Sunyata
Śūnyatā (Sanskrit: शून्यता; Chinese: 空, kōng) is commonly translated as "emptiness" in Buddhist philosophy. In Mahāyāna Buddhism, it concerns the absence of an independent, fixed intrinsic nature (svabhāva) in things, not the claim that nothing exists.[1]
In Madhyamaka
The doctrine is central to Madhyamaka, a major Mahāyāna Buddhist tradition. Madhyamaka describes things as empty of inherent nature because they arise through conditions and relations. This position presents itself as a middle path between treating things as eternally self-existing and treating them as simply nonexistent.[2]
Śūnyatā is therefore not a separate substance or a void behind phenomena. Buddhist accounts also apply the analysis of emptiness to emptiness itself, cautioning against treating it as an independently existing thing.[1]
Chinese reception
In Buddhist philosophical usage, 空 (kōng) translates the more specific idea of Śūnyatā. Later Daoist writers in the Chongxuan tradition engaged with Buddhist Madhyamaka thought while interpreting the Tao Te Ching.[3]
See also
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 "The Kyoto School". Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Retrieved 2026-09-30.
- ↑ "Madhyamaka". Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Retrieved 2026-09-30.
- ↑ Friederike Assandri (2021-11-09). "The Daode jing Commentary of Cheng Xuanying: Daoism, Buddhism, and the Laozi in the Tang Dynasty". Oxford University Press. Retrieved 2026-09-30.