Emptiness
The basic meaning of this term is voidness.It denotes that things do not have a constant or unchanging essence.It also means that things are illsory,not real.The essence of something independently existing is called"own-being",or "svabhava."Buddhism denies the existence of this kind of essence.Instead,it believes that all worldly phenomena are assembled or dispersed by causes and conditions."Own-being"is just the solidification of comceptual thinking vis-a-vis the phenomenal world."Absence of own-being,"or"nihsvabhava",namely the viewpoint of "emptiness",is particularly prominent within the Great Vehicle(Mahayana)sect of Buddhism.It completely denies any permanent real nature summarized in any term or phrase,going as far as to include the doctrine of Buddhism itself.
本义为缺失，指事物没有恒常不变的本质或事物虚妄不实。独立持存的本质，被称为“自性”。佛教否认这种本质的存在，而认为一切世间现象都是因缘条件的聚散，“自性”仅仅是概念思维对现象世界的固化。“无自性”，即“空”的观点在大乘佛教当中尤为突出，它彻底否定了任何名言所指的永真性，甚至包括佛教教义本身。
