhan stong Tradition
A Look at the Diversity of the Gzhan stong Tradition
Articles/A Tree In The West: Competing Tathāgatagarbha Theories in Tibet
A Tree In The West: Competing Tathāgatagarbha Theories in Tibet
Articles/Buddha by Nature or Buddha by Nurture: Deliberations on the Buddha-Nature Theory in the Nyingma Tradition by Dorji Wangchuk: Conversations on Buddha-Nature
Buddha by Nature or Buddha by Nurture: Deliberations on the Buddha-Nature Theory in the Nyingma Tradition by Dorji Wangchuk: Conversations on Buddha-Nature
Books/Buddha-Nature and a Dialectic of Presence and Absence in the Works of Mi-pham
Buddha-Nature and a Dialectic of Presence and Absence in the Works of Mi-pham
Articles/Can We Speak of Kadam Gzhan Stong? Tracing the Sources for Other-Emptiness in Early-Fourteenth-Century Tibet
Can We Speak of Kadam Gzhan Stong? Tracing the Sources for Other-Emptiness in Early-Fourteenth-Century Tibet
Articles/Did ’Gos lo tsā ba gZhon nu dpal (1392–1481) Espouse a gZhan stong View?
Did ’Gos lo tsā ba gZhon nu dpal (1392–1481) Espouse a gZhan stong View?
Books/Die Anwendung der Tathagatagarbha-Lehre
Books/Dolopopa's Mountian Dharma (Thrangu 2023)
Dolopopa's Mountian Dharma (Thrangu 2023)
Media/Dorji Wangchuk: Buddha by Nature or Buddha by Nurture? On the Views of Rongzompa, Longchenpa, and Mipam
Dorji Wangchuk: Buddha by Nature or Buddha by Nurture? On the Views of Rongzompa, Longchenpa, and Mipam
Media/Dorji Wangchuk: Is "Other-Emptiness" Taught as Part of the Curriculum in Nyingma Shedras Today?
Dorji Wangchuk: Is "Other-Emptiness" Taught as Part of the Curriculum in Nyingma Shedras Today?
Media/Douglas Duckworth at the 2019 Tathāgatagarbha Symposium
Douglas Duckworth at the 2019 Tathāgatagarbha Symposium
Articles/Elucidating the Zhentong View: A Condensation of the Threefold Nature of Reality
Elucidating the Zhentong View: A Condensation of the Threefold Nature of Reality
Media/Filippo Brambilla at the 2019 Tathāgatagarbha Symposium
Filippo Brambilla at the 2019 Tathāgatagarbha Symposium
Articles/From the Three Natures to the Two Natures: On a Fluid Approach to the Two Versions of Other-Emptiness from Fifteenth-Century Tibet
From the Three Natures to the Two Natures: On a Fluid Approach to the Two Versions of Other-Emptiness from Fifteenth-Century Tibet
Articles/Grounds of Buddha-Nature in Tibet
Articles/How Can a Momentary and Conditioned Mind Be Integral to Gzhan Stong?
How Can a Momentary and Conditioned Mind Be Integral to Gzhan Stong?
Articles/Introduction to Other-Emptiness and the Great Middle Way
Introduction to Other-Emptiness and the Great Middle Way
Articles/Introduction: The History of the Rang stong-Gzhan stong Distinction from Its Beginning through the Ris-med Movement
Introduction: The History of the Rang stong-Gzhan stong Distinction from Its Beginning through the Ris-med Movement
Media/Karl Brunnhölzl: On the Rang stong-Gzhan stong Debate
Karl Brunnhölzl: On the Rang stong-Gzhan stong Debate
Media/Karl Brunnhölzl: On the Third Karmapa Rangjung Dorje's View of Buddha-Nature
Karl Brunnhölzl: On the Third Karmapa Rangjung Dorje's View of Buddha-Nature
Articles/Kaḥ thog Dge rtse Mahāpaṇḍita's Doxographical Position: The Great Madhyamaka of Other-Emptiness (gzhan stong dbu ma chen po)
Kaḥ thog Dge rtse Mahāpaṇḍita's Doxographical Position: The Great Madhyamaka of Other-Emptiness (gzhan stong dbu ma chen po)
Media/Khenpo Ngawang Jorden at the 2019 Tathāgatagarbha Symposium
Khenpo Ngawang Jorden at the 2019 Tathāgatagarbha Symposium
Media/Khenpo Tenzin Norgay: On the Position of Mipam vis-à-vis the Rang stong and Gzhan stong Debate
Khenpo Tenzin Norgay: On the Position of Mipam vis-à-vis the Rang stong and Gzhan stong Debate
Media/Klaus-Dieter Mathes at the 2019 Tathāgatagarbha Symposium
Klaus-Dieter Mathes at the 2019 Tathāgatagarbha Symposium
Articles/Kong sprul on the Great Madhyamaka of Other-Emptiness: Theory and Practice
Kong sprul on the Great Madhyamaka of Other-Emptiness: Theory and Practice
Media/Lama Shenpen Hookham: On Explaining the Shentong View to Beginners
Lama Shenpen Hookham: On Explaining the Shentong View to Beginners
