Sunyata is a Sanskrit term which has been translated into English as “emptiness or voidness.” Along with pratityasamutpada (dependent arising, dependent origination), sunyata constitutes the foundational cornerstone of Buddhist phenomenology. By emptiness or voidness, Buddhists mean that all phenomena are empty of, lack, or are void of any “own,” inherent, permanent, or separate existence. All phenomena arise dependently contingent on causes and conditions. Sunyata has been confused with nihilism. This incorrect view has been criticized by both Asian and American Buddhist scholars (Abe 1985; Hopkins 1983). On the contrary, Buddhist scholars describe both nihilism and materialism, being and nonbeing, as dualistic, and as a misguided delusion. For example, D. T. Suzuki notes that “When the mind is trained enough it sees that neither negation (niratta) nor affirmation (atta) applies to reality, but that the truth lies in knowing things as they are, or rather as they become” (1949, p....
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Cooper, P.C. (2020). Sunyata. In: Leeming, D.A. (eds) Encyclopedia of Psychology and Religion. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-24348-7_669
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