Emptiness, or shunyata, has been a topic of discussion, debate, and practice for Buddhists for centuries. It is the driving force of the Heart Sutra; the wisdom encapsulated in Nagarjuna’s Middle Way; the foundational element of Tibetan philosophical schools and tantric practice. Wisdom’s range of books about emptiness come from teachers and scholars whose mastery on the subject both illuminate the topic for all, and contribute to an engaging discussion that deepens understanding in a modern context.
At present we suffer because we misread how all phenomena exist. The study of emptiness is to redress that misunderstanding and eliminate our suffering. It is a vast subject, and of course we don’t need to realize the final mode of existence of each phenomenon of the universe, individually and one by one. What can help us the most is what is closest to us: our sense of identity, our body and mind, and our immediate possessions.
–Geshe Tashi Tsering, in Emptiness: The Foundation of Buddhist Thought, Vol. 5
