Buddhist philosophy: What is Emptiness?

What did Buddha mean when he talked about emptiness? It's often thought to be a depressing or nihilistic thing, but the original meaning of it couldn’t be further.

What is seen to be empty are our thoughts about reality and ourself. Seeing emptiness is a means of deconstructing our rigidly held thoughts.

Buddha didn't talk about things like consciousness. In that time, there was a lot of superstition and ritual within Hinduism (the religion he was born into), and he probably did not want to add to the idolatry and deification. Even words like consciousness can be deified and blindly adhered to.

But words like emptiness leave little opportunity for this. The Buddhist term for Emptiness is Sunyata.

Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License

[rightcliquegod]

There is this famous buddha story about how knowledge and words are limited it goes something like in order to cross from one side of the river to the other a boat is necessary however when you're on the otherside and you keep carrying the boat with you it becomes a burden.

The Tao that can be told is not the Tao. The name that can be named is not the eternal name.

Moral here is that words are not the actual. The word " Flower " is just a means of communication it's not the thing. The finger that is pointing towards the moon is not the moon. We shouldn't get attached to the word because once we become attached to words we lose the essence and we start becoming more dogmatic and rigid, so can we look at ourselves as we are right now in this moment without the word that's Emptiness it is ever moving the moment you think that you've caught it, it slips away.

What's the sound of knocking in the sky. Zen Proverb

[selimbenmrad]

Thanks bro!!!! It awesome and very well done

[akashfesate]

after so many Days ✌️ always Waiting for your videos

[sgskp]

WOW ...wonderful video after a long time

[ShrimtareBodhisattva-qmdr]

A precious realisation of my own nature

[fateburn]

What's described in this video sounds more like fluidity or a state of constant change rather than emptiness.

[Jackitate]

Also, it is helpful to inform others that emptiness refers to flux and does not mean 'empty' in the traditional sense.

There is saturation.

[alexanderfridayeagle]

I have been struggling so much on this lately. I am not convinced of the existence of any gods, I wish I could be. I admit my crime I looked to Buddhism in hopes of finding substance and easy purpose something to put down creeping nihilistic thoughts. Yet looking at it from an exlploitative and lazy state and finding complex notions that I did not expect to find, put me in a bad place. Serves me right for looking for the easy way. The Hinduist atman sounds so much more appealing and easy to digest, but what is true. How come people from the Buddhist and the Hindu traditions claim to have attained enlightenment?

[Ansh-vajra]

'Empty of independent existence' is emptiness.

[MikeTooleKS]

buddhism shows the implications of contemporary critical thinking is huge, but you gotta remember, you learned the essence of this styff at regular school, you mustnt compartmentalize

[OrigenEterno]

Hola! estaria bien que estuviera subtitulado el video en español, esta información es valiosa! crees que lo puedas subtitular? y si no es asi, hay algun problema en que lo subtitule al español y lo suba? te daria los creditos de que eres el autor, estaria muy bien que estas historias llegaran a gente que solo habla español

[TheUnknown]

Shunyata premare dine padithila samudra manthan Shunyata premare padichhi aaji Manasa manthan Mana samudra kanya laxmi thakurani khojanti ki naranarayan

[miroslavsebek]

Wrong translation into language designed for troubled ships not souls?

[Jackitate]

Even if the house burns down, and it is rebuilt, it is the Spirit of the house that defines it - not the bricks.

[frontier]

Rapidly devolved from anything verifiably Buddhist ...

[marcokite]

I exist, a body/mind complex but so what if I can't point to it? did Buddha only believe what he can point at, that's how children think. just cos our cells die and regenerate doesn't mean our bodies arn't real or solid. I'm not surprised Buddha was silent when asked the penetrating question, of course he had no answer. Please note 'HE' (a living, individual person) had no answer. the non-self idea is pure maya.