tymology[edit]

The Tibetan term for samatha is shyin (Wylie: zhi-gnas). According to Jamgon
Kongtrul, insight may be garnered by an exegesis of the etymology
of amatha and shyin:
The Tibetan term is shyin [shi-ne] (shi-gnas) and the Sanskrit is Shamatha. In the
case of the Tibetan, the first syllable, shi, and in the case of the Sanskrit, the first
two syllables, shama, refer to "peace" and "pacification". The meaning of peace or
pacification in this context is that normally our mind is like a whirlwind of
agitation. The agitation is the agitation of thought. Our thoughts are principally an
obsessive concern with past, conceptualization about the present, and especially an
obsessive concern with the future. This means that usually our mind is not
experiencing the present moment at all.[1]
The semantic field of shi and shama is "pacification", "the slowing or cooling
down", "rest".[2] The semantic field of n is "to abide or remain" and this is cognate
or equivalent with the final syllable of the Sanskrit, th.[3]
Overview[edit]
In the Pali canon, the Buddhist path of practice is simplified into three divisions,
namely morality (la), concentration (samadhi) and wisdom (paa). Mindfulness
of breathing leads the practitioner into concentration (samadhi), the domain of
experience wherein the senses are subdued and the mind abides in uninterrupted
concentration upon the object (i.e., the breath), if not in meditative absorption
(Dhyna). It is the condition for insight (vipassana) and subsequently the
development of liberating wisdom (paa). In Buddhism, morality (la) is
understood to be a stable foundation upon which to attain samatha. Samatha and
vipassana form an integral part of the Noble Eightfold Path as described by the
Buddha in his core teaching, the Four Noble Truths. The Fourth Noble Truth, "The
Way to the End of Suffering", encompassing sila, samadhi and paa, is very much
a path inviting practitioners to live by sila, samadhi and paa.
Application[edit]
Samatha (calm) is considered to be a prerequisite of concentration. In terms of
meditative practices samatha refers to techniques which assist in the calming of the
mind. One of the principal techniques taught by the Buddha for this purpose is
mindfulness of breathing (Pali: anapanasati). This practice is also used in order to
concentrate the mind. As such, samatha meditation and concentration meditation
are often considered synonymous. The goal is the establishing of mindfulness as
used in conjunction with insight (P:vipassan; S: vipayan) practices, inquiry into
the nature of the object, such as those encountered in the dzogchen tradition,
resulting in wisdom (P: pa, S: praj).[4]Samatha is commonly practiced as a
prelude to and in conjunction with wisdom practices.[4]
Through the meditative development of calm abiding, one is able to suppress the
obscuring five hindrances. With the suppression of these hindrances, the
meditative development of insight yields liberating wisdom.[5]
In the Theravada tradition there are forty objects of meditation. Mindfulness (sati)
of breathing (npna: npnasati; S. npnasmti[6]) is the most
common samatha practice.Samatha can include other samdhi practices as well.
Some meditation practices such as contemplation of a kasina object favor the
development of samatha, others such as contemplation of the aggregates are
conducive to the development of vipassana, while others such as mindfulness of
breathing are classically used for developing both mental qualities.[7]
Origins[edit]
The Buddha is said to have identified two paramount mental qualities that arise
from wholesome meditative practice:
Samatha, calm abiding, which steadies, composes, unifies and concentrates
the mind;
Vipassan, insight, which enables one to see, explore and discern
"formations" (conditioned phenomena based on the five aggregates).[8]
The Buddha is said to have extolled serenity and insight as conduits for attaining
the unconditioned state of nibbana (Pli; Skt.: Nirvana). For example, in
the Kimsuka Tree Sutta(SN 35.245), the Buddha provides an elaborate metaphor in
which serenity and insight are "the swift pair of messengers" who deliver the
message of nibbana via the noble eightfold path.[9]
In the Four Ways to Arahantship Sutta (AN 4.170), Ven. nanda reports that
people attain arahantship using calm abiding and insight in one of three ways:
1. They develop calm abiding and then insight (Pli: samatha-pubbangamam
vipassanam)
2. They develop insight and then calm abiding (Pli: vipassana-pubbangamam
samatham)[10]
 3. They develop calm abiding and insight in tandem (Pli: samatha-
vipassanam yuganaddham), for instance, obtaining the first jhna and then
seeing in the associated aggregates the three marks of existence before
proceeding to the second jhna.[11]
In the Pli canon, the Buddha never mentions
independent samatha and vipassana meditation practices;
instead, samatha and vipassana are two "qualities of mind" to be developed
through meditation. As Thanissaro Bhikkhu writes,
When [the Pli suttas] depict the Buddha telling his disciples to go meditate, they
never quote him as saying 'go do vipassana,' but always 'go do jhana.' And they
never equate the word "vipassana" with any mindfulness techniques. In the few
instances where they do mention vipassana, they almost always pair it with
samatha not as two alternative methods, but as two qualities of mind that a
person may 'gain' or 'be endowed with,' and that should be developed together.[12]
Similarly, referencing MN 151, vv. 13-19, and AN IV, 125-27, Ajahn Brahm
(who, like Bhikkhu Thanissaro, is of the Thai Forest Tradition) writes that
Some traditions speak of two types of meditation, insight meditation (vipassana)
and calm meditation (samatha). In fact the two are indivisible facets of the same
process. Calm is the peaceful happiness born of meditation; insight is the clear
understanding born of the same meditation. Calm leads to insight and insight leads
to calm."[13]
Contemporary Theravda interpretations[edit]
Within Theravada, various understandings of samatha exist.[note 2]
In Sri Lanka samatha includes all the meditations directed at static objects.[15]
In Burma, samatha comprises all concentration practices, aimed at calming the
mind. In the last decade samatha in the Burmese tradition has been popularized in
