Śūnyatā from Madhyamaka to Early Yogācāra Philosophy

The doctrine of nyat (emptiness) is the fundamental doctrine of Mahyna Buddhism. It paves the way for the both Madhyamaka and early Yogcra philosophies, and functions as a vital link which connects the whole of Mahyna Buddhist doctrinal thought. The Madhyamaka philosophy focuses on the philosophy of absolute emptiness which is a natural outcome of the doctrine of dependent origination (prattyasamutpda), empty of self nature of all phenomena. This notion, however, was brought to completion by the Yogcra with various positive theories such as the theory of consciousness-only (cittamtra), the three-nature theory (trisvabhva), etc. The research, moreover, attempts to elaborate the close relationship between these two schools in terms of the notion nyat. 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.