meaning of sunyata ?

[wongsor]

Can anybody explain the term sunyata is ? and how do we actually relate them to the panca skhandas ?

[viniketa]

You might wish to start here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C5%9A%C5%ABnyat%C4%81

[oldbob]

Can anybody explain the term sunyata is ? and how do we actually relate them to the panca skhandas ?

Dear wongsor, all and ALL,

--- and part 2 of your question:

"No essence

The aggregates don't constitute any 'essence'. In the Samyutta Nikaya, the Buddha explains this by using the simile of a chariot:

A 'chariot' exists on the basis of the aggregation of parts, even so the concept of 'being' exists when the five aggregates are available.[12][u]

Just as the concept of "chariot" is a reification, so too is the concept of "being". The constituents of being too are unsubstantial in that they are causally produced, just like the chariot as a whole.[13]

The chariot metaphor is not an exercise in ontology, but rather a caution against ontological theorizing and conceptual realism.[14] Part of the Buddha's general approach to language was to point towards its conventional nature, and to undermine the misleading character of nouns as substance-words.[15]"

from:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skandha

Best,

ob