Media/Lama Shenpen Hookham: On Her Approach to the Rangtong and Shentong Debate over the Nature of Reality
Lama Shenpen Hookham: On Her Approach to the Rangtong and Shentong Debate over the Nature of Reality
Media/Lama Shenpen Hookham: On How the Prajñāpāramitā Tradition Promotes a Shentong View
Lama Shenpen Hookham: On How the Prajñāpāramitā Tradition Promotes a Shentong View
Media/Lama Shenpen Speaks on Buddha Nature
Books/Mahamudra and the Middle Way - Vol. 2
Books/Mahāyāna Buddhism: The Doctrinal Foundations
Mahāyāna Buddhism: The Doctrinal Foundations
Media/Michael Sheehy at the 2019 Tathāgatagarbha Symposium
Michael Sheehy at the 2019 Tathāgatagarbha Symposium
Books/Mountain Doctrine: Tibet's Fundamental Treatise on Other-Emptiness and the Buddha-Matrix
Mountain Doctrine: Tibet's Fundamental Treatise on Other-Emptiness and the Buddha-Matrix
Articles/Non-representational Language in Mipam's Representation of Other-emptiness
Non-representational Language in Mipam's Representation of Other-emptiness
Media/On Jamgon Kongtrul and the Different Approaches to Understanding Buddha-Nature by Ringu Tulku
On Jamgon Kongtrul and the Different Approaches to Understanding Buddha-Nature by Ringu Tulku
Media/On Rangtong and Shentong Views of Buddha-Nature by Tokpa Tulku
On Rangtong and Shentong Views of Buddha-Nature by Tokpa Tulku
Media/On the Future of Buddha-Nature Studies by Karl Brunnhölzl
On the Future of Buddha-Nature Studies by Karl Brunnhölzl
Articles/Onto-theology and Emptiness: The Nature of Buddha-Nature
Onto-theology and Emptiness: The Nature of Buddha-Nature
Articles/Other-Emptiness in the Jonang School: The Theo-logic of Buddhist Dualism
Other-Emptiness in the Jonang School: The Theo-logic of Buddhist Dualism
Articles/Practical Implications of Shentong Interpretations of Tathāgatagarbha by Lama Shenpen Hookham
Practical Implications of Shentong Interpretations of Tathāgatagarbha by Lama Shenpen Hookham
Books/Prajñāpāramitā, Indian "gzhan stong pas", and the Beginning of Tibetan gzhan stong
Prajñāpāramitā, Indian "gzhan stong pas", and the Beginning of Tibetan gzhan stong
Articles/Presenting a Controversial Doctrine in a Conciliatory Way: Mkhan chen Gang shar dbang po's (1925–1958-59?) Inclusion of Gzhan stong ("Emptiness of Other") within Prāsaṅgika
Presenting a Controversial Doctrine in a Conciliatory Way: Mkhan chen Gang shar dbang po's (1925–1958-59?) Inclusion of Gzhan stong ("Emptiness of Other") within Prāsaṅgika
Books/Progressive Stages of Meditation on Emptiness (2016)
Progressive Stages of Meditation on Emptiness (2016)
Articles/Putting Buddha Nature into Practice
Media/Shenpen Hookham at the 2019 Tathāgatagarbha Symposium
Shenpen Hookham at the 2019 Tathāgatagarbha Symposium
Media/Sina Joos at the 2019 Tathāgatagarbha Symposium
Sina Joos at the 2019 Tathāgatagarbha Symposium
Articles/Tathāgatagarbha from the Perspective of Karma pa Mi bskyod rdo rje as Presented in His Lamp that Eloquently Highlights the Tradition of the Gzhan stong Madhyamaka Proponents
Tathāgatagarbha from the Perspective of Karma pa Mi bskyod rdo rje as Presented in His Lamp that Eloquently Highlights the Tradition of the Gzhan stong Madhyamaka Proponents
Articles/The Buddha Within: Tathagatagarbha Doctrine According to the Shentong Interpretation of the Ratnagotravibhāga-Review by Ehrhard
The Buddha Within: Tathagatagarbha Doctrine According to the Shentong Interpretation of the Ratnagotravibhāga-Review by Ehrhard
Articles/The Buddha Within: Tathagatagarbha Doctrine according to the Shentong Interpretation of the Ratnagotravibhaga-Review by Griffiths
The Buddha Within: Tathagatagarbha Doctrine according to the Shentong Interpretation of the Ratnagotravibhaga-Review by Griffiths
Articles/The Buddha Within: Tathagatagarbha Doctrine according to the Shentong Interpretation of the Ratnagotravibhāga-Review by Gimello
The Buddha Within: Tathagatagarbha Doctrine according to the Shentong Interpretation of the Ratnagotravibhāga-Review by Gimello
Articles/The Buddha Within: Tathagatagarbha Doctrine according to the Shentong Interpretation of the Ratnagotravibhāga-Review by Need
The Buddha Within: Tathagatagarbha Doctrine according to the Shentong Interpretation of the Ratnagotravibhāga-Review by Need
Articles/The Gzhan stong Model of Reality: Some More Material on Its Origin, Transmission, and Interpretation
The Gzhan stong Model of Reality: Some More Material on Its Origin, Transmission, and Interpretation
Media/The Heart Sutra and the Shentong View
Books/The Lion's Roar That Proclaims Zhantong
Books/The Lion’s Roar Proclaiming Emptiness of Other
The Lion’s Roar Proclaiming Emptiness of Other
Articles/The Logic of Liberation: Epistemology as a Path to the Realization of Mahāmudrā
The Logic of Liberation: Epistemology as a Path to the Realization of Mahāmudrā
Articles/The Original Ratnagotravibhāga and Its Yogāçāra Interpretation as Possible Indian Precedents of Gzhan stong ("Empti-ness of Other")
The Original Ratnagotravibhāga and Its Yogāçāra Interpretation as Possible Indian Precedents of Gzhan stong ("Empti-ness of Other")
Articles/The Ornament of the Buddha-Nature: Dge rtse Mahāpaṇḍita's Exposition of the Great Madhyamaka of Other-Emptiness
The Ornament of the Buddha-Nature: Dge rtse Mahāpaṇḍita's Exposition of the Great Madhyamaka of Other-Emptiness
Books/The Other Emptiness: Entering Wisdom Beyond Emptiness of Self
The Other Emptiness: Entering Wisdom Beyond Emptiness of Self
Books/The Other Emptiness: Rethinking the Zhentong Buddhist Discourse in Tibet
The Other Emptiness: Rethinking the Zhentong Buddhist Discourse in Tibet
Articles/The Practical Implications of the Doctrine of Buddha-nature
The Practical Implications of the Doctrine of Buddha-nature
Articles/The Role of Rang Rig in the Pramāṇa-Based Gzhan Stong of the Seventh Karma pa
The Role of Rang Rig in the Pramāṇa-Based Gzhan Stong of the Seventh Karma pa
Media/The Shentong Interpretation of Tathagatagarbha Doctrine
The Shentong Interpretation of Tathagatagarbha Doctrine
Books/The Soteriological Epistemology of the Seventh Karma pa
The Soteriological Epistemology of the Seventh Karma pa
Books/The Uttaratantra in the Age of Argumentation: Dolpopa Sherab Gyaltsen and His Fourteenth-Century Interlocutors on Buddha-Lineage
The Uttaratantra in the Age of Argumentation: Dolpopa Sherab Gyaltsen and His Fourteenth-Century Interlocutors on Buddha-Lineage
Books/The Uttaratantra in the Land of Snows
Articles/Tokpa Tulku Interview on Buddha-Nature
Articles/Tāranātha's "Twenty-One Differences with Regard to the Profound Meaning"
Tāranātha's "Twenty-One Differences with Regard to the Profound Meaning"
Articles/We Are All Gzhan stong pas: Reflections on the Reflexive Nature of Awareness: A Tibetan Madhyamaka Defence by Paul Williams
We Are All Gzhan stong pas: Reflections on the Reflexive Nature of Awareness: A Tibetan Madhyamaka Defence by Paul Williams
Articles/What Is My Mind without Me? Buddha-Nature in the Karma Kagyu School by Karl Brunnhölzl
What Is My Mind without Me? Buddha-Nature in the Karma Kagyu School by Karl Brunnhölzl
Texts/Gzhan stong dbu ma chen po'i lta khrid rdo rje zla ba dri ma med pa'i 'od zer
Texts/Rgyud bla ma'i 'grel pa mdo dang sbyar ba nges pa'i don gyi snang ba
Texts/Theg pa chen po rgyud bla ma rgyan gyi me tog
Texts/Gzhan stong khas len seng ge'i nga ro
Texts/Gzhan stong dbu ma'i rgyan gyi lung sbyor
Texts/Theg mchog shin tu rgyas pa'i dbu ma chen po rnam par nges pa
Texts/Theg mchog shin tu rgyas pa'i dbu ma chen po rnam par nges pa'i rnam bshad zin bris dbu phyogs legs pa
Texts/Kun mkhyen jo nang pa chen po'i dgongs pa gzhan stong dbu ma'i tshul legs pa bshad mthar 'dzin gdung 'phrog
Texts/Ri chos nges don rgya mtsho zhes bya ba mthar thug thun mong ma yin pa'i man ngag
Texts/Bka' bsdu bzhi pa'i don bstan rtsis chen po
Texts/Zab mo gzhan stong dbu ma'i brgyud 'debs
Texts/Gzhan stong dbu ma'i rnam gzhag snying por dril ba
Texts/Dpon byang ba'i phyag tu phul ba'i chos kyi shan 'byed
Texts/Theg pa chen po rgyud bla ma'i bstan bcos legs bshad nyi ma'i 'od zer
Texts/Dbu ma gzhan stong smra ba'i srol legs par phye ba'i sgron me
Texts/Chen po gzhan stong gi lta ba dang 'brel ba'i phyag rgya chen po'i smon lam gyi rnam bshad nges don dbyings kyi rol mo