Śūnyatā from Madhyamaka to Early Yogācāra Philosophy

The doctrine of śūnyatā (emptiness) is the fundamental doctrine of Mahāyāna Buddhism. It paves the way for the both Madhyamaka and early Yogācāra philosophies, and functions as a vital link which connects the whole of Mahāyāna Buddhist doctrinal thought. The Madhyamaka philosophy focuses on the philosophy of absolute emptiness which is a natural outcome of the doctrine of dependent origination (pratītyasamutpāda), empty of self nature of all phenomena. This notion, however, was brought to completion by the Yogācāra with various positive theories such as the theory of consciousness-only (cittamātra), the three-nature theory (trisvabhāva), etc. The research, moreover, attempts to elaborate the close relationship between these two schools in terms of the notion śūnyatā. They only argue the same doctrine of emptiness through their own terminologies. The research finally emphasizes the importance of right understanding of emptiness in progressing insight meditation on emptiness for attaining the highest enlightenment, Buddhahood.