It may seem odd for emptiness to serve as the central philosophy of a major religion. In fact, emptiness points to something quite different than "nothingness" or "vacancy." And by developing a richer understanding of this complex topic, we can experience freedom as we live consciously in the world.

Guy Armstrong has been a leading figure and beloved teacher of insight meditation for decades. In this book, he makes difficult Buddhist topics easy to understand, weaving together Theravada and Mahayana teachings on emptiness to show how we can liberate our minds and manifest compassion in our lives.

Emptiness: A Practical Guide for Meditators, Guy Armstrong, Wisdom Publications, Paperback, 2017, 307 pages, $29.95

Guy Armstrong has been leading insight meditation retreats since 1984 in the U.S., Europe, and Australia. His training included living as a monk for a year in the Thai forest lineage. Guy is a member of the Spirit Rock Teachers Council and a guiding teacher of the Insight Meditation Society. He lives in Woodacre, CA.

Contents: Emptiness: A Practical Guide for Meditators
Foreward by Joseph Goldstein	ix
Preface	xi
Introduction	1
PART 1: SELF
1. The world in empty of self	13
2. The faulty logic of "I"	19
3. What is real?	27
4. The five aggregates are not self	41
5. Creating a self	55
6. When the aggregates fall apart	73
7. Beyond self	83
8. Bearing emptiness	99
9. Karma: patterns of becoming	109
10. Who is reborn	125
11. The end of karma	131
12. Abiding in emptiness	147
13. Cessation and nibbana	159
PART II. PHENOMENA
14. A lump of foam	175
15. The magic show	187
16. The middle way	197
PART III. AWARENESS
17. The nature of awareness	211
18. Womb of the Buddhas	223
19. Sunlight in empty space	233
20 Aware of awareness	141
PART IV: COMPASSION
21.Compassion comes from emptiness	257
Acknowledgments	267
Sources and abbreviations	269
Notes	271
Glossary of Pali and Sanskrit words	283
Index	289
About the author	309