Things and events are ‘empty’ in that they can never possess any immutable essence, intrinsic reality or absolute ‘being’ that affords independence.
(Dalai Lama as cited in Richard, 2009.)
The Doctrine of Emptiness (suññattā) is central to Mahayana Buddhist thought. Suññattā emphasises the relational aspect of existence; an interpretation of the early Buddhist paticca-samuppāda doctrine progressed by the Madhyamaka School. The Suññattā doctrine is aimed at facilitating the ‘letting go’ of the mind’s mistaken perceptions of reality. Understanding suññattā relies on employing the idea of two truths. Conventional truth – the acceptance of appearances – is used to describe that which is considered to exist. The second truth – Ultimate truth – is the truth that all things are empty in that they are empty of a self or of anything pertaining to a self. For Nagarjuna, the founder of the Madhyamaka School, awakening (aka enlightenment) meant knowing the Ultimate truth while living in a world of conventional appearances.
Conventionally then, suññattā refers to a way of perceiving the world leading to freedom, understanding, and ultimately, nibbāna. The fact that we perceive the world means that perceptions exist. Without any enduring substance however, all objects can only exist conditionally. They exist as appearances. From the Madhyamaka perspective, suññattā refers to the idea that there is no substance to anything. Nothing exists in its own right, and nothing is permanent and unchanging – i.e. paticca-samuppāda.
What this means is anything that is perceived by the mind does not exist before it is perceived. It does not really exist because the mind mistakenly perceives inherent existence and independent existence as real. Everything we see, hear, feel, imagine, and ‘know’ to exist is simply emptiness that has been attributed or labelled ‘reality’. Although our perceptions may appear real, they are merely labels placed on phenomena that do not really exist. When the right causes and conditions come together, anything can appear. But when those conditions are spent, the appearance stops.
Neither things nor the self inherently exist, so both things and the self are empty without inherent nature. In spite of this, we usually perceive the world, including our own experience in it, as being definable, distinct and enduring. We perceive ourselves and the world as real. It is not perception that binds us however; it is our attachment to the perception. Consequently, any belief in an inherent, independently existing objective reality is fundamentally flawed. It is flawed because it is incompatible with causation. Causation implies dependence on conditions and effects. Inherent existence, on the other hand, implies something that is totally unchanging and self-contained.
(Bingley, 2009; Dalai Lama, as cited in Richard, 2009; Kang, ca.2012b; Khyentse, 2008, pp. 55-71; Prebish & Keown, 2010, pp. 101-2; Suñña Sutta, as translated by Thanissaro, n.d: a; Tsering, 2009; Yin-shun, p. 289; Yun, 2008, pp. 61-70).