Can you imagine everything around you is just a shadow of something else?
Buddhist philosophy
Can you imagine everything around you is just a shadow of something else?
You're looking at a beautiful painting, but you can't help feeling like there's something missing, even though it's stunning.
Sunyata suggests that everything, including the painting, isn't as it seems; it's empty of inherent existence. It's like the painting is just a collection of colors and shapes without its own essence.
Example
The painting (a) is beautiful (b) but doesn't exist independently (a × b = emptiness).
Remember this
Sunyata teaches us that the essence of things is not what we perceive; everything is interconnected and lacks independent existence.
Text adapted from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Related concepts
Śūnyatā
Śūnyatā means "emptiness" in Sanskrit
the Buddhist concept of anatta (no-self) claims
Anatta: No permanent, unchanging self exists
Eliminative materialism
Eliminative materialism claims many mental states don't exist
the Zen kōan 'what is the sound of one hand clapping' is designed to do
Break conceptual thinking
Panpsychism
Panpsychism posits that consciousness is a fundamental feature of all matter
Mind–body dualism
Mind–body dualism posits mental phenomena as non-physical
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