Four Buddhist Teachings on Emptiness
Tracing the history and evolution of the concept of sunyata
Emptiness
Emptiness in Buddhism, or sunyata in Sanskrit (sunnata in Pali), is the Buddhist principle that everything—including ourselves—is empty of inherent existence and arises interdependently. In the Pali canon, the earliest Buddhist scriptures, the Buddha uses the term to describe how we don't have a fixed, permanent self. In Mahayana Buddhism, the concept became central and extended to all phenomena. The Heart Sutra, an especially famous Mahayana teaching about emptiness, is chanted daily by many practitioners and is also popular among Western Buddhists.
Who Was She?
Reflecting on the transitory nature of the self images we carry
Waking Up Is Letting the Mask Fall
What if who we are is impossible to pin down?
Personal ReflectionsMagazine | Feature
Non-Self Storage
What do we cling to—and what do we pay for it?
The Philosophy of Other-Emptiness
The life and controversial teachings of Dölpopa Sherab Gyaltsen
Letting Go and Letting Be
How we can practice renunciation in our everyday lives
The Edge of Language
National Book Award–winning poet Arthur Sze discusses what it means for art to awaken us to what is.
Seeing the Emptiness of Self
When we shift our attention from thoughts to feelings and let identity arise into consciousness, the sense of self diminishes
Give Before You Get
On the ultimate happiness that comes from developing the skill of generosity
Get Daily Dharma in your email
Start your day with a fresh perspective
Explore timeless teachings through modern methods.
With Stephen Batchelor, Sharon Salzberg, Andrew Olendzki, and more
See Our Courses