levo

Buddhism: God and Ultimate Reality

Sunyata and the Two Truths

  • 1 thing to know
  • Component 2

Overview

Recall questions on sunyata and the lack of svabhava, Nagarjuna's equation of emptiness with dependent origination, why emptiness is not nihilism, the two truths and the Heart Sutra.

What you need to know

Answer each one before you reveal it.

Your recallNot started
Key term

Define sunyata in Mahayana Buddhism.

Questions from this subtopic

Each one with the model answer underneath.

  1. 1

    Define sunyata in Mahayana Buddhism.

    Model answer

    Sunyata (emptiness) is the teaching that all phenomena are empty of inherent, independent existence.

  2. 2

    What does it mean for phenomena to lack svabhava?

    Model answer

    They lack own-being or intrinsic nature, meaning they have no independent, self-sufficient existence.

  3. 3

    According to the doctrine of emptiness, upon what do phenomena depend for their existence besides causes and conditions?

    Model answer

    They also depend on conceptual designation.

  4. 4

    How does the Mahayana doctrine of emptiness extend the earlier teaching of anicca regarding causes and conditions?

    Model answer

    It asserts that phenomena not only change but lack any inherent existence because they depend entirely on causes and conditions.

  5. 5

    Which philosopher systematically developed the Mahayana doctrine of emptiness, and in which text?

    Model answer

    Nagarjuna, in his Mulamadhyamakakarika (Fundamental Verses on the Middle Way).

  6. 6

    What equivalence did Nagarjuna establish between emptiness and dependent origination?

    Model answer

    He argued that to say something arises dependently (pratityasamutpada) is to say it is empty of inherent existence; the two concepts are equivalent.

Other ways to work this

The same content, four other ways.

What is inside Levo

Six ways to work the same material.

1Closed book
2Open book
3Closed book

The 3-step method, run for you

Answer cold, learn it, then prove it stuck. Levo tracks the jump between your first attempt and your last.

Arguments for the Existence of God
Evil and Suffering
Religious Language
Self and Life After Death

Cram a whole paper in one sitting

Sort every topic into what you know and what you do not, then drill only the weak ones.

1 2:8-15.
TimothyCorinthiansPeter

Blank Blitz makes facts automatic

Rapid timed gap-fills on the terms and numbers you need to recall without thinking.

AExclusivism holds salvation is available only to Christians.
BInclusivism holds salvation is available through Christ to non-Christians.
CPluralism holds salvation is available through multiple religious paths.

Build It gets the exam shape right

Assemble a full-mark answer from its marking points, in the order an examiner wants them.

Olam Ha-Ba means the world to come.
TrueFalse

Test It catches misconceptions

Spot the fault in a statement. The traps are the mistakes students actually make.

721941163128510

Brain Breaks between sessions

Short focus games to reset attention, so the next set lands better than the last.

Every question in Buddhism: God and Ultimate Reality, on a schedule.

Attempt a question from memory, write the correct version, then attempt it again. Levo records the jump between your first attempt and your last, and brings each question back on the day you are due to forget it.

Or £46 a year, about £3.83 a month. Cancel anytime.