Buddhist philosophical school, founded by Nagarjuna. Members of this school are called Madhyamikas. Madhyamaka refers primarily to a Mahāyāna Buddhist school of philosophy founded by Nāgārjuna. According to Madhyamaka all phenomena are śūnya, empty, of "substance" or "essence" (svabhāva) or inherent existence, because they are dependently co-arisen. But this "emptiness" itself is also "empty": it does not have an existence on its own, nor does it refer to a transcendental reality beyond or above phenomenal reality.