Twenty Types of Emptiness in the Mahayana

In the fifty-first volume of the Mahāprajñāpāramitā Sūtra, the Buddha stated that the Mahāyāna teaches twenty kinds of emptiness that bodhisattvas should cultivate and study: internal emptiness, external emptiness, internal-external emptiness, emptiness of emptiness, great emptiness, emptiness of the supreme meaning, emptiness of the conditioned, emptiness of the unconditioned, ultimate emptiness, boundless emptiness, emptiness of dispersal, emptiness of non-alteration, emptiness of intrinsic nature, emptiness of self-characteristics, emptiness of shared characteristics, emptiness of all dharmas, emptiness of the unobtainable, emptiness of non-nature, emptiness of inherent nature, and emptiness of essenceless inherent nature. The emptiness of conventional dharmas refers to non-existence, absence, non-being, and unobtainability. The emptiness of the inherent nature, the Tathāgatagarbha, refers to an emptiness devoid of all characteristics of conventional dharmas, which is different from conventional dharmas. Its essence truly exists, but it cannot be cognized in the same way conventional dharmas are cognized. Attempting to cognize the emptiness of the Tathāgatagarbha through the means used to cognize conventional dharmas leads to incorrect cognition and frequent misinterpretation. The meanings of the twenty kinds of emptiness are briefly explained as follows:

Internal emptiness means the emptiness of internal dharmas: the eye, ear, nose, tongue, body, and mind. External emptiness means the emptiness of external dharmas: form, sound, smell, taste, touch, and mental objects. Internal-external emptiness means the emptiness of both internal and external dharmas: the internal six sense bases and the external six sense objects. Emptiness of emptiness means that all dharmas are empty, and this emptiness itself is also empty. Great emptiness means the emptiness of the ten directions: east, west, south, north, the four intermediate directions, up, and down.

Emptiness of the supreme meaning means the emptiness of nirvāṇa. Why is nirvāṇa empty? Because nirvāṇa is merely a state of tranquility manifested by the essence of the Tathāgatagarbha. A state is certainly not a true dharma, especially since it is manifested and supported by the Tathāgatagarbha. Do not confuse nirvāṇa with the essence of the Tathāgatagarbha; one is real, the other is illusory.

Emptiness of the conditioned means the emptiness of the three realms: the desire realm, form realm, and formless realm. The three realms are fabricated, hence they are conditioned. Therefore, dharmas that arise from non-existence to existence are naturally empty. Emptiness of the unconditioned means the emptiness of phenomena without arising, abiding, changing, and ceasing. That is to say, phenomena of arising, abiding, changing, and ceasing are empty; phenomena without arising, abiding, changing, and ceasing are manifested and are also empty. Existence and non-existence are merely nominal designations, mere verbal expressions. Ultimate emptiness means that ultimately, all dharmas are unobtainable; this unobtainability is empty. Both obtainable and unobtainable have no real existence; they are merely conceptual designations, hence they are empty.

Boundless emptiness means that for all dharmas, there is no beginning, middle, or end to be obtained, and no coming or going to be obtained. The beginning, middle, and end of events—their occurrence, development, and change—are unobtainable; this unobtainability is empty. The notion that all dharmas have an obtainable beginning, middle, and end is empty; the unobtainability is also empty. The idea that all dharmas have coming and going, development, and change is empty. For example, the past, present, and future lives of sentient beings are empty; the absence of coming and going is also empty. All phenomena, characteristics, and states are empty.

Emptiness of dispersal means that the phenomena of dispersion, disintegration, and abandonment of all dharmas are empty; both aggregation and dispersal are empty. Emptiness of non-alteration means that phenomena of non-change, non-alteration, non-dispersal, non-disintegration, and non-abandonment are empty. Both alteration and non-alteration are empty; both are merely conceptual designations.

Emptiness of intrinsic nature means that the intrinsic nature of all dharmas is empty. Whether it is the nature of the conditioned or the unconditioned, it is not created by Buddhas, bodhisattvas, śrāvakas, or pratyekabuddhas, nor is it created by ordinary beings. Since no one creates it, it is empty.

Emptiness of self-characteristics means that the inherent characteristics of all dharmas are empty. For example, the inherent characteristic of the form aggregate is resistance, which is empty; the inherent characteristic of the feeling aggregate is reception, which is empty; the inherent characteristic of the perception aggregate is conceptualization, which is empty; the inherent characteristic of the formation aggregate is volitional activity, which is empty; the inherent characteristic of the consciousness aggregate is discernment, which is empty. In this way, the inherent characteristics of conditioned dharmas or unconditioned dharmas are all empty.

Emptiness of shared characteristics means that the common characteristics of all dharmas are empty. For example, the common characteristic of contaminated dharmas is suffering, which is empty; the common characteristic of conditioned dharmas is impermanence, which is empty; the common characteristic of all dharmas is emptiness and selflessness, which is empty. Thus, the emptiness of the five aggregates and selflessness realized by arhats is empty; the twelve links of dependent origination realized by pratyekabuddhas is also empty. All dharmas also have immeasurably many shared characteristics, all of which are empty. All dharmas, whether their inherent characteristics or shared characteristics, are empty.

Emptiness of all dharmas means that the five aggregates, twelve sense bases, and eighteen elements—whether with form or without form, visible or invisible, resistant or non-resistant, contaminated or uncontaminated, conditioned or unconditioned—are all empty.

Emptiness of the unobtainable means that all dharmas are unobtainable, and even this unobtainability is empty and unobtainable. All dharmas, including past, present, and future dharmas, are unobtainable. If one bases oneself on the past, there is no present or future to be obtained; if one bases oneself on the future, there is no present or past to be obtained; if one bases oneself on the present, there is no past or future to be obtained. These unobtainabilities are also empty.

Emptiness of non-nature means that all dharmas have no nature or attributes whatsoever, and this very absence of nature is also empty. For example, water has no nature of water or non-water, no wetness, softness, hardness, fluidity, etc.—it lacks all natures—and this absence of nature is also empty. For example, the five aggregates have no nature of the five aggregates, no nature of non-five aggregates, no nature whatsoever—and this absence of nature is also empty.

Emptiness of inherent nature means that the inherent nature of dharmas is empty; their capacity for self-mastery is empty; their capacity to combine and produce their own substance is empty. Emptiness of essenceless inherent nature means that the absence of autonomy and mastery in dharmas is empty; the quality of dharmas being subject to mastery is also empty. That is, the capacity of dharmas to combine is empty, and that which is combined is also empty.

All dharmas—whether having nature, lacking nature, having inherent nature, or having other-nature—are empty. Emptiness of having nature means that the nature of existence of the five aggregates is empty. Emptiness of non-nature means that the unconditioned nature of dharmas is empty. Emptiness of inherent nature means that all dharmas lack inherent nature; this emptiness is not achieved by wisdom, not achieved by view, nor achieved by any other dharma. Emptiness of other-nature means that whether Buddhas appear in the world or not, all dharmas—their abiding, their fixity, their nature, their realm, their equality, their transcendence of birth, their suchness, their non-falseness, their unchangeability, their ultimate reality—are empty because of their other-nature.

In summary, whatever is spoken has no real meaning; whatever is known has no real meaning; whatever is indicated has no real meaning; whatever is conceived has no real meaning; whatever is thought and created has no real meaning; whatever is conceived as dharma has no real meaning. Everything is empty, utterly empty, until reaching that which can no longer be emptied—that alone is the non-empty emptiness; apart from this, all is empty.