Nagarjuna, one of the most important Buddhist philosophers, established the school of the Great Middle Way (skt.: Madhyamaka). His teachings directly refer back to Buddha Shakyamuni' s explanations of the ultimately experienced, intuitive wisdom (skt.: Prajnaparamita-Sutra), explanations, which the historic Buddha had given to his students in North India.  This wisdom is not identical with learned knowledge but with a direct experience of the power and the possibilities of one's own mind. It is a sponaneously emerging insight, which can be achieved by any being through the techniques of meditation.

Nagarjuna' s lifework existed in the exact description and systematization of Buddha's words. He wrote a great number of commentaries (among others the Mahaprajnaparamita-Shastra, Mahayana-Vimshaka, Madhyamaka-Karika), in which he shows that the material world lacks an ultimately existing reality and that the beings do not possess a truly existent personality (the teaching of emptiness).

The methodological approach of his teaching is that everything experiences a reality only by means of the existence of its opposite. Following this principle, all opposites are not considered as existing independently from one another, and refutable points of view are avoided. This is why the philosophical school is called "The Great Middle Way", free fo the extreme views of the existence of phenomena (existentialism) and the consequent neglection of all perceptable phenomena (nihilisms).

Nagarjuna divides his observations of the world into two levels: the conditioned or relative truth describes the relative existence of all phenomena, which is said to have three qualitites: 1. The true nature of the phenomena is not examined critically, 2. The phenomena are tied to a constant process of change. This is happening so subtly that the appearance and the fading of the phenomena happen almost simultaneously. 3. The phenomena fulfill a concrete function.

From these three central points, the understanding of the nature of the phenomena on the second, ultimate level of absolute truth arises. Because the phenomena are changing all the time, an autonomous, independent truth is not possible. On the ultimate level, the nature of all phenomoena is empty, i.e. free from essence and unreal. Thus it is both payed tribute to the occurrence of the phenomena and their changing nature. However, an extreme, and consequently a refutable world view is avoided. These both aspects of reality are inseparable, since they describe the same phenomenon. The aim of the Great Middle Way is to experience the unity of appearance and emptiness in the meditation.

The plain appearance of the phenomena already shows their conditioned nature and contradicts an own, ultimately existing reality. The phenomena do not exist from themselves but achieve a reality due to the principle of cause and effect. Ultimately seen, these phenomena do not have a nature of their own; with respect to their essence, they are empty or free from a truly existing reality.

Like in Classic Greek, old India experienced a peak of the art of debating. The winner of a debate took over the students of the defeated opponent. By means of this custom, Nagarjune contributed to a high degree to the spread of Buddha's wisdom teachings as the prevailing philosophical doctrine. Nagarjuna' s main students Buddhapalita and Bhavaviveka later founded two schools of the Great Middle Way: The Prasangika-School and the Svatantrika-School of the Madhyamaka.