the west by Pa Auk Sayadaw. This tradition upholds the emphasis on samatha
explicit in the commentarial tradition of the Visuddhimagga. Pa Auk
Sayadaw presented this tradition through extensive retreats around the world until
his retirement in 2012. In 2005, Tina Rasmussen and Stephen Snyder completed
the entire detailed samatha path under Pa Auk Sayadaw's direct supervision. They
were subsequently the first Western lay people whom he authorized to teach.
The Thai Forest tradition deriving from Ajahn Mun and popularized by Ajahn
Chah stresses the inseparability of samatha and vipassana, and the essential
necessity of both practices.
Indo-Tibetan tradition[edit]
Mahayana stras[edit]
A number of Mahyna stras address amatha, usually in conjunction
with vipayan.
One of the most prominent, the Cloud of Jewels Sutra (rya Ratnamegha Sutra,
Tib. 'phags-pa dkon-mchog sprin-gyi mdo) divides all forms of meditation into
either amatha orvipayan, defining amatha as "single-pointed consciousness"
and vipayan as "seeing into the nature of things."[16]
The Stra Unlocking the Mysteries (Samdhinirmocana Stra), a yogcra stra, is
also often used as a source for teachings on amatha. The Samdhirja Stra is
often cited as an important source for amatha instructions by the Kagyu tradition,
particularly via commentary by Gampopa,[17] although scholar Andrew Skilton,
who has studied theSamdhirja Stra extensively, reports that the stra itself
"contains no significant exposition of either meditational practices or states of
mind."[18]
Dhyana[edit]
amatha furthers the right concentration aspect of the noble eightfold path. The
successful result of amatha is also sometimes characterized as meditative
absorption (samdhi, ting nge dzin) and meditative equipoise (samhita, mnyam-
bzhag), and freedom from the five obstructions (varaa, sgrib-pa). It may also
result in the siddhis of clairvoyance (abhij, mgon shes) and magical emanation
(nirmna, sprul pa).[19]
Factors in amatha[edit]
According to Culadasa (2015), "Samatha has five characteristics: effortlessly stable
attention (samdhi), powerful mindfulness (sati), joy (pti), tranquility (passaddhi),
and equanimity (upekkh). The complete state of samatha results from working
with stable attention (samdhi) and mindfulness (sati) until joy emerges. Joy then
gradually matures into tranquility, and equanimity arises out of that tranquility. A
mind in samatha is the ideal instrument for achieving Insight and Awakening" [20]
Nine mental abidings[edit]
See also: Ten Bulls
In a formulation originating with Asaga (4th CE),[note 3] amatha practice is said to
progress through nine "mental abidings" or Nine stages of training the
mind (S. navkr cittasthiti, Tib. sems gnas dgu), leading to amatha proper (the
equivalent of "access concentration" in the Theravda system), and from there to a
state of meditative concentration called the first dhyna (Pli: jhna; Tib. bsam
gtan) which is often said to be a state of tranquillity or bliss.[22][23] An equivalent
succession of stages is described in the Ten oxherding pictures of Zen.[24] The Nine
Mental Abidings as described by Kamalala are:[22][19]
1. Placement of the mind (S. cittasthpana, Tib. - sems jog-pa) occurs
when the practitioner is able to place their attention on the object of
meditation, but is unable to maintain that attention for very long.
Distractions, dullness of mind and other hindrances are common.
2. Continuous attention (S. samsthpana, Tib. - rgyun-du jog-pa)
occurs when the practitioner experiences moments of continuous attention
on the object before becoming distracted. According to B Alan Wallace, this
is when you can maintain your attention on the meditation object for about a
minute.[25]
3. Repeated attention (S. avasthpana, Tib. - slan-te jog-pa) is
when the practitioner's attention is fixed on the object for most of the
practice session and she or he is able to immediately realize when she or he
has lost their mental hold on the object and is able to restore that attention
quickly. Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche suggests that being able to maintain
attention for 108 breaths is a good benchmark for when we have reached this
stage.[26]
4. Close attention(S. upasthpana, Tib. - nye-bar jog-pa) occurs
when the practitioner is able to maintain attention throughout the entire
meditation session (an hour or more) without losing their mental hold on the
meditation object at all. In this stage the practitioner achieves the power of
mindfulness. Nevertheless, this stage still contains subtle forms of excitation
and dullness or laxity.[25]
5. Tamed attention (S. damana, Tib. - dul-bar byed-pa), by this
stage the practitioner achieves deep tranquility of mind, but must be
watchful for subtle forms of laxity or dullness, peaceful states of mind which
can be confused for calm abiding. By focusing on the future benefits of
gaining Shamatha, the practitioner can uplift (gzengs-bstod) their mind and
become more focused and clear.[27]
6. Pacified attention (S. amana,Tib. - zhi-bar byed-pa) is the stage
during which subtle mental dullness or laxity is no longer a great difficulty,
 but now the practitioner is prone to subtle excitements which arise at the
periphery of meditative attention. According to B. Alan Wallace this stage is
achieved only after thousands of hours of rigorous training.[25]
7. Fully pacified attention (S. vyupaamana,Tib. - nye-bar zhi-
bar byed-pa), although the practitioner may still experience of subtle
excitement or dullness, they are rare and the practitioner can easily
recognize and pacify them.
8. Single-pointed attention (S. ekotkarana,Tib. - rtse-gcig-tu
byed-pa) in this stage the practitioner can reach high levels of concentration
with only a slight effort and without being interrupted even by subtle laxity
or excitement during the entire meditation session.
9. Attentional Balance (S. samdhna,Tib. - mnyam-par jog-
pa) the meditator now effortlessly reaches absorbed concentration (ting-nge-
dzin, S. samadhi.) and can maintain it for about four hours without any
single interruption.[25]
10.amatha, Tib. , shyin - the culmination, is sometimes listed as a tenth
stage.
Five faults and eight antidotes[edit]
Main article: Five faults and eight antidotes
