1. Introduction: What is truth? What is falsehood?
We have been taught since childhood to pursue the "truth", to distinguish "right from wrong", to pursue "success" and to avoid "failure". We learn how to win over others, how to compare, compete and calculate. However, in this process, have we ever doubted: Is everything we pursue real? Have we really seen the "truth"? Or are we just blinded by layers of habits, language, concepts and attachments, seeing false illusions but thinking that is the truth?
One of the core wisdoms of Buddhism is to point out the illusory nature of all these "truths" - from phenomena to self, from language to logic, from experience to the world, everything we think is "real" is actually only temporary, relative, and conditional. And this is the wisdom of "emptiness".
In Nagarjuna Bodhisattva's Madhyamika philosophy, the three concepts of "emptiness, falsehood, and the middle way" run through the logical structure of the entire Buddhist teachings, and also became the ideological foundation of Chinese Buddhism, especially the Tiantai and Huayan schools. These three concepts are not only philosophical inferences, but also a spiritual practice, a path of wisdom from falsehood to reality, from distinction to harmony, from attachment to transcendence to freedom.
2. The true meaning of emptiness: breaking the attachment to self-nature and returning to the wisdom of dependent origination
Nagarjuna said: "I say that all things that arise from causes and conditions are empty." - This is the core of the entire "Madhyamaka Shastra".
What is emptiness? It is not nothingness, not nonexistence, but "no self-nature" - all dharmas do not exist independently, but are composed of various conditions. Just like the burning of fire, it depends on firewood, oxygen, and temperature; just like a person, it is not an isolated self, but a temporary result of the combination of the five aggregates, the interweaving of the environment, and the gathering and separation of causes and conditions.
This view is not just a theory, but a fundamental break from all "attachments". Because we often regard a certain experience, a certain concept, a certain identity as the essence of "self", when it is threatened, we suffer, get angry, and defend ourselves. But when you understand that all of this is "caused by conditions", then you can let go of the obsession that "must exist" and gain freedom.
Emptiness is not nothingness, but it allows you to see the possibility of truth from false attachments.
All appearances are false. If you see that all appearances are not appearances, you will see the Tathagata.
This sentence does not mean that the world does not exist, but that "what you see is not what it really is." The appearances we cling to are illusions; only when we abandon these illusions can we get closer to the true appearances that Buddha has realized.
3. The Use of Pseudonyms: Language is a Tool, Not an Entity
If emptiness is the observation of the essence, then the name is the description of the phenomenon.
In Nagarjuna's thought, prajñapti means that all the names, languages, concepts, and systems we know are "hypothetical". This does not mean that they are worthless, but that they are not ultimate and unshakable.
For example, we call this thing a "table", but the word "table" is just a name given to this set of shapes and uses in a specific situation by common agreement among humans. It is not born as a "table" and there is no eternal essence of a "table".
This is very important because many people's suffering comes from their attachment to language and names. For example, if someone says something unpleasant to them, they may have an emotional breakdown; but that sentence is just a combination of sounds and words.
In the development of Tiantai Sect, the name of the Buddha was further systematized and became one of the three views (emptiness, falsehood, and middle view) and one of the three truths (emptiness, falsehood, and middle truth). They emphasized that although everything is empty, in terms of phenomena, we still need to use the false to cultivate the true - through the use of the name of the Buddha, we can guide sentient beings to wisdom.
Simply put: pseudonym refers to "relative truth", it is a convenience, a tool, a bridge to the truth, not the end.
4. Transcendence of the Middle Way: Do not cling to emptiness, break the trap of language
When you understand that "everything is empty", another trap immediately appears - you may cling to "emptiness" as reality.
Therefore, Nagarjuna said: "If one sees emptiness, the Buddhas cannot convert him."
Emptiness is used to break attachments, not to create new attachments. Otherwise, you are just jumping from the cage of "existence" into the cage of "emptiness".
