Śūnyatā Theory and Its Related Concepts in Mādhyamika Philosophy of Buddhism

Mahāyāna is a large branch of Buddhism with numerous followers in China, Nepal, Tibet, Mongolia, Korea, and Japan. While emphasizing on the same principles as its sister branch, Thravāda, Mahāyāna views them in the light of different interpretations. Śunyatā (void) theory and its related teachings, belief in the ideal of budhisatva and the existence of many budhisatvas, and the way of devotion or bhaktimārga are considered as the main constituting tenets of Mahāyāna, and its main differentiating points against the Thravāda. Moreover, without rejecting the Thravādian scriptures, each Mahāyāna school has its own authoritative texts, which express its particular views.
One of the oldest schools of thougt in Mahāyāna is Mādhyamika or the middle way. This school is also called Śūnyavāda or Śūnyatāvāda, because Śunyatā is considered as its basic principle. In this paper we are trying to reexamine this concept and its related teachings through the Mādhyamika texts, while giving a short history of the development of its philosophical thought.