ŚŪNYATĀ
[noun]
(Sanskrit, also shunyata; Pali: suññatā) a Buddhist term that is translated into English as emptiness, openness,thusness, etc. Śūnyatā refers to the absence of inherent existence in all phenomena, and it is complementary to the Buddhist concepts of no-self (Pāli: anatta, Sanskrit:anātman) and dependent origination. The exact definition of emptiness varies from one Buddhist tradition to another.
Etymology: Śūnyatā is usually translated as “emptiness”. It is the noun form of the adjective “śūnya” (Sanskrit) which means “empty”, “nothing”, “zero” or “void”, hence “empti”-“ness” (-tā). Sunya comes from the root svi, meaning “swollen”, plus -ta “-ness”, therefore “hollow, hollowness”. A common alternative term is “voidness”.
Art by: Alex Grey
