I'm sure you have many misleading one liners about Buddhism, "the world is empty", "there is no self", and "life is suffering". While all these things are true in Buddhism, they present an image to the American public that is not very accurate. These are lines taken out of context and require insight into the religion. I don't claim to be a Buddhist scholar or pretend to have the absolute say on this subject matter, but the following is what I believe.
"The world is empty" relies on the belief when you break everything down to their individual parts they are meaningless. "There is no self" is based on the belief that everything is changing and nothing is permanent. I think it is more beneficial in this case to state "there is no permanent self". To say "life is suffering" does not mean people are never happy. It means there is nothing that can supply one with permanent happiness they desire, and thus everyone is left unsatisfied and suffering.
This is a good example of how first glances are not always very accurate.
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