At this time, the concept of the middle way appears. The middle way (madhyamā pratipad) is not the Aristotelian "compromise", but a wisdom that completely transcends the duality - neither clinging to existence nor clinging to non-existence; neither affirming nor denying; neither dwelling in emptiness nor dwelling in existence.
This transcendental middle way is the true state of freedom where words and thoughts cease to exist.
In the Madhyamika Shastra, Nagarjuna used double negation (negation of negation) to break down all language systems. He pointed out that even emptiness is a false name, so "emptiness is also emptiness", and emptiness itself cannot be an object of your attachment.
This negation of negation is not nihilism, but a higher level of enlightenment. As the Awakening of Faith in the Mahayana says: "Use words to get rid of words", and ultimately reach the state of "no words to get rid of".
This is the middle way - not a balance between two sides, but a wisdom that transcends language and opposition.
5. The separation and combination of the two truths: from the false to the true, from the mundane to the perfect
In his "Madhyamaka-karika", Nagarjuna proposed the "two truths theory" - the conventional truth and the ultimate truth.
In simple terms, conventional truth refers to the experience, language, and reasoning in our daily lives, which are relative truths that can be recognized, discussed, and compared. The ultimate truth, on the other hand, is the reality that transcends all language and experience, and is the wordless wisdom that emptiness points to.
These two levels are not mutually exclusive, but progressive. You must start from the conventional truth and, through the guidance of language and practice, enter the speechless realm of the ultimate truth.
As the Madhyamika Shastra says:
If one does not follow the conventional truth, one cannot obtain the ultimate truth; if one does not obtain the ultimate truth, one cannot obtain Nirvana.
This is like climbing a mountain. You must walk on the mountain path (conventional truth) to reach the top of the mountain (ultimate truth). But when you reach the top of the mountain, looking back at every step you took, you will find that you have never left the truth.
Then Nagarjuna said:
There is no difference between Nirvana and the world.
This does not mean that the world is nirvana, but that when you thoroughly understand emptiness, even the mind that distinguishes between "world/nirvana" will no longer arise. Everything is harmonious and unobstructed. There is nothing to be obtained and nothing that cannot be obtained.
This dual understanding of the Two Truths - separate but not separate, separate but not dual - is the key to Buddhist wisdom.
6. Seeing the truth from illusion: the transformation of the mind
When you understand that everything is "illusory", it is not that you have seen through the world and don't care about anything, but that your heart begins to truly "see".
You see that everything is no longer what you thought it was. You no longer cling to the superficial good and bad, right and wrong, no longer base your sense of existence on the evaluation of others, and no longer measure value by comparison.
When you look at a painting, you no longer just compare which one is more "beautiful", but see its uniqueness and presentness.
When you listen to others speak, you are no longer just waiting for a response, but you listen completely.
Every moment in your life, you awaken from false illusions and see the truth of the moment. All of this is not given to you by others, nor is it taught by textbooks. It is the awareness that naturally emerges after your own practice, observation, and transcendence.
This power of awakening is the true wisdom of Buddhism.
7. Conclusion: Buddhism is not a science, but a path to freedom
At first glance, Nagarjuna's philosophy seems like a philosopher's logical reasoning and word games, but if you read and experience it in depth, you will find that he is not trying to increase our knowledge, but to liberate us.
He said "emptiness" to help you break your attachments; he said "false name" to help you discern the truth; he said "middle way" to help you transcend both sides and no longer be bound by language and thoughts.
And all of this points to only one direction - liberation.
When you begin to no longer cling to "existence" or "emptiness", and are no longer enslaved by the false appearances of "success/failure", "right/wrong", "self/others", you will find that you have actually been standing at the door of Nirvana.
At that time, you will understand that Nirvana is not a place, not a result, but the moment when your mind is truly at peace.
The truth has always been there, but we are too busy chasing after illusions to stop and see it clearly.
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