Within the Jonang tradition, buddha-nature is regarded as an actually existing, ultimately real and primordially present nature of mind, identified with the dharmakāya and ultimate truth itself. It is not something produced by practice or gradually constructed, but an intrinsic, unchanging essence that is permanently present in all beings. This nature is described as inherently pure, luminous, and already endowed with the full range of awakened qualities such as wisdom, compassion, and power. These qualities are not potential in a merely provisional sense; they are said to be fully present from the very beginning, though not yet manifest.

The Jonang view is articulated through the doctrine of “other-emptiness” (zhentong). From this perspective, all conditioned and relative phenomena are empty of inherent existence, yet the ultimate—buddha-nature—is empty only of what is other than itself, namely adventitious defilements and conceptual fabrications. It is not empty of its own reality and qualities, and thus is described as permanent, stable, incorruptible, and truly existent, though not in a crude, worldly substantialist way. Defilements are regarded as temporary obscurations that can be removed, while buddha-nature itself remains changeless and untouched, like a mirror temporarily covered by dust.

Because of this, spiritual practice in the Jonang understanding does not create enlightenment but reveals what has always been present. Buddha-nature is equated with the luminous, reflexively aware nature of mind, often spoken of in terms of pristine awareness, which can be directly recognized rather than merely inferred. Meditation is therefore oriented toward recognizing and resting in this natural state, allowing the removal of obscurations so that the innate enlightened qualities can fully shine forth. Enlightenment, in this light, is the complete uncovering and manifestation of this ever-present awakened ground that serves as the basis for liberation and the possibility of buddhahood.