B IP V EMPTINESS

Phenomena are impermanent because they are conditioned. Conditioned phenomana lack a permanent self nature and thus are empty and impermanent.

The arising of appearances is the natural display of emptiness.

Impermanence, emptiness and dukkha (suffering) are the three marks of existence. They permeate throughout all of samsara regardless of where someone is born.

ANITTA ANATMAN DUKKHA SUNYATA

Anything that exists does so on the dependence of other causes and conditions. Nothing just exists on it's own except for nibbana, aka the 'unconditioned'. Anything that comes into being will continuously alter until inevitable cessation. This means nothing in existence has any true and lasting substance other than it's 'empty' nature.

NIBBANA IS UNCONDITIONED 

"Suppose there were a king or king's minister who had never heard the sound of a lute before. He might hear the sound of a lute and say, 'What, my good men, is that sound — so delightful, so tantalizing, so intoxicating, so ravishing, so enthralling?' They would say, 'That, sire, is called a lute, whose sound is so delightful, so tantalizing, so intoxicating, so ravishing, so enthralling.' Then he would say, 'Go & fetch me that lute.' They would fetch the lute and say, 'Here, sire, is the lute whose sound is so delightful, so tantalizing, so intoxicating, so ravishing, so enthralling.' He would say, 'Enough of your lute. Fetch me just the sound.' Then they would say, 'This lute, sire, is made of numerous components, a great many components. It's through the activity of numerous components that it sounds: that is, in dependence on the body, the skin, the neck, the frame, the strings, the bridge, and the appropriate human effort. Thus it is that this lute — made of numerous components, a great many components — sounds through the activity of numerous components.'

"Then the king would split the lute into ten pieces, a hundred pieces. Having split the lute into ten pieces, a hundred pieces, he would shave it to splinters. Having shaved it to splinters, he would burn it in a fire. Having burned it in a fire, he would reduce it to ashes. Having reduced it to ashes, he would winnow it before a high wind or let it be washed away by a swift-flowing stream. He would then say, 'A sorry thing, this lute — whatever a lute may be — by which people have been so thoroughly tricked & deceived.'

"In the same way, a monk investigates form, however far form may go. He investigates feeling... perception... fabrications... consciousness, however far consciousness may go. As he is investigating form... feeling... perception... fabrications... consciousness, however far consciousness may go, any thoughts of 'me' or 'mine' or 'I am' do not occur to him.

THE LUTE STORY 

Emptiness is a non-dual concept. It relates to absolute truth, beyond time. Impermanence comes from the point of view of relative truth and conditioned things.

Interdependence and impermanence and emptiness and selflessness are all related concepts. They describe our experience from different different points of view.

level 1

As SamtenLhari noted, there are levels of understanding. If you ask a lot of people you're going to get a lot of answers. Egolessness is emptiness at a lower level of dualistic view. At a higher level, emptiness is the non-substantiality of experience. "The unbearable lightness of being". It can be experienced as the sense of transparency and lack of solidity that meditation causes. That's a taste. It's taught that we don't actually realize it until 1st bhumi.

At a still higher level, emptiness itself is seen as dualistic. Suchness or luminosity describes the quality of experience. At that level, emptiness could be seen as a description of seeing reality from ego's reference point. As in, "Wow! It's all empty!". Once you get used to that it's just all "as it is". So: egolessness, emptiness, luminosity or suchness.

In terms of practice: We learn that ego is false. We meditate and experience no ground. Emptiness is a way to understand all that. As a beginner it's the understanding that ego doesn't really exist. But the true meaning is nonduality.

Sunyata is the natural state of every conditioned thing. We, nor anything else, has an inherent, separate self which is independent of other variables or causes.

Impermanence is a fact of life. Everything changes.

Ananda told Buddha that he knew impermanence as it is obvious.

But Buddha answered him that don't say that because this impermanence is actually very deep.

Ordinary being also know that everything is impermanent, but their way of realizing impermanent is very shallow.

For those meditators who spend years keep looking at just this simple ordinary thing called impermanence, they can penetrate that this impermanence is actually empty inside.

The secret that cannot be understood by many people.

Emptiness(sunnayata) is referring to the Right view of non-ownership. E.g this body is empty of self and what belongs to self, it is a body only.

Impermanence(anicca) is referring to the Right view of non-ownership. E.g this body is dependently arisen , it's presence is dependent on things which it is not and that I do not have access to. Its present permanence is dependently arisen and so "it is subject to cease" .

This body which I refer to as 'me' is dependent on things which are not-mine, which means that this body is only mine in a 'borrowed way'.