Madhyamaka also known as Śūnyavāda and Niḥsvabhāvavāda refers to a tradition of Buddhist philosophy and practice founded by the Indian philosopher Nāgārjuna.
The foundational text of the Mādhyamaka tradition is Nāgārjuna's Mūlamadhyamakakārikā.
More broadly, Madhyamaka also refers to the ultimate nature of phenomena and the realization of this in meditative equipoise.
According to the classical madhyamaka thinkers, all phenomena (
dharmas) are empty (śūnya) of "nature," a "substance" or "
essence" (svabhāva) which gives them "solid and .