Inherent existence (svabhava) is an ontological concept integral to Buddhist views of causality and experience. Put simply, it refers to an ungrounded, independent, fixed, and ultimately unreal existence of things and phenomena. Inherent existence does not describe a fixed, unitary existence, but rather an ever-shifting, interdependent reality without any static, absolute properties. It acknowledges that all entity, events, and qualities come into being and dissolve in complex, interconnected processes that act in interdependence with each other at a fundamental level. In this way, inherent existence is a recognition of non-dualistic, interdependent change as the nature of existence.

See also: dependent origination, conventional truth, ontological inquiry, ultimate truth, relative truth