Emptiness tackles an oft-misunderstood topic in the Buddhist religion. Here, emptiness does not imply a nihilistic worldview but rather the idea that a permanent entity doesn’t exist in any single phenomenon or being. Everything exists in dependence on an immeasurable quantity of causes and conditions. An understanding of emptiness allows us to see the world as a realm of infinite possibility, instead of a static system. Just like a table consists of wooden parts, and the wood is from a tree, and the tree depends on air, water, and soil, so is the world filled with a wondrous coexistence that extends to our own mind and awareness. In lucid, accessible language, Geshe Tashi Tsering guides the reader to the realization of this infinite possibility.

Just as scientists observe and catalog the material world, Buddhists for centuries have been observing and cataloging the components of the human psyche. Addressing both the nature of the human mind and how humans know what they know, Buddhist psychology offers a rich and subtle knowledge of the inner experience. Here, Buddhism's unique, time-tested way of viewing the mind is explained so that followers of Tibetan Buddhism can understand their anger and aversion, and develop equanimity, patience, and love.

Here, the Foundations of Buddhist Thought series shifts to helping readers progress on the Buddhist path by explaining the two "truths," or ways of viewing reality. Geshe Tashi Tsering describes how our perception of reality is obscured or clarified depending on the truth in which we perceive and believe. His systematic approach to Buddhist thought allows readers to gradually but surely enhance their knowledge of Buddhism without feeling overwhelmed.