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Where are the main Jonang monasteries today?

The living heart of the Jonang tradition now beats most strongly in the broader Tibetan cultural world, especially in regions administered by China. Its principal monastic centers are found in the Amdo area and in the Dzamthang region of eastern Tibet, which today falls within Sichuan Province. These monasteries in Dzamthang are often described as the most significant contemporary stronghold of Jonang practice, with a particularly dense concentration of practitioners and institutions. Qinghai Province, likewise part of the greater Tibetan cultural sphere, also hosts important Jonang monasteries and communities. Together, these areas form a contiguous landscape in which the Jonang understanding of buddha‑nature has been carefully preserved and transmitted.

Beyond these eastern Tibetan regions, Jonang communities have also taken root in the Tibetan diaspora. In India, Jonang monasteries have been re‑established in places such as Himachal Pradesh, where exiled Jonang masters have founded institutions dedicated to study and practice. These Indian centers are smaller in number than those in eastern Tibet, yet they play a vital role in sustaining the lineage outside its traditional homeland. Nepal likewise hosts some Jonang monasteries, reflecting the gradual extension of the tradition along long‑standing cultural and pilgrimage routes. In this way, the Jonang school now exists as a network of monastic communities that bridge the high plateau and the Himalayan foothills, maintaining a continuous thread of practice amid changing historical circumstances.