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<p>The <i>Mahāparinirvāṇamahāsūtra</i> (MPNMS) is arguably the earliest Buddhist scripture available to propound the doctrine of the <i>tathāgatagarbha</i>. However, the notion of “empty/emptiness” (<i>śūnya/śūnyatā</i>) in this important scripture has been underexplored. This paper identifies four distinct yet interrelated senses of the term “empty/emptiness” in the portion of the MPNMS shared between its two Chinese translations and the&#xa0;Tibetan translation. First, the term “empty” has the mundane sense of “desolate”, which describes how the world would appear to the Buddha’s disciples after his passing. Second, “empty/emptiness” pertains to the idea of lacking a self and is considered an expedient or preliminary teaching to the ultimate doctrines on the self and the <i>tathāgatagarbha</i> in the MPNMS. Third, “empty/emptiness” signifies non-existent/non-existence, which is sometimes termed “nothing whatsoever” (<i>ākiṃcanya</i>) or “absolute emptiness” (<i>atyantaśūnyatā</i>). This notion is vehemently rejected by the MPNMS as a proper description of the actual&#xa0;state of the Buddha and the <i>tathāgatagarbha</i>. Fourth, “empty” refers to the relational property of being free from certain contents. In particular, the liberation of buddhas is declared to be empty in that it is free from the entire <i>saṃsāra</i>, which is the only sense of the term that receives full endorsement in the MPNMS.</p>

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Emptiness in the Mahāparinirvān.amahāsūtra

  • 期刊论文

  • 发表日期：

    2025年2月25日

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  • Chenglin Yang

摘要

The Mahāparinirvāṇamahāsūtra (MPNMS) is arguably the earliest Buddhist scripture available to propound the doctrine of the tathāgatagarbha. However, the notion of “empty/emptiness” (śūnya/śūnyatā) in this important scripture has been underexplored. This paper identifies four distinct yet interrelated senses of the term “empty/emptiness” in the portion of the MPNMS shared between its two Chinese translations and the Tibetan translation. First, the term “empty” has the mundane sense of “desolate”, which describes how the world would appear to the Buddha’s disciples after his passing. Second, “empty/emptiness” pertains to the idea of lacking a self and is considered an expedient or preliminary teaching to the ultimate doctrines on the self and the tathāgatagarbha in the MPNMS. Third, “empty/emptiness” signifies non-existent/non-existence, which is sometimes termed “nothing whatsoever” (ākiṃcanya) or “absolute emptiness” (atyantaśūnyatā). This notion is vehemently rejected by the MPNMS as a proper description of the actual state of the Buddha and the tathāgatagarbha. Fourth, “empty” refers to the relational property of being free from certain contents. In particular, the liberation of buddhas is declared to be empty in that it is free from the entire saṃsāra, which is the only sense of the term that receives full endorsement in the MPNMS.