The textual tradition of Tibetan Buddhism identifies five faults and eight
antidotes within the practice of amatha meditation. The five faults identify
obstacles to meditation practice, and the eight antidotes are applied to overcome
the five faults. This formulation originates with Maitreyantha's Madhynta-
vibhga and is elaborated upon in further texts, such as the Stages of
Meditation (Bhvankrama) by Kamalala.[28]
Five faults[edit]
To practice amatha, one must select an object of observation (lambana, dmigs-
pa). Then one must overcome the five faults (dnava, nyes-dmigs):[19][29]
1. laziness (kausdya, le-lo)
2. forgetting the instruction (avavdasammosa, gdams-ngag brjed-pa)
3. laxity (laya, bying-ba) and excitement (auddhatya, rgod-pa). Laxity may be
coarse (audrika, rags-pa) or subtle (sksma, phra-mo). Lethargy (styna, rmugs-
pa) is often also present, but is said to be less common.
4. non-application (anabhisamskra, du mi-byed-pa)
5. [over]application (abhisamskra, du byed-pa)
Eight antidotes[edit]
The following eight antidodes (pratipaka, gnyen-po) or applications
(abhisamskra, du-byed pa) can be applied to overcome the five faults:[19]
for laziness:
1. faith (raddh, dad-pa)
2. aspiration (chanda, dun-pa)
3. exertion (vyayama, rtsol-ba)
4. pliancy (prarabdhi, shin-sbyangs)
for forgetting the instruction:
5. mindfulness (smti, dran-pa)
for laxity and excitement
6. awareness (samprajaa, shes-bzhin)
for non-application
7. application (abhisaskra, du byed-pa)
for overapplication
8. non-application (anabhisaskra, du mi-byed-pa)
Six Powers[edit]
Six powers (bala, stobs) are also needed for amatha:[30]
1. hearing (ruta, thos-pa)
2. thinking (cint, bsam-pa)
3. mindfulness (smti, dran-pa)
4. awareness (samprajaa, shes-bzhin)
5. effort (vrya, brtson-grus)
6. familiarity (paricaya, yong-su dris-pa)
Four modes of mental enagagement[edit]
Four modes of mental enagagement (manaskra, yid-la byed-pa) are said to be
possible:[19]
1. forcible engagement (balavhana, sgrim-ste jug-pa)
2. interrupted engagement (sacchidravhana, chad-cing jug-pa)
3. uninterrupted engagement (nichidravhana, med-par jug-pa)
4. spontaneous engagement (anbhogavhana, lhun-grub-tu jug-pa)
Mahmudr and dzogchen[edit]
amatha is approached somewhat differently in the mahmudr tradition as
practiced in the Kagyu lineage. As Traleg Kyabgon Rinpoche explains,
In the practice of Mahamudra tranquility meditation ... we treat all thoughts as the
same in order to gain sufficient distance and detachment from our current mental
state, which will allow us to ease naturally into a state of tranquility without effort
or contrivance [...] In order for the mind to settle, we need to suspend the value
judgments that we impose on our mental activities [...] it is essential that we not try
to create a state of tranquility but allow the mind to enter into tranquility naturally.
This is an important notion in the Mahamudra tradition, that of nondoing. We do
not do tranquility mediation, we allow tranquility to arise of its own accord, and it
will do so only if we stop thinking of the meditative state as a thing that we need to
do actively [...] In a manner of speaking, catching yourself in the act of distraction
is the true test of tranquility meditation, for what counts is not the ability to prevent
thoughts or emotions from arising but the ability to catch ourselves in a particular
mental or emotional state. This is the very essence of tranquility meditation [in the
context of Mahmudr] [...] The Mahamudra style of meditation does not
encourage us toward the different levels of meditative concentration traditionally
described in the exoteric mediation manuals [...] From the Mahamudra point of
view, we should not desire meditative equipoise nor have an aversion to discursive
thoughts and conflicting emotions but view both of these states with equanimity.
Again, the significant point is not whether meditative equipoise is present but
whether we are able to maintain awareness of our mental states. If disturbing
thoughts do arise, as they certainly will, we should simply recognize these thoughts
and emotions as transient phenomena.[31]
For the Kagyupa, in the context of mahmudr, amatha by means of mindfulness
of breathing is thought to be the ideal way for the meditator to transition into
taking the mind itself as the object of meditation and generating vipayan on that
basis.[32]
Quite similar is the approach to amatha found
in dzogchen semde (Sanskrit: mahsandhi cittavarga). In
the semde system, amatha is the first of the four yogas (Tib. naljor,Wylie: rnal-
byor),[33] the others being vipayan (Wylie: lhag-mthong), nonduality (advaya,
Tib. nyime,Wylie: gnyis-med),[34] and spontaneous presence
(anbogha or nirbogha, Tib. lhundrub, Wylie: lhun-grub).[35] These parallel the
four yogas of mahmudr.
In June 1996 Ajahn Amaro established Abhayagiri Monastery in Redwood Valley,
California, where he was co-abbot with Ajahn Pasanno until July, 2010 Ajahn
Amaro returned to Amaravati in July, 2010 and as a longtime student in the Thai
Forest Theravdin tradition of Ajahn Chah, has also trained in
the dzogchen semde amatha approach underTsoknyi Rinpoche. He found
similarities in the approaches of the two traditions to amatha.[36]
Relationship with vipayan[edit]
Dzogchen Pnlop Rinpoche clearly charts the developmental relationship of the
practices of amatha and vipayan:
The ways these two aspects of meditation are practised is that one begins with the
practice of shamatha; on the basis of that, it becomes possible to
practicevipashyana or lhagthong. Through one's practice of vipashyana being
based on and carried on in the midst of shamatha, one eventually ends up
practicing a unification [yuganaddha] of shamatha and vipashyana. The
unification leads to a very clear and direct experience of the nature of all things.
This brings one very close to what is called the absolute truth.[37]
Similar practices in other religions[edit]
Meditations from other religious traditions may also be recognized
as samatha meditation, that differ in the focus of concentration. In this
sense, samatha is not a strictly Buddhist meditation. Samatha in its single-pointed
focus and concentration of mind is cognate with the sixth "limb" of aanga
yoga', rja yoga which is concentration (dhra). For further discussion, see the
Yoga Stras of Patajali.

