Within the Jonang tradition, logic and debate function as important yet ultimately subordinate tools, always oriented toward the realization of buddha‑nature and the clarification of the zhentong (other‑emptiness) view. They are used to articulate and defend the claim that the ultimate—buddha‑nature—is truly existent and only empty of adventitious defilements, in contrast to more strictly negational interpretations of emptiness. In this way, debate serves to distinguish carefully between zhentong and rangtong (self‑emptiness) positions, and to prevent both nihilistic misunderstandings and the reification of conventional phenomena. Logic thus becomes a means of doctrinal precision, sharpening understanding of the inherently pure, luminous nature of mind that Jonang texts emphasize.

At the level of education and training, Jonang monasteries do study Madhyamaka, epistemology, and the standard Buddhist logical disciplines, including syllogistic reasoning and valid cognition. Debate is used as a pedagogical method to refine subtle points of philosophy, especially around buddha‑nature and emptiness, and to develop the analytical capacity needed to engage complex Madhyamaka arguments. However, this scholastic activity does not dominate monastic life to the same degree as in some other Tibetan traditions; it is balanced with, and ultimately oriented toward, contemplative practice, particularly the Kālacakra system and its associated yogas. Logic and debate are treated as provisional, preparatory means: they clear away mistaken views, stabilize correct understanding, and support the interpretation of meditative experience, but they are not regarded as the final mode of knowing.

Because buddha‑nature is held to be beyond conceptual elaboration, the role of reasoning is to point the practitioner toward a non‑conceptual realization rather than to replace it. Debate, in this sense, has an apologetic and protective function—defending the zhentong view against criticism and safeguarding practitioners from philosophical extremes—while remaining consciously limited in scope. When used in this way, logic becomes a servant of insight: it refines the view so that, when meditation deepens, the direct experience of the luminous, empty nature of mind can unfold without distortion.