How can meditation help a person understand the Mahayana teaching of emptiness?

In Mahayana Buddhism, the teaching of emptiness (shunyata) posits that all things lack an inherent essence or "self" and that their existence is entirely dependent on other factors, a concept known as "dependent arisal" (pratityasamutpada).1

Meditation serves as a vital tool for realizing this truth by helping practitioners move beyond conventional perceptions of reality. Through meditation, individuals can:2

• Develop Wisdom (prajna): Meditation is used to contemplate the true nature of reality, specifically the conditioned and unconditioned elements that constitute all phenomena. This practice helps practitioners understand that ordinary reality is merely a matter of convention or tacit agreement rather than a substantial, independent existence.32
• Break Down Dualities: By engaging in meditative exercises, practitioners learn to dismantle the dualistic assumptions—such as existence versus nonexistence or purity versus impurity—that are typically imposed upon the world by convention.2
• Achieve Insight: In the higher stages of Buddhist meditation, the discipline of introversion is combined with wisdom to reach a state of equanimity. This allows the practitioner to perceive that because no individual or object possesses an inherent self, there is no fundamental separation between themselves and others, fostering a path toward compassionate action.31

Ultimately, meditation acts as a method to break down ordinary expectations, allowing the practitioner to experience the "absolute truth" that things do not exist as they appear to exist.2