Vipassan (Pli) or vipayan (Sanskrit: ; Chinese: gun; Standard

Tibetan: , lhaktong; Wyl. lhag mthong) in theBuddhist tradition
means insight into the true nature of reality,[1][2] namely as the Three marks of
existence: impermanence, suffering or unsatisfactoriness, and the realisation of
non-self.
Vipassan meditation is an ancient practice taught by Buddhas, reintroduced
by Ledi Sayadaw and Mogok Sayadaw and popularized by Mahasi
Sayadaw,[3][4][5] S. N. Goenka, and the Vipassana movement, [6] in
which mindfulness of breathing and ofthoughts, feelings and actions are being used
to gain insight into the true nature of reality. Due to the popularity of Vipassan-
meditation, the mindfulness of breathing has gained further popularity in the west
as mindfulness.[6]

Etymology[edit]
See also: Enlightenment in
Buddhism, Sotpanna, Jnana, Prajna, Bodhi, Vidhya and Kensho
Vipassan is a Pali word from the Sanskrit prefix "vi-" and verbal root pa. It is
often translated as "insight" or "clear-seeing," though, the "in-" prefix may be
misleading; "vi" inIndo-Aryan languages is equivalent to the Latin "dis." The "vi"
in vipassan may then mean to see into, see through or to see 'in a special
way.'[2] Alternatively, the "vi" can function as an intensive, and thus vipassan may
mean "seeing deeply."[citation needed]
A synonym for "Vipassan" is paccakkha (Pli; Sanskrit: pratyaka), "before the
eyes," which refers to direct experiential perception. Thus, the type of seeing
denoted by "vipassan" is that of direct perception, as opposed to knowledge
derived from reasoning or argument.[citation needed]
In Tibetan, vipashyana is lhagthong (wylie: lhag mthong). The term "lhag" means
"higher", "superior", "greater"; the term "thong" is "view" or "to see". So
together, lhagthong may be rendered into English as "superior seeing", "great
vision" or "supreme wisdom." This may be interpreted as a "superior manner of
seeing", and also as "seeing that which is the essential nature." Its nature is a
luciditya clarity of mind.[7]
Henepola Gunaratana defined Vipassan as:
Looking into something with clarity and precision, seeing each component as
distinct and separate, and piercing all the way through so as to perceive the most
fundamental reality of that thing" [2]
Insight[edit]
Origins[edit]
In the sutta pitaka the term "vipassan" is hardly mentioned:
If you look directly at the Pali discourses the earliest extant sources for our
knowledge of the Buddha's teachings you'll find that although they do use the
word samatha to mean tranquillity, and vipassan to mean clear-seeing, they
otherwise confirm none of the received wisdom about these terms. Only rarely do
they make use of the word vipassan a sharp contrast to their frequent use of the
word jhana. When they depict the Buddha telling his disciples to go meditate, they
never quote him as saying "go do vipassan," but always "go do jhana." And they
never equate the word vipassan with any mindfulness techniques.[8]
Bare insight[edit]
The suttas contain traces of ancient debates between Mahayana and Theravada
schools in the interpretation of the teachings and the development of insight. Out
of these debates developed the idea that bare insight suffices to reach liberation, by
discerning the Three marks (qualities) of (human) existence (tilakkhana),
namely dukkha (suffering),anatta (non-self) and anicca (impermanence).[9] This is
a summation on the knowledge and insight on the Four Noble Truths which can
only be reached by practising the Noble Eightfold Path. According to Theravada
tradition enlightenment or Nibbana can only be attained by discerning all
Vipassana insight levels when the Eightfold Noble Path is followed ardently. This
is a developmental process where various Vipassana insights are discerned and the
final enlightenment may come suddenly as proposed by other schools.
The Sthaviravda, one of the early Buddhist schools, emphasized sudden insight:
In the Sthaviravada [...] progress in understanding comes all at once, 'insight'
(abhisamaya) does not come 'gradually' (successively - anapurva).[10]
The Mahasanghika, another one of the early Buddhist schools, had the doctrine
of ekaksana-citt, "according to which a Buddha knows everything in a single
thought-instant".[11]This process however, meant to apply only to the Buddha and
Peccaka buddhas. Lay people may have to experience various levels of insights to
become fully enlightened.
The Mahayana-tradition emphasises prajna, insight into sunyata, dharmata, the two
truths doctrine, clarity and emptiness, or bliss and emptiness:[12]
[T]he very title of a large corpus of early Mahayana literature, the Prajnaparamita,
shows that to some extent the historian may extrapolate the trend to extol
insight,prajna, at the expense of dispassion, viraga, the control of the emotions.[13]
Although Theravada and Mahayana are commonly understood as different streams
of Buddhism, their practice however, may reflect emphasis on insight as a common
denominator:
In practice and understanding Zen is actually very close to the Theravada Forest
Tradition even though its language and teachings are heavily influenced by Taoism
and Confucianism.[14][note 1]
The emphasis on insight is discernible in the emphasis in Chn on sudden
insight,[10] though in the Chn-tradition this insight is to be followed by gradual
cultivation.[note 2]
Relation with samatha[edit]
See also: Samatha, Samadhi (Buddhism), Dhyna in
Buddhism, Mahamudra and Raja yoga
In the Theravada-tradition two types of meditation Buddhist practices are being
followed, namely samatha (Pli; Sanskrit: amatha; "calm") and vipassana
(insight).[16] Samatha is a primary meditation aimed at calming the mind, and it is
also being used in other Indian traditions, notably Raja yoga.
Contemporary Theravada orthodoxy regards samatha as a preparation for
vipassan, pacifying the mind and strengthening the concentration in order to allow
the work of insight, which leads to liberation. In contrast, the Vipassana Movement
argues that insight levels can be discerned without the need for developing samatha
further due to the risks of going out of course when strong samatha is
developed.[17] For this innovation the Vipassana Movement has been criticised,
especially in Sri Lanka.[18][19]
Though both terms appear in the Sutta Pitaka[note 3], Gombrich and Brooks argue
that the distinction as two separate paths originates in the
earliest interpretations of the Sutta Pitaka,[9] not in the suttas themselves.[24][note
4]
According to Gombrich, the distinction between vipassan and samatha did not
originate in the suttas, but in the interpretation of the suttas.[9][note 5] Various
traditions disagree which techniques belong to which pole.[26]
Practice[edit]
See also: Buddhist Paths to liberation
Vipassan can be cultivated by the practice that includes contemplation,
introspection and observation of bodily sensations, analytic meditation and
observations on life experiences like death and decomposition. The practices may
differ in the modern Buddhist traditions and non-sectarian groups according to the
founder but the main objective is to develop insight. [1]
Theravda[edit]
Vipassan movement[edit]
See also: Vipassana movement and Buddhist modernism
The term vipassana became popular due to the influence of the Vipassana
movement which started in the 1950s in Burma. It has come to be considered a
practical solution to handle emotions in a complex society like the West.
The Vipassan Movement, also known as the Insight Meditation Movement, refers
to a number of schools of modern Theravda Buddhism, especially the Thai Forest
Traditionand the "New Burmese Method", which emphasize development of
insight into the three marks of existence as a means to become awakened and enter
the Stream.
The modern influences[6] on the traditions of Sri
Lanka, Burma, Laos and Thailand originating from various Theravda teachers
like Ledi sayadaw, Mogok Sayadaw who was less known to the West due to lack
of International Mogok Centres, Mahasi Sayadaw, Ajahn Chah, and Dipa Ma, as
well as derivatives from those traditions such as the movement led by S. N.
Goenka. The Vipassan Movement also includes contemporary American Buddhist
teachers such as Joseph Goldstein, Tara Brach, Gil Fronsdal, Sharon Salzberg,
andJack Kornfield.
In the Vipassan Movement, the emphasis is on the Satipatthana Sutta and the use
of mindfulness to gain insight into the impermanence of the self-view.
Vipassana-meditation[edit]
Vipassan-meditation uses mindfulness of breathing, combined with the
contemplation of impermanence, to gain insight into the true nature of this reality.
All phenomena are investigated, and concluded to be painful and
unsubstantial, without an immortal entity or self-view, and in its ever-changing and
impermanent nature.[27][13]
Mindfulness of breathing is described throughout the Sutta Pitaka.
The Satipatthana Sutta describes it as going into the forest and sitting beneath a
tree and then to simply watch the breath. If the breath is long, to notice that the
breath is long, if the breath is short, to notice that the breath is short.[28][29]
By observing the breath one becomes aware of the perpetual changes involved in
breathing, and the arising and passing away of mindfulness. One can also be aware
of and gain insight into impermanence through the observation of bodily sensations
and their nature of arising and passing away.[30]
Stages in the practice[edit]
See also: Four stages of enlightenment
Vipassan jhanas are stages that describe the development of vipassan meditation
practice as described in modern Burmese Vipassana meditation.[31] Mahasi
Sayadaw's student Sayadaw U Pandita describes the four vipassan jhanas as
follows:[32]

1. The meditator first explores his body, then his mind, discovering the three
characteristics. The first jhana consists in seeing these points and in the
presence of vitakka andvicara. Phenomena reveal themselves as appearing
and ceasing.
2. In the second jhana, the practice seems effortless. Vitaka and vicara both
disappear.
3. In the third jhana, piti, the joy, disappears too: there is only happiness
(sukha) and concentration.
4. The fourth jhana arises, characterised by purity of mindfulness due to
equanimity. The practice leads to direct knowledge. The comfort disappears
because the dissolution of all phenomena is clearly visible. The practice will
show every phenomenon as unstable, transient, disenchanting. The desire of
freedom will take place.
Eventually Vipassan-meditation leads to insight into the impermanence of all
phenomena, and thereby lead to a permanent liberation.[13]
Mahyna[edit]
Vajrayana[edit]
Main articles: Vajrayana and Tibetan Buddhism
Indian Mahyna Buddhism employed both deductive investigation (applying
ideas to experience) and inductive investigation (drawing conclusions from direct
experience) in the practice of vipayan.[note 6][note 7] According to Leah Zahler, only
the tradition of deductive analysis in vipayan was transmitted to Tibet in the
strayna context.[note 8]
In Tibet direct examination of moment-to-moment experience as a means of
generating insight became exclusively associated with vajrayna.[35][note 9][note 10]
Mahmudr and Dzogchen[edit]
Mahmudr and Dzogchen use vipayan extensively. This includes some methods
of the other traditions, but also their own specific approaches. They place a greater
emphasis on meditation on symbolic images. Additionally in the Vajrayna
(tantric) path, the true nature of mind is pointed out by the guru, and this serves as
a direct form of insight.[note 11]

Snyat (Sanskrit, also shunyata; Pali: suat), translated into English

as emptiness, voidness,[1] openness,[2] spaciousness, orvacuity, is a Buddhist
concept which has multiple meanings depending on its doctrinal context.
In Theravada Buddhism, suat often refers to the not-self (Pli: anatta,
Sanskrit: antman)[note 1] nature of the five aggregates of experience and the six
sense spheres. Suat is also often used to refer to a meditative state or
experience.
Sunyata is a key term in Mahayana Buddhism, and also influenced some schools
of Hindu philosophy.
Etymology[edit]

"nyat" (Sanskrit noun from the adj. nya or hnya: "zero, nothing") is usually
translated as "emptiness". It is the noun form of the adjective "nya" (Sanskrit)
which means "empty" or "void",[4] hence "empti"-"ness" (-t).

Sunya comes from the root svi, meaning "hollow", plus -ta "-ness", therefore
"hollow, hollowness". A common alternative term is "voidness".

This word is ultimately derived from the Proto-Indo European root keu- which
means 'to swell' and also 'to grow'.[5]

Development of the concept[edit]

Over time, many different philosophical schools or tenet-systems

(Sanskrit: siddhnta)[6] have developed within Buddhism in an effort to explain the
exact philosophical meaning of emptiness.
After the Buddha, emptiness was further developed by Ngrjuna and
the Mdhyamaka school, an early Mahyna school. Emptiness ("positively"
interpreted) is also an important element of the Buddha nature literature, which
played a formative role in the evolution of subsequent Mahyna doctrine and
practice.

Pali Canon[edit]

A simile from the Pali scriptures (SN 22.95) compares form and feelings with
foam and bubbles.

The Pali canon uses the term emptiness in three ways: "(1) as a meditative
dwelling, (2) as an attribute of objects, and (3) as a type of awareness-
release."[7] The Sua Sutta,[8] part of the Pli canon, relates that the
monk nanda, Buddha's attendant asked,

It is said that the world is empty, the world is empty, lord. In what respect is it said
that the world is empty?" The Buddha replied, "Insofar as it is empty of a self or of
anything pertaining to a self: Thus it is said, nanda, that the world is empty.

According to Thanissaro Bhikku:

Emptiness as a quality of dharmas, in the early canons, means simply that one
cannot identify them as one's own self or having anything pertaining to one's own
self...Emptiness as a mental state, in the early canons, means a mode of perception
in which one neither adds anything to nor takes anything away from what is
present, noting simply, "There is this." This mode is achieved through a process of
intense concentration, coupled with the insight that notes more and more subtle
levels of the presence and absence of disturbance (see MN 121).[9]

Emptiness as a meditative state is said to be reached when "not attending to any

themes, he [the bhikku] enters & remains in internal emptiness" (MN 122). This
meditative dwelling is developed through the "four formless states" of meditation
or Arpajhnas and then through "themeless concentration of awareness."[7]

In the Kmabhu Sutta S IV.293, it is explained that a bhikkhu can experience

a trancelike contemplation in which perception and feeling cease. When he
emerges from this state, he recounts three types of "contact" (phasso):

1. "emptiness" (suato),

2. "signless" (animitto),

3. "undirected" (appaihito).[10]

The meaning of emptiness as contemplated here is explained at M I.297 and S

IV.296-97 as the "emancipation of the mind by emptiness" (suat cetovimutti)
being consequent upon the realization that "this world is empty of self or anything
pertaining to self" (suam ida attena v attaniyena v).[11]

The term "emptiness" (suat) is also used in two suttas in the Majjhima Nikya,
in the context of a progression of mental states. The texts refer to each state's
emptiness of the one below.[12]

Prajna-paramita Sutras[edit]

Main article: Perfection of Wisdom

The emptiness of phenomena is often compared to drops of dew

The Prajna-paramita (Perfection of Wisdom) Sutras taught that all entities,

including dharmas, are only conceptual existents or constructs.[13][14]

Though we perceive a world of concrete and discrete objects, these objects are
"empty" of the identity imputed by their designated labels.[15] The Heart sutra, a
text from the prajnaparamita-sutras, articulates this in the following saying in
which the five skandhas are said to be "empty":

Form is emptiness, emptiness is form

Emptiness is not separate from form, form is not separate from emptiness
Whatever is form is emptiness, whatever is emptiness is form.[16][note 2][note 3]

The Diamond sutra uses various similes to illustrate the nature of Shunyata:

"Like a tiny drop of dew, or a bubble floating in a stream;

Like a flash of lightning in a summer cloud,

Or a flickering lamp, an illusion, a phantom, or a dream."

"So is all conditioned existence to be seen."[17]

Mdhyamaka[edit]

Main article: Madhyamaka

Mdhyamaka is a Mahyna Buddhist school of philosophy.[18] In Madhyamaka, to

say that an object is "empty" is synonymous with saying that it is dependently
originated.

Madhyamaka states that impermanent collections of causes and conditions are

designated by mere conceptual labels. This also applies to the principle of causality
itself, sinceeverything is dependently originated.[19] If unaware of this, things may
seem to arise as existents, remain for a time and then subsequently perish. In
reality, dependently originated phenomena do not arise as having inherent
existence in the first place.[20][note 4] Thus both existence and nihilism are ruled
out.[21]

Nagarjuna[edit]
Madhyamaka is retroactively seen as being founded by the monk Ngrjuna.
Ngrjuna's goal was to refute the essentialism of Abhidharma.[22] His best-known
work is theMlamadhyamakakrik, in which he used the reductio ad absurdum to
show the non-substantiality of the perceived world.

Ngrjuna equates emptiness with dependent origination:[23][note 5]

On the basis of the Buddha's view that all experienced phenomena (dharma) are
"dependently arisen" (pratitya-samutpanna), Nagarjuna insisted that such
phenomena are empty (sunya). This did not mean that they are not experienced
and, therefore, non-existent; only that they are devoid of a permanent and eternal
substance (svabhava). Since they are experienced elements of existence, they are
not mere names (prjnapti).[24]

In his analysis, any enduring essential nature would prevent the process of
dependent origination, or any kind of origination at all. For things would simply
always have been, and will always continue to be, without any change.[25][note 6]

In doing so, he restores the Middle way of the Buddha, which had become
influenced by absolute tendencies:[26]

Utilizing the Buddha's theory of "dependent arising" (pratitya-samutpanna)

Nagarjuna demonstrated the futility of these metaphysical speculations. His
method of dealing with such metaphysics is referred to as a "middle
way"(madhyama pratipad). It is the middle way that avoided the substantialism of
the Sarvastivadins as well as the nominalism of the Sautrantikas.[24]

Prasagika[edit]

Main article: Prasagika

The Prasangika is a sub-school of the Madhyamaka. The name is derived

from prasanga, or reductio ad absurdum arguments, rather than svatantra-
anumana, or independent syllogisms.

Buddhapalita (470550), a commentator on the works of Ngrjuna and Aryadeva,

was a great master and exponent of the Prasangika system. Buddhaplita notes:
It is not that we claim non-existence, we merely remove claims for existing
existents.

Candrakrti states:

Since relativity is not objectively created, those who, through this reasoning,
accept dependent things as resembling the moon in water and reflections in a
mirror, understand them as neither objectively true nor false. Therefore, those who
think thus regarding dependent things realize that what is dependently arisen
cannot be substantially existent, since what is like a reflection is not real. If it were
real, that would entail the absurdity that its transformation would be impossible.
Yet neither is it unreal, since it manifests as real within the world.[27]

Svatantrika[edit]

Main article: Svatantrika

Svtantrika is a category of Madhyamaka viewpoints attributed primarily to the 6th

century Indian scholar Bhavaviveka. It is used in contrast
with Prsangika Madhyamaka.

For the Svatantrika, conventional phenomena are understood to have a

conventional essential existence, but without an ultimately existing essence.

Nihilism and eternalism[edit]

See also: Middle way

The Madhyamaka philosophy has often been misunderstood as being nihilistic:

A nihilistic interpretation of the concept of voidness (or of mind-only) is not, by

any means, a merely hypothetical possibility; it consistently was adopted by
Buddhism's opponents, wherever the religion spread, nor have Buddhists
themselves been immune to it...[28]

This is however not a correct understanding:

Voidness does not mean nothingness, but rather that all things lack intrinsic reality,
intrinsic objectivity, intrinsic identity or intrinsic referentiality. Lacking such static
essence or substance does not make them not exist - it makes them thoroughly
relative.[29]

Conversely, emptiness as described by Ngrjuna has been interpreted, notably by

Murti in his influential 1955 work, as a Buddhist absolute. This is widely regarded
as incorrect by later scholars and not grounded on textual evidence.[30] The
consensus is that Ngrjuna defended the classical Buddhist emphasis
on phenomena.[clarification needed][31] For him, emptiness is explicitly used as a middle
way between eternalism and nihilism, and that is where its soteriological power
lies. It does not specifically refer to an ultimate, universal, or absolute nature of
reality.[32] Holding up emptiness as an absolute or ultimate truth without reference
to that which is empty is the last thing either the Buddha or Ngrjuna would
advocate.[33]

Ngrjuna criticized those who conceptualized emptiness:[34]

The Victorious Ones have announced that emptiness is the relinquishing of

all views. Those who are possessed of the view of emptiness are said to be
incorrigible.

Understanding in various Buddhist traditions[edit]

The concept of sunyata has received a different emphasis in various Buddhist

traditions. There is especially a difference between the Tibetan tradition, which
endorses sunyata, and the Chinese Chn tradition, which has incorporated both the
Madhyamika teachings and the Buddha-nature texts.

Theravada[edit]

Theravada Buddhists generally take the view espoused in the Pali canon, that
emptiness is merely the not-self nature of the five aggregates as well as a mode of
perception which is "empty of the presuppositions we usually add to experience to
make sense of it"[35] - especially that of unchanging selfhood. Therefore,
Theravadan teachers likeThanissaro Bhikku hold that emptiness is not so much a
metaphysical view, as it is a strategic mode of acting and of seeing the world
which leads to liberation:
The idea of emptiness as lack of inherent existence has very little to do with what
the Buddha himself said about emptiness. His teachings on emptiness as
reported in the earliest Buddhist texts, the Pali Canon deal directly with actions
and their results, with issues of pleasure and pain. To understand and experience
emptiness in line with these teachings requires not philosophical sophistication, but
a personal integrity willing to admit the actual motivations behind your actions and
the actual benefits and harm they cause.[36]

Emptiness as an approach to meditation is seen as a state in which one is "empty of

disturbance." This form of meditation is one in which the meditator becomes
concentrated and focuses on the absence or presence of disturbances in their mind,
if they find a disturbance they notice it and allow it drop away, this leads to deeper
states of calmness.[36]

Emptiness is also seen as a way to look at sense experience that does not identify
with the "I-making" and "my-making" process of the mind. As a form of
meditation, this is developed by perceiving the six sense spheres and their objects
as empty of any self, this leads to a formless jhana of nothingness and a state of
equanimity.[36]

Buddha-nature[edit]

Main articles: Buddha-nature and Tathgatagarbha Sutras

The class of Buddhist scriptures known as the "Buddha-nature" (tathgatagarbha)

sutras presents a seemingly variant understanding of emptiness, wherein the
Buddha Nature, the Buddha and Liberation are seen as transcending the realm of
the empty (i.e. of the conditioned and dependently originated). Some scholars,
however, view such teachings as metaphorical, not to be taken literally. Other
Buddhist monks/scholars disagree with this claim.[37]

The Tathgatagarbha Sutras portray emptiness in a positive way. The Buddha

nature genre of sutras can be seen as an attempt to state orthodox Buddhist
teachings ofdependent origination using positive language instead, to prevent
people from being turned away from Buddhism by a false impression of nihilism.

In these sutras the perfection of the wisdom of not-self is stated to be the true self.
The ultimate goal of the path is characterized using a range of positive language
that had been used in Indian philosophy previously by essentialist philosophers,
but which was now transmuted into a new Buddhist vocabulary to describe a being
who has successfully completed the Buddhist path.[38]

They state that every living being has the potential to realize awakening. Hence
Buddhism offers salvation to every-one, not only to monks or those who have
freed themselves almost completely from karma in previous lives.

The Buddha-nature can also be understood as the primordial reality from which
phenomenal reality springs or the changeless reality empty of only that which is
other than itself. Some sutras, such as the Mahayana Angulimaliya Sutra, also
insist that not everything is empty, for the Buddha Nature, and Liberation (moksha)
are stated not to be empty.

Srimala Sutra[edit]

The rml Stra is one of the earliest texts on tathagata-garbha thought. It is

critical of a 'negative' understanding of emptiness.

The rml Stra enunciates the idea that the Buddha nature is possessed of
four guna-paramitas [qualities of perfection]: permanence, bliss, self, and purity.
The Buddha-nature is ultimately identifiable as the supramundane nature of the
Buddha. These elevated qualities make of the Buddha one to whom devotion and
adoration could be given.[39]

Mahparinirva Stra[edit]

The Mahyna Mahparinirva Stra was an influential sutra in the development

of the Buddha-nature thought. It played a crucial role in the development
of Chinese Buddhism.[40]

The attainment of nirvanic liberation (moka), by contrast with empty or selfless

phenomena, is said to open up a realm of "utter bliss, joy, permanence, stability,
[and] eternity",[41] in which the Buddha is "fully peaceful" [note 7] and "immovable"
(acala) like a mountain.[note 8][42]

Scholarly opinions[edit]
According to some scholars, the Buddha nature which these sutras discuss, does
not represent a substantial self (tman). Rather, it is a positive expression of
emptiness, and represents the potentiality to realize Buddhahood through Buddhist
practices. In this view, the intention of the teaching of Buddha nature
is soteriological rather than theoretical.[43][44] According to others, the potential of
salvation depends on the ontological reality of a salvific, abiding core reality the
Buddha-nature, empty of all mutability and error, fully present within all beings.[45]

According to Matsumoto Shiro and Hakamaya Noriaki, the idea of an ontological

reality of the Buddha-nature is an un-Buddhist idea:[44] Their "Critical Buddhism"
approach rejects what it calls "dhatu-vada" (substantialist Buddha nature doctrines)

Buddhism is based on the principles of no-self and causation, which deny any
substance underlying the phenomenal world. The idea of tathagata-garbha, on the
contrary, posits a substance (namely, tathagata-garbha) as the basis of the
phenomenal world. [Matsumoto Shiro] asserts that dhatu-vada is the object that the
Buddha criticized in founding Buddhism, and that Buddhism is nothing but
unceasing critical activity against any form of dhatu-vada.[46]

The critical Buddhism approach has, in turn, recently been characterised as

operating with a restricted definition of Buddhism. Paul Williams comments:

At least some ways of understanding the tathagatagarbha contravene the teachings

of not-Self, or the Madhyamika idea of emptiness. And these ways of
understanding the tathagatagarbha were and are widespread in Mahyna
Buddhism. Yet by their own self-definition they are Buddhist.[47]

Yogacara[edit]

Main article: Yogacara

Yogacara explains "emptiness" in an analysis of the way we perceive "things".

Everything we conceive of is the result of the working of the five skandhas: form,
perception, feeling, volition and discrimination.[note 9] The five skandhas together
create consciousness. The "things" we are conscious of are "mere concepts", not
'das Ding an sich' or 'the thing in itself'.[48]

Tibetan Buddhism[edit]
In Tibetan Buddhism, emptiness is often symbolized by and compared to the open
sky[49] which is associated with openness and freedom.[50]

Tibetan Buddhism developed five main schools. The Madhyamika philosophy

obtained a central position in the Nyingma, Kagyu, Sakyaand Gelugpa schools.
The Jonang school, which until recently was thought to be extinct, developed a
different interpretation of ultimate truth.

Sakya[edit]

The Sakya school originated in the 11th century. It rose to power in the 13th
century.[51]

Emptiness in Mdhyamaka has a second aspect. Through logical analyses it is

shown that conceptual thought is dichotomizing yet "reality" (or lack of it) is free
from all extremes. Gorampa Sonam Senge (1429-1489), an important philosopher
in the Sakya school ofTibetan Buddhism who established one of the definitive
Tibetan understandings of Prasangika, therefore makes his ultimate truth a
liberating insight that is free from grasping the mind.[52]

Jonang[edit]

Main article: Jonang

The Jonang school originated in the 12th century. Tsongkhapa strongly opposed
the Jonang school, whose views he "deemed to be [...] dharmically incorrect".[53]

In the Tibetan Jonang school, only the Buddha and the Buddha Nature are viewed
as not intrinsically empty, but as truly real, unconditioned, and replete with eternal,
changeless virtues.[54] The Buddha Nature (tathagatagarbha) is only empty of what
is impermanent and conditioned, not of its own self. The Buddha Nature is truly
real, and primordially present in all beings.
An important Tibetan treatise on Emptiness and the Buddha Nature is found in the
scholar-monk Dolpopa's voluminous study, Mountain Doctrine.[37] It...

... follows the format, inherited from India, of a presentation by way of both
reasoning and scripture - the sciptural citations being so rich that the book can also
be considered an inspiring anthology, a veritable treasure-trove of literature about
the matrix-of-one-gone-thus.[55]

In this vast Mountain Doctrine, Dolpopa describes the Buddha Nature as ...

[N]on-material emptiness, emptiness that is far from an annihilatory emptiness,

great emptiness that is the ultimate pristine wisdom of superiors ...buddha earlier
than all buddhas, ... causeless original buddha.[56]

The Buddha-nature is filled with eternal powers and virtues:

[P]ermanent, stable, eternal, everlasting. Not compounded by causes and

conditions, the matrix-of-one-gone-thus is intrinsically endowed with ultimate
buddha qualities of body, speech, and mind such as the ten powers; it is not
something that did not exist before and is newly produced; it is self-arisen.'[57]

Dolpopa also cites the Angulimaliya Sutra's contrast between empty phenomena
such as the moral and emotional afflictions (kleshas), which are like ephemeral
hailstones, and the enduring, eternal Buddha, which is like a precious gem:

Empty phenomena are other [different]; non-empty phenomena are other

[different]. The tens of millions of afflictive emotions like hail-stones are empty.
The phenomena in the class of non-virtues, like hail-stones, quickly disintegrate.
Buddha, like a vaidurya jewel, is permanent [...] The liberation of a buddha also is
form [...] do not make a discrimination of non-division, saying, "The character of
liberation is empty".'[58]

Gelugpa[edit]

The Gelugpa school of Tibetan Buddhism is the most influential of the four
Tibetan Buddhist schools. It was founded in the beginning of the 15th century
by Tsongkhapa (1357- 1419), who was "strongly scholastic in orientation and
encouraged the study of the great Indian masters of philosophy".[53]
The 14th Dalai Lama, who generally speaks from the Gelugpa version of
the Mdhyamaka-Prasagika, states:

According to the theory of emptiness, any belief in an objective reality grounded in

the assumption of intrinsic, independent existence is simply untenable.
All things and events, whether material, mental or even abstract concepts like
time, are devoid of objective, independent existence [...] [T]hings and events are
'empty' in that they can never possess any immutable essence, intrinsic reality or
absolute being that affords independence.[59]

Bon[edit]

The Tibetan Yungdrung Bon-tradition regards the Ma Gyu, or Mother Tantra, as

the highest tantra. Its views are close to Dzogchen.[60][61] It sees waking life as an
illusion, from which we have to wake up, just as we recognize dreams to be
illusions.[62] Sunyata is the lack of inherent existence.[63] The Mother Tantra uses ...

...examples, similes and metaphors that we can ponder in order to better understand
this illusory nature of both dream and waking life".[64]

These "examples, similes and metaphors" ...

...stress the lack of inherent existence and the unity of experience and experiencer.
In the sutra teachings we call this "emptiness," in tantra "illusion," and in
Dzogchen "the single sphere."[63]

Chinese Buddhism[edit]

When Buddhism was introduced in China it was understood in terms of its own
culture. Various sects struggled to attain an understanding of the Indian texts.
TheTathgatagarbha Sutras and the idea of the Buddha-nature were endorsed,
because of the perceived similarities with the Tao, which was understood as a
transcendental reality underlying the world of appearances. Sunyata at first was
also understood as pointing to transcendental reality.[65] It took Chinese
Buddhism several centuries to realize thatsunyata does not refer to an essential
transcendental reality underneath or behind the world of appearances.[65]

Chn[edit]
Main articles: Zen and Chinese Chn

The influence of those various doctrinal and textual backgrounds is still

discernable in Zen. Zen teachers still mention the Buddha-nature, but the Zen
tradition also emphasizes that Buddha-nature is Sunyata, the absence of an
independent and substantial "self".[65]

In Hinduism[edit]

Influence on Advaita Vedanta[edit]

Gaudapada is considered by some scholars to have been strongly influenced by

Buddhism, as he developed his concept of "ajta" from Nagajurna's Madhyamaka
philosophy,[66][67] which uses the term "anutpda":[68]

"An" means "not", or "non"

"Utpda" means "genesis", "coming forth", "birth"[69]

Taken together "anutpda" means "having no origin", "not coming into existence",
"not taking effect", "non-production".[70]

According to Gaudapada, the Absolute is not subject to birth, change and death.
The Absolute is aja, the unborn eternal.[71] The empirical world of appearances is
consideredMaya (unreal as it is transitory), and not absolutely existent.[71] Thus,
Gaudapada's concept of ajativada is similar to Buddhist term "anutpda" for the
absence of an origin[66][68]or nyat.[72][note 10]

But Gaudapada's perspective is quite different from Nagarjuna.[76] Gaudapada's

perspective is based on the Mandukya Upanishad.[76] In the Mandukya Karika,
Gaudapada's commentary on the Mandukya Upanishad, Gaudapada sets forth his
perspective. According to Gaudapada, the metaphysical absolute
called Brahman cannot undergo alteration, so the phenomenal world cannot arise
independently from Brahman. If the world cannot arise, yet is an empirical fact,
than the world has to be an unreal (transitory) appearance of Brahman. And if the
phenomenal world is a transitory appearance, then there is no real origination or
destruction, only apparent origination or destruction. From the level of ultimate
truth (paramrthat) the phenomenal world is my, "illusion",[76] apparently
existing but ultimately not real.[77]
In Gaudapada-Karika, chapter III, verses 46-48, he states that Brahman never
arises, is never born, is never unborn, it rests in itself:

When the mind does not lie low, and is not again tossed about, then that being
without movement, and not presenting any appearance, culminates into Brahman.
Resting in itself, calm, with Nirvana, indescribable, highest happiness, unborn and
one with the unborn knowable, omniscient they say. No creature whatever is born,
no origination of it exists or takes place. This is that highest truth where nothing
whatever is born.

Gaudapada Karika, 3.46-48, Translated by RD Karmarkar[78]

In contrast to Renard's view,[66] Karmarkar states the Ajativada of Gaudapada has

nothing in common with the nyat concept in Buddhism.[79] While the language
of Gaudapada is undeniably similar to those found in Mahayana Buddhism, states
Comans, their perspective is different because unlike Buddhism, Gaudapada is
relying on the premise of "Brahman, Atman or Turiya" exist and are the nature of
absolute reality.[76]

In Shaivism[edit]

In Veerashaivism, Shunya or Shoonya (empty, zero, void) is seen as the nature of

the Supreme Consciousness or Shiva. Shunya is represented as a point, or Bindu,
which is beyond one and many, and beyond human intellect.[80] Another similar
term which is used in Veerashaivism to describe Shiva is balayu void or
nothingness. One of the most important texts in South Indian Veerashaivism is
called the Shunyasampadane, which means the "earning of voidness", signifying
the spiritual path of merging with Shiva. H.H. Mahatapasvi Shri Kumarswamiji
explains Shiva thus:

It [Shiva] is the transcendent Reality, the pure Absolute, the supracosmic Infinity.
It is itself its own world, its own universe, of any other than itself it can form no
concept. It knows not length nor breadth nor height, for it has no experience of
them; it has no cognisance even of the number one, for it is itself one and all being
is really nothing. How to represent it? Words come out baffled, it defies all
definition and description. Yet the humble attempt of human mind to represent it
ends in a zero. So it is represented by a zero or Shunya.[81]
The philosophy of Kashmir Shaivism also incorporated and modified the concept
of Shunya from Buddhism into their theory of nondual monism. The Shaivites of
Kashmir defined Shunya as 'shunyam ashunaym iti ukhtam' ('shunya is said to be
ashunya'). This view does not see Shunya as a total void or completely empty. The
Shaivites see Shunya as 'abhava', meaning that beings (bhavas) lie in a condition of
absolute mergence (in Shiva's supreme consciousness).[82] It sees zero or voidness
as always having the potential for multiplicity already present.

References to experiences of Shunya can be seen in the poems of the Shaivaite

poet Lalleshwari.[83]

In other Hindu sects[edit]

The influence of the Shunya theory on Orissan Vaishnavism may be derived from
the missionary work of Nagarjuna, who visited the kingdom and converted King
Muja to Buddhism and set up various monasteries in the region.[84] The
philosophy of Shunya was also preached by various tantric teachers in the seventh
century CE and was called the "Nagantaka" philosophy. [85] In
the Vaishnavism of Orissa, the idea of Shunya Brahman or Shunya Purusha was
widespread in the poetry of the Orissan Panchasakhas (Five Friends) like the 16th-
century Acyutananda. Acyutananda's magnum opus, the Shunya Samhita, extols
the nature of Shunya Brahman:

nhi thra rpa vara, adsha avara t cinha.

thku brahm boli kahi, nya brahmhati se boli.

It has no shape, no colour,

It is invisible and without a name
This Brahman is called Shunya Brahman.[86]

The Panchasakhas practiced a form of Bhakti called Jnana-mishrita Bhakti-marga,

which saw the necessity of knowledge (Jnana) and devotion - Bhakti.

The poetry of Bhima Bhoi, founder of the Satya Mahima Dharma tradition, also
promotes God as Shunya.[87] Mahima Swami of the Mahima Dharma is another
example of a Hindu thinker who saw the nature of God as being formless (Alekh).
In medieval Bengal, the concept of God as being Shunya, void or formless, was
also popular. The eleventh century medieval Bengali poet Ramai Pandit wrote a
text called the Shunya Purana which describes God as "Dharma" and "Shunya". [88]

Alternate translations[edit]

Emptiness

Interdependence (Ringu Tulku)[89]

Openness

Transparency (Cohen)

Spaciousness

Thusness[90]