In Sanskrit sources it is more common to see this theory articulated as vijñaptimātra or consciousness only. Western scholars have associate this philosophy with a form of Idealism. In Tibet, the followers of zhentong made great efforts to distance themselves from this concept, while still utilizing many of the Yogācāra terms associated with it. +
In the ''Ratnagotravibhāga'', ''dhātu'' is synonymous with ''gotra'', the final element that enables all beings to become buddhas. (Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism, p 254) +
This was a somewhat controversial subject, especially in relation to the tathāgatagarbha teachings that state "all beings have buddha-nature." Whether icchantikas are forever excluded from liberation or that they might eventually change their ways and thus become capable of entering the path is therefore a point of contention. +
The Jonang (''jo nang'') tradition was founded by Dolpopa Sherab Gyeltsen, who ascended to the throne of Jonang Monastery in 1326. Trained in the Sakya tradition, Dolpopa’s controversial teachings, especially his emphasis on the view known as ''Zhentong'' (''gzhan stong'') or ''emptiness of other'', and the institutional independence of Jonang monastery, established the Jonang tradition apart as an independent tradition, although many members of the Sakya tradition continue to consider Jonang to be a subsect of that tradition. Dolpopa, like his predecessors at Jonang, particularly emphasized the teachings of the ''Kālacakra Tantra'' and its completion-stage practices known as the six-branch yoga, while also transmitting many other systems of Vajrayāna and Mahāyāna Buddhism. Following the death of the great Jonang scholar Tāranātha, the Jonang tradition was suppressed in the seventeenth century by the Fifth Dalai Lama; its monasteries were converted to the Geluk tradition and the teachings banned. The tradition has survived in the Dzamtang region of Amdo. (Source: [https://treasuryoflives.org/tradition/Jonang Treasury of Lives]) +
The ''Kālacakra Tantra'' was the last of the major Tantric works to appear in India, though it is deeply connected with the mythical land of Shambhala. +
According to the Tshig mdzod chen mo, in the sutra class this is called the element, essence of the bliss gone, the naturally abiding potential, and so forth. In the lower tantra class it is called the that-ness of self, the enlightened mind, the mind of Samantabhadra, and so forth. And in the highest yoga tantra class, it is called the union of E-Vam. +
Saṃvṛtisatya is also understood to mean the unavoidable domain through which sentient beings must navigate and communicate with one another in the mundane world. Thus buddhas and bodhisattvas use their knowledge of conventional truths to teach unenlightened beings and lead them away from suffering. - Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism, page 762. +
This term is used differently depending on the context: in a sūtric context, the term is equivalent to tathāgatagarbha and is translated into English as "buddha-nature". In a tantric context, depending upon the tradition, sugatagarbha is a synonym for pristine awareness and emptiness. +
"Buddha nature" is an English translation not of Tathāgatagarbha but of buddhadhātu, as well as of buddatā, tathatā, prakṛtivyadadāna, and other possible Sanskrit originals. +
This list of three is sometimes expanded to five with the additions of pride or hubris (Skt. ''māna'', Tib. ''nga rgyal'') and envy or jealousy (Skt. ''īrṣyā'', Tib. ''phrag dog''). +