The endurance of the Jonang tradition rests, above all, on a quiet but determined relocation to the margins of Tibetan cultural space. After the suppression of its major institutions in central Tibet under Gelug political dominance, Jonang communities continued their practice in more remote regions such as Amdo, Tsang, Ngamring, and other eastern Tibetan areas where central authority was less intrusive. In these peripheral zones, monasteries and hermitages could sustain the distinctive Jonang emphasis on buddha-nature, the shentong (other-emptiness) view, and the Kālacakra Tantra with relatively little interference. This geographical dispersal functioned as a kind of protective cloak, allowing the tradition to live on even when it appeared to have vanished from the political and intellectual centers.

Alongside this movement to the periphery, Jonang practitioners adopted a subtle strategy of lowering their institutional profile. Some lineages were maintained in small, local monasteries that did not always present themselves publicly as “Jonang,” which helped them avoid becoming targets of sectarian policy. Within these settings, teachers transmitted both philosophical and tantric instructions through close teacher–disciple relationships, preserving oral and written lineages even when official disapproval was strong. Texts were copied, safeguarded in monastic libraries, or kept in private collections, so that the doctrinal heart of the school remained intact beneath the surface of public religious life.

Another important dimension of survival lay in the diffusion of Jonang ideas into other Tibetan Buddhist currents. Elements of its shentong interpretation of emptiness and its Kālacakra contemplative systems were taken up and quietly preserved within circles associated with Kagyu, Nyingma, and, to some extent, Sakya traditions. In some cases, Jonang practitioners affiliated outwardly with other schools while privately maintaining their own contemplative and philosophical commitments. This kind of sectarian camouflage and doctrinal cross-pollination meant that even when the Jonang name was suppressed, its vision of buddha-nature continued to shape the inner life of practitioners across different lineages.

Over time, these hidden roots allowed for a more explicit re-emergence. Scholars and practitioners later rediscovered Jonang texts and active monasteries in eastern regions such as Amdo, recognizing that the tradition had never truly disappeared but had simply gone to ground. With renewed attention, the school regained a visible place within the wider Tibetan Buddhist world, supported by the acknowledgment of its distinct status among the established traditions. The Jonang story thus illustrates how a contemplative lineage can survive not by open confrontation, but by retreat, adaptation, and the careful preservation of its inner teachings until more favorable conditions arise.