Rangtong and shentong

Shentong (Wylie: gzhan stong, "emptiness of other") is term for a type of Buddhist view on emptiness (śūnyatā), Madhyamaka, and the two truths in Indo-Tibetan Buddhism. It is often contrasted with the term rangtong ("self-emptiness"). The term refers to a range of views held by different Tibetan Buddhist figures.^[1]

The classic shentong view was developed and defended by the Jonang school of Tibetan Buddhism, especially by the great scholar Dölpopa Shérap Gyeltsen (1292–1361).^[2] The view also has precursors in some Indian Buddhist works, such as the Ratnagotravibhāga and the writings of Indian figures like Ratnākaraśānti and Sajjana.

Classic Jonang shentong holds that while all relative phenomena are empty of inherent existence (svabhava), ultimate reality (paramartha-satya) is not empty of its own inherent existence.^[3] In this view, ultimate reality, the buddha-wisdom (buddha-jñana) or buddha-nature (buddhadhātu), is only empty of relative and defiled phenomena, but it is not empty of its countless awakened qualities.^[4] Tibetan defenders of shentong, like Dölpopa, describe opposing views on emptiness and Madhyamaka as rangtong ("empty of self", "self-empty"). These views generally hold that all phenomena (relative and ultimate) are equally empty of inherent existence and thus have the same ontological status.^[5]

Jonang shentong later influenced the views of various figures in the other schools of Tibetan Buddhism, like Sakya Chokden and Situ Panchen, becoming popular in various lineages. The shentong view was officially banned by Gelug authorities in the 17th century, due to political and doctrinal conflicts with the Jonang school, and shentong texts were sometimes destroyed in this period.^[5] After this period of suppression, various shentong views were propagated mainly by Jonang, Kagyu and Nyingma lamas. The 19th century saw a revival of shentong, particularly within the non-sectarian Rimé movement.^[6] Nowadays, classic shentong remains the main philosophical theory of the Jonang school, and various other forms of shentong are also taught by some lamas of the Kagyu, Sakya, and Nyingma schools.^[7][8]