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Words, grammatical forms and meanings linked to the ontology.

sunyata en · NOUN

Etymology

From Sanskrit शून्यता (śūnyatā), from शून्य (śūnya, “zero, nothing”) + ता (-tā, “generalizing suffix”). Cognate with Pali suññatā.

Meanings

  1. (Hinduism, Jainism, countable, uncountable) Emptiness, the absence of an intrinsic essence or nature which is stable and separable from other things.
    • 1993, Sunyata, Emptiness and Self-emptying, Kenosis by Ven. Dr. Rewata Dhamma published in Buddhist - Christian Dialogue London, 27th March However since emptiness empties itself and so cannot itself be an object of attachment, dynamic 'sunyata' empties itself out as just the things themselves.
  2. (countable, uncountable) Emptiness, in terms of a meditative state; an Eastern concept of a high meditative state of calm and freedom from distraction.
    • 1986, White Lotus Sutra - Unchecked by Sangharakshita; STUDY LEADERS SEMINAR 1986 Padmaloka. all dharmas were reducible to sunyata. So in a sense you have got a sort of merging of the particular in the universal.
    • In his treatment of Zen Buddhism, Abe emphasizes that the true self of Zen Buddhism is dynamic śūnyatā: "That is to say, true Sunyata is nothing but the true self and the true self is nothing but true Sunyata" 1996, Steve Odin, The social self in Zen and American pragmatism, page 112:
    • 1975, Herbert V. Guenther, Chögyam Trungpa, The Dawn of Tantra, 2001, Shambhala Publications, pages not numbered, Shunyata can be explained in a very simple way. […] In the shunyata experience, the attention is on the field rather than on its contents.

Forms

SpellingFeaturesLabelsSource
Śūnyatā alternative lexicographic
sunyatas Number=Plur lexicographic
shunyata alternative lexicographic

Relateds

nirvana · mushin · karma

Translations (16)

eu huts (state of mind) · cmn 空性 (state of mind) · cmn 空 (state of mind) · hu üresség (state of mind) · bo སྟོང་པ་ཉིད་ (state of mind) · ja 空 (state of mind) · ko 공성 (state of mind) · vi không (state of mind) · bn শূন্যতা (state of mind) · km សុញ្ញតា (state of mind) · pi suññatā (state of mind) · ko 공 (state of mind) · my သုညတ (state of mind) · yue 空 (state of mind) · th สุญตา (state of mind) · pl siunjata (state of mind)