Common Misunderstandings.

[Rain95]

Continuing the discussion of Śūnyatā:

In Theravada Buddhism, suññatā often refers to the non-self (Pāli: anattā, Sanskrit: anātman) Suññatā is also often used to refer to a meditative state or experience.

In Mahayana, Sunyata refers to the tenet that "all things are empty of intrinsic existence and nature," (svabhava - realized as an experience) It also refers to the Buddha-nature teachings and primordial or empty awareness, as in Dzogchen and Shentong. In English, svabhava is directly translated as behavior, or what one is doing, how one is experiencing in this context. The state of being.

So the term "Śūnyatā" is really referring to the experience of "empty" or non-conceptual, or "non-mental" awareness. Being in the present moment unattached to, though aware of, ones mental activity.

"all phenomena are without self-essence"

You see one does not project the internal conditioned conceptual "mental world" (self-essence) onto phenomena. It's the non-verbal experience of now. By "verbal" I am referring to internal "roof brain" chatter - conceptual conditioned interpretation, not the use of language in our